“Winter finches” is the common term among birdwatchers for a number of species known to occur primarily in the winter months, and usually only certain years when conditions are right. These birds are not so much north-south migrants in winter as nomadic, moving when needed depending on the food resources.

In the past week I’ve seen numerous evening grosbeaks and pine grosbeaks, both large finches that often can be scarce in the area depending on the year. Even more unusual, a flock of Bohemian waxwings — not a finch but very much a winter season bird in this region — swooped into a neighbors’ crabapple tree to feed Monday afternoon. Related to the more familiar cedar waxwings, but best distinguished by having rust rather than yellow under their tails, this is a species I’d only photographed once before, in the same tree, and then in mid-January.

Bohemian waxwings breed in Alaska, Canada and Eurasia. They are considered common, yet populations in North America declined by 55% since 1970, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/. So catching sight of one of these birds is worth the effort.

The best place to look for Bohemian waxwings and pine grosbeaks right now are trees or shrubs that have berries or small fruit. This time of year, cedar waxwings have departed south, so any bird that has the slim crest and appearance of the cedar waxwing likely is a Bohemian. They sound different as well, the cedars with a high-pitched whistle, the Bohemians more of a trill. According to Cornell’s All About Birds, “Bohemian Waxwings, unlike many songbirds, do not hold breeding territories, and they also don’t have a true song.”

Evening grosbeaks.

Pine grosbeaks are chunky in form and beak, the males raspberry-colored, the females and immature birds gray with touches of yellow. They seem to favor fruit almost as much as the waxwings.

The bold yellow and black male evening grosbeaks are unmistakable from any other bird, looking like oversized goldfinches. Females and immature birds are a more subdued combination of gray and beige with only touches of yellow and black, though still lovely.

The two grosbeaks can be lured in by black oil sunflower seeds, but they prefer flat, open platform feeders that provide more space than the “hopper-style” with perches, said Ryan Brady, Natural Heritage Conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

But this early in the season, pine grosbeaks will take advantage of the fruit still available in abundance. The annual Winter Finch Forecast, put out in late September by Tyler Hoar of the Finch Research Network in Canada, predicted the Upper Midwest should see flocks of pine grosbeaks seeking fruiting trees. That forecast focuses mainly on the outlook for Ontario and adjacent Canadian provinces and U.S. states, so much of the U.P. and Wisconsin would be on the western edge of its predictions, but the report usually does reflect what we might see here.

Bohemian waxwings, too, are expected in traditional areas from central Ontario, northern New England and the Great Lakes states, according to the forecast. They may appear in the yards that have planted European mountain-ash berries and ornamental crabapples, the report states.

Scarce so far are redpolls, both the common and the more elusive hoary. Brady said only two have been officially reported so far in the U.S. for the season, one of them a hoary redpoll he saw at his home in Ashland, Wis. But Scot Stewart, who writes a birding column for the Mining Journal in Marquette, noted that a redpoll — again, a rarer hoary — was spotted on the final day of the fall waterbird count at Whitefish Point in Chippewa County.

Brady said while the lack of redpolls may reflect a down year for the species in the region, redpolls in late fall and early winter usually are still combing through weedy fields for seeds, so won’t turn to feeders until later in the season.

If the redpolls do show up, they — and the American goldfinch and pine siskins — prefer tiny thistle/nyjer seeds, though they will take advantage of the black oil sunflower seeds as well.

For now, “evening grosbeaks are the story,” Brady said, with reports far down into Wisconsin. He’s had flocks of roughly 130 to 140 grosbeaks descend on his home feeders each of the past two days, consuming what he estimated to be 10 pounds of black oil sunflower seeds in a single day. Then again, he has four large platform feeders that can accommodate the flocks.

And, since like almost everything else the price of seed has gone up, Brady now wonders whether he can afford to keep up if the flock sticks around. He’s willing to concede the bird buffet he puts out might be part of the reason his yard has become so popular with the evening grosbeaks, as those turning up elsewhere have been in more modest numbers.

“It’s just going to be a pricey year,” Brady said.

Those not yet fortunate enough to have these attractive finches show up should make sure they have the right food and setup the grosbeaks prefer — as mentioned, black oil sunflower seeds spread on a large, flat, open surface — and the birds likely will appear as the winter progresses.

He saw good success with just spreading seeds atop a picnic table. But Brady cautioned against using any feeding site that’s close to a large window, to avoid collisions if the birds get spooked by a predator.

Online sources recommended having bird feeders either very close to windows — within three feet, so birds can’t build up enough speed for injury if they hit the glass — or placed 25 feet or more away.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.