Rosy-Finch Updates + This Week's Prize
Volunteer Janet Tate captured an impressive flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-finches feeding at the public bird feeders at the Alta Town Office, Alta, Utah. ©Janet Tate
Hello to both our existing and new Rosy-finchers!
Reminder: the Third Survey Window ends this Saturday, Jan 30. The Fourth Survey Window Starts on Sunday Jan. 31 and goes through Feb. 20.
For the next rosy-finch reward – a Yeti tumbler – we will be drawing from the pool of volunteers that submitted a Standard or Opportunistic Feeder Count during the third survey window. Get those datasheets in, and remember “zeros” are data too!
Quick Links
Don’t forget, as soon as you finish your survey, email a scan or photo of your datasheet to: rosyfinchstudy@gmail.com
The Rosy-finch Project website.
The Count Guide for everything you need to know.
The data sheet, now a fillable PDF!
The Training is available on YouTube.
Join the Facebook Group to share stories, photos, and ask questions!
If you know others who may be interested, they can still join here.
Biologist Highlight
Tempe Regan is a Wildlife Diversity Biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Salmon, Idaho.
How do volunteers help wildlife managers like yourself conserve species?
“We literally could not do what we do without generous community scientists volunteering their precious time! Our budgets are always small and a volunteer crew allows us to increase the breadth and depth of the data we can collect to answer important conservation questions. Projects would take us years longer if we didn’t have the help of volunteers.”
Where did you see your first rosy-finch?
“I saw my first Gray-crowned Rosy-finch near CJ Strike Reservoir in southern Idaho one winter while I was out doing field work for my master’s degree. I saw my first Black Rosy-finch on July 5, 2019 on the first day of my Black Rosy-finch breeding study at an alpine basin in the Lemhi Mountains in northeastern Idaho. It was special because I didn’t know if what I had planned would be successful.” Get the full story on Tempe’s work with rosy-finches in Idaho.
What do you find most interesting in studying birds?
“I think one of the most interesting things is how much you learn about the rest of the ecosystems they inhabit. You can’t study a bird without getting into questions of food, nesting, behavior, local movements, migration and more. One other neat thing about studying birds is how birds connect people! Because of their migrations, it takes regional, flyway-wide and international cooperation, sometimes, to truly work towards conservation of birds. The connections I am able to make along the way with brilliant scientists and amazing volunteers are one of the lights of my career!”
Highlights from Rosy-finch Rewards Winners
Kathy Dowell - Eden, Utah
“I was told about this study by a friend who is an avid birder. I am a more casual birder, but Annie said my location may be good for Rosy-finches, so I signed up. I love watching the birds from my kitchen window. So far, no Rosy-finches, but I’m seeing lots of juncos, House Finches, goldfinches, and Black-capped Chickadees. Less numerous but regular visitors are nuthatch, Northern Flicker, and Downy Woodpeckers.”
Krys Greenwood - Carbondale, CO
“We have been amateur birders for years and have seen rosy finches on a couple of birding outings. When I heard about the study I was excited to participate in my first citizen science project.
Besides, the pandemic winter seemed like the perfect time to dive in, do something new and have a little structure to our winter.”
Krys observed Mountain Chickadee and White-breasted Nuthatch during her most recent survey. ©Krys Greenwood
An impressive flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-finches at Pat’s Wyoming feeder! ©Pat Hettick
Pat Hettick - Laramie, WY
“I have been interested in birds for years and started with putting out nectar for Hummingbirds during their migration…I decided to keep some seed out all year and last winter, kind of by accident, I saw a bird on my deck eating some spilled sunflower chips that I knew was not a House Finch. Got the binos out and realized he/she was a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch! I was so excited! Winters are long and cold in Laramie and seeing these beautiful birds sure made me smile.”