Nate and Evan are joined again today by the founder of Finch Research Network, Matthew Young. Thanks to Matt's contractual agreement with the finches, we had a spectacular year in the lower 48 states viewing all sorts of finches. 

Today Matt begins by giving us an update on the winter finches. Did anything happen that wasn't expected? Did anything not happen that was expected? He also explains the extent of the the irruptive year. 

While these birds are not seen in Illinois, Matt talks about the work FiRN is doing with the Rosy Finches. These "birds of the cloudland" are a near threatened species and the outlook does not look good for them. As climate change causes birds to move higher up mountains, they are outcompeting the Rosy Finches. Additionally mountains  eventually stop going up, and where is there to go from there? Matt explains how we can get involved and what we can do.

Finally, Matt gives us a look at the return flight of the finches. All of those glorious birds that headed south this fall will be heading north this spring. What should we expect and when?

We always enjoy talking with the finch master and learning from his wealth of knowledge. 

Happy birding and happy listening

Useful Links

https://finchnetwork.org/ - Information about FiRN

https://finchnetwork.org/blog

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2019/as-rockies-melt-rare-nesting-bird-will-have - Audubon article about Carl Brown