Happy New Year, Rosy-Finchers!
Feeder Counts
You are helping us meet our conservation goals! To date, you are among over 150 volunteers that have signed up for the project.
It is not too late to start doing feeder counts or recruit friend to join us. We welcome new volunteers to start feeder counts in January!
The second survey window is underway and runs from Jan. 1 – Jan. 31. Don’t forget to turn in your 20-minute feeder count during this window.
Quick Links
Watch the training here.
Conduct your Feeder Counts! Second survey window is Jan. 1 - Jan. 31.
Enter Your Feeder Count data in Survey123 or email your datasheet to rosyfinchstudy@gmail.com.
Rosy-Finch Rewards
By signing up or submitting your Feeder Counts, you are in the running to win prizes, like a rosy-finch enamel mug. Thank you to Lynne Spriggs O’Connor and Harrison O’Connor for sharing these rosy-finch postcards with our rosy-finch reward winners!
Dodie Knight, Albuquerque, New Mexico
“The first time I heard about the Rosy-Finch Project was through our local Wild Birds Unlimited store. I'd never considered being a part of something like it and was excited to participate. Prior to that, I hadn't heard of rosy-finches and was hoping I could see some. I've never seen a rosy-finch in person. While we have lots of finches down here in new Mexico, we have no rosy-finches where I live.”
Thanks Dodie! We appreciate the data you are collecting, even those zeros. Hope you see a rosy-finch soon! – Rosy-Finch Project Team
Research Room
Did you know there is a subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches that breeds in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains? This population is the focus of Tim Brown’s dissertation at University of California Santa Cruz. Learn more about this important work in a webinar hosted by the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab.
Staff and Partner Spotlight
Nancy Merrill, Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
“I saw my very first rosy-finch in the mid-1990's at a bird feeder on the top of the Bar-U-E chair lift at the Steamboat Springs ski area. I am from the midwest and was fascinated by Western birds. Although I had never seen one before, I knew immediately this was a Grey-crowned Rosy-finch. I rode up and down that lift three times in order to get good looks at this life bird! The bird feeders on the Steamboat Springs ski mountain are still active thanks to the partnership between the ski resort and the U.S. Forest Service. This year a feeder cam is planned so the whole world may be able to see the rosy-finches that show up.
In 1998 my husband and I purchased a small ranch along the Yampa River near Steamboat. In 2010 rosy-finches began frequenting my feeders in large numbers. Through the U.S. Forest Service, we were able to arrange a rosy-finch banding day at my place. Here is a link to the blog entry about that day.
In addition to rosy-finches, I am crazy about Sandhill Cranes. I head up the non-profit organization, Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition. We present the annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival as well as many other programs geared to protecting and conserving Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes and their habitat.”
Counting Rosy-Finches
Want to experience what it is like to have hundreds of rosy-finches to count? Check out the virtual birding videos from The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies!