What's Happened to the Evening Grosbeaks?

Last week when I was out birding in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness, a number of people mentioned that they don't see evening grosbeaks at their feeders anymore. Years ago, evidently, they were plentiful, and now it's rare to see them.

Ornithologists are quite concerned about this, too, and are studying the question. Some scientists believe that when the spruce budworm population declines in an area, the evening grosbeaks move on. I'm going to have to research this further, but I thought that the spruce budworm is doing very well here, which is unfortunate for the spruce forests.

I have only seen a few during the past year, but I wonder if there may be more contributing factors at work than budworms.

Did you know that there's a way that you can help scientists with these issues? Participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count on Feb. 16-19. If you don't have a feeder, you may want to purchase or make one so your family can participate. Kids love this project!