Evening Grosbeak in a Mixed Flock

After not seeing Evening Grosbeak for about 10 years, I woke up a couple of days ago to this pair at one of the feeders. I couldn't believe my eyes. Within about an hour there were upwards of 50 individuals of various ages on and around the feeders, and on the ground under them. Many other birds were in the flock as well, and we are talking hundreds of birds!


I don't know about the "evening" part, but the "grosbeak" is pretty apparent. From a distance, the yellow forehead blends into the beak, and the whole thing looks huge.


The shades of yellow, brown, grey and white are amazing on these birds. Though the male and the female are very different, both are beautiful.


This young female had a very greenish beak which really stood out. The distinctive yellow on the neck of the female is also very apparent on this individual.


Because the beak is so large, you can really begin to identify individuals by distinctive marks on the beak. This one was around all day, and was easy to identify by the dark blue spots on the beak.


This female was always watching guard, and would only occasionally quickly jump out to grab some food, but always return before she had even swallowed.


Also for the first time in many years, a brown headed cow bird appeared at the feeder. Once very common, these have also been scarce the last few years.


This one was very tame, and stuck around for several hours, allowing some close up shots.


Mr. Downey was not fazed in the least by all the new visitors, and had a field day hammering on a feeder all day long.


He really is a fairly handsome fellow. the ivory patch right on his nose is very distinctive.