Evening Grosbeaks From Algonquin Park

Algonquin Park is a massive provincial park in Ontario and I was up there about a month ago. Evening Grosbeaks used to be a winter bird in our area but not for many years now. One theory is that the control of spruce budworm in our forests has diminished a food supply used by this species to feed their young and this in turn has reduced their populations.However they are still quite abundant in the park. Here are a few shots...

Wow, these are excellent captures of a beautiful Grosbeak, Gary. Love the colors and detail.
The control of spruce budworm, you mean they use pesticide to exterminate them?

.....almost forgot the lady....

very nice, Gary

Beautiful shots Gary! Don't forget the lady! lol

Thanks Fee....spruce budworm was destroying a lot of forests back in the 70's (ish) and I remember it would often come up in news broadcasts how the province was trying to fight the infestation ( similar situation in North Eastern USA). Not sure how they tackled the problem but its likely some type of insectiside was used. These insects will also reproduce to infestation size every so often and those infestations may only happen every 30 or more years but can last for 10 years and when that happens certain bird species populations grow with the added food supply but then reduce as that same supply dwindles back to normal levels.

cfcRebel wrote in post #13997785
Wow, these are excellent captures of a beautiful Grosbeak, Gary. Love the colors and detail.
The control of spruce budworm, you mean they use pesticide to exterminate them?

These are some of the prettiest birds around....wonderful shots Gary.

Excellent images Gary , man these are beautiful birds.

Pretty shots, Gary, strong color.

Those Grosbeaks do have some of the prettiest color combinations of any birds and I really like the captures you have showcasing that Gary.
The 2nd image in particular shows off great color and sharp focus. Of course the lady is as cute as she can be too!

They sure are great looking birds. Excellent shots, Gary. And I really like the looks of the lady!

Excellent work Gary, they are beautiful. I really like the texture in the second shot, those little tufts sticking out, Well done!

Excellent work... Good color and very crisp

Good to see you are seeing and capturing the Evening Grosbeaks... very nice shots Gary, they are beautifully done.

I have a lot of spruce budworm in my forest, the deadfalls are quite abundant from their work... and the Black-backed Woodpeckers love them.
I have seen more Evening Grosbeaks this winter than ever... I just finished processing a set. I know these nomads were thought to be on the decline, I used to see huge flocks of them twenty years ago or more... but they were originally a western bird and I think they migrated east during those years. I don't think any of the experts really know the mystery, but I do know they are more prevalent now than in the last decade...

Dave

lovely coloured bird, lovely images Gary.