New Hampshire’s state bird, the Purple Finch, and Evening Grosbeaks visit the Garden this week

One warm spring day I spotted a reddish bird on a path at a wildlife refuge. It sang while it “danced” around, dropping its’ wings, puffing out its’ breast, pointing its’ beak upwards, and leaning its’ body backwards. It used its’ tail as support so it wouldn’t fall over. A female looked on. What wonderful craziness is this, I asked myself? It was the Purple Finch‘s hilarious, intricate and compelling mating display. Even without the singing and dancing – winter is no time for that- the bird’s arrival this week was a thrill (picture above). The legislature made a great choice back in 1937 when they picked this wild bird over the domesticated New Hampshire hen as the state bird.

Oddly enough, though, Vermont (the Hermit Thrush, right) is the only other New England state whose official bird has a significant connection to its’ state. Our neighbor to the north – Quebec– has the Snowy Owl as its official bird, as “a symbol of the Province’s support for wildlife protection”. It breeds in the far northern part of the province. Now that’s cool.

Our neighbor Massachusetts’ state bird – the Black-capped Chickadee – breeds and winters in 27 states and 7 Canadian Provinces, making it a truly uninspired choice for state bird. Maine’s state bird is the “chickadee” even though the state has two chickadees- the Black-capped and the Boreal (the later the one with a more unique connection to the state). Many bird species with special ties to both those states -like Piping Plovers and Salt-marsh Sparrows– could use some extra attention as their populations are in decline and they depend on the beaches and marshes of those states for their continued survival. Connecticut’s state bird is American Robin, a bird found in every state and Canadian Province, and Rhode Island’s is the Rhode Island Red Chicken, a domesticated bird.

Why does it matter? Being an “official” bird gets you attention. The Bald Eagle, our national symbol, was literally brought back from extinction. Every state has bird species which have special connections to those states and would benefit from extra attention to its’ conservation needs.

Another species – the Evening Grosbeak- with its gorgeous gold and yellow color plumage and huge bill appeared in garden this week (male, left above, female right). These birds are “irruptive”, meaning they show up some years and not others. We have been lucky enough to see them every year.