Meet the Purple Finch (Always lots of info in the description!)

The very first bird to the feeder is a female Purple Finch. Note the strong beak crushing the hearts out of those seeds! At about 3:00 the male shows up. There is a striking difference in the two with the male sporting a lot of raspberry red over most of his body. Unfortunately, he soon wanders right up to the glass of the window and out of focus. Still there are plenty of other birds who come along. 🙂 (And more in the background.)
Towards the end of the video, before the Brown Thrasher puts a stop to all other visitors for awhile, the male Purple Finch does show off the beautiful colors that extend down his back. Note: I believe that the second male who showed up was also a Purple and not a House Finch. Pausing the video (alot) I saw plenty of red along the back. He was exceptionally beautiful with colors more intense than the first. Unfortunately, he didn't stay long. 🙂
I didn't find a lot of fun facts about Purple Finches but here are the basics:
The Purple Finch is the state bird of New Hampshire
Purple Finches are migratory birds, only showing up in the Eastern US during winter, and only in years when food to the north is scarce. In the spring they will return to Canada and a few parts of the Northeast, preferably to coniferous and mixed forests, in order to breed.
Purple Finches are often confused with House Finches. The House Finches were introduced to New York in the 1950s and are slowly displacing the Purples. The birds in this video however are definitely the rarer Purple Finch as evidenced by the red that covers the entire back, the smooth upper beak and the strong breast markings on the females. 👍
When the Purples do come south seeking food, they do not have a set winter range. They just migrate until they find food and that is as far as they will go. This is part of the reason why some years you may see them, while other years you may not.
An aside - I apologize for the video quality, but I just do this for fun. I can't sink money I don't have into equipment for videos I never intend to be monetized. So, they are shot through my bedroom window with an inexpensive cell phone. There will be reflections and focus issues. They will never be perfect. But, to compensate I will try to make them interesting!
I do have a series of still photos that I will make a video from sometime in the near future. We will have to see if that is a better option/addition. 👍
I would like your opinion on one thing though. I slowed this down to .75 speed because these birds can be so fast. It looks ok to me. Definitely much better than normal speed, but I'm not watching in 1080p either. What do you think? Did it work or is it distorted for some of you.
That is all I have for now. Thanks for watching. See you on the next one!
#PurpleFinch #midatlantic #birdslover #birdfeeder #birdbehavior #diybirdfeeder #rare