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Winter finches invaded much of North America in the winter of 1997-'98 in record numbers! |
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It was a major "Superflight" of winter finches. |
Every winter, birders across the continent hope the season will bring an influx of finches from the north, and that winter presented us with perhaps the most outstanding finch year in recent history.
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With the advent of the Internet, BirdSource, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping technology we were, for the first time, able to follow a winter finch irruption as it unfolded across North America. The North American Winter Finch and Red-breasted Nuthatch Survey revealed many interesting pieces of information. However, there are still more questions that you can help us answer. For example:
- Do irruptions occur as sudden influxes of
individuals or is it a gradual movement south?
- How does weather affect the speed and direction of
movement?
- Do peak numbers of species and locations change
over the winter?
- How long does the irruption last for each species?
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