Even in those higher elevations to the south, it “has been declining…for at least a decade,” Fox notes. (Fox, p. 101)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 23 September to 20 October, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 3 to 16 October. In most years had departed by 10 November, with a late departure date of 18 November.
Fall maxima: 200 on 22 September 1977 (Perrigo) at Hamlin Beach SP during an invasion of winter finches. (KB 28:41) 60 on 28 September 1975 (Perrigo) at Island Cottage. (LG, October 1975)
Winter: About 20 of these birds at Highland Park on 27 January 1938 merited a noteworthy entry in a young birder’s diary.“They were studied very closely not more than 6 feet for about 10 minutes with 4 power glasses,” Richard O’Hara, then 14, recorded. “They were feeding on small red berries from some shrubs near the lilacs. They were very tame and permitted a very close approach if one was careful enough.”Flocks of 10 or more were in Durand-Eastman Park nearly every winter, Edson noted in 1958. (WBR, 24 November 1958) However, numbers can fluctuate dramatically. For example, “after barely any reports last winter Purple Finches seemingly were reported at every feeder in large numbers,” Bill Symonds noted in his April 2004 Field Notes. (LG, June 2004)
Winter maxima: 45 on 6 January 1980 (Lloyd) Sodus. (GOS, March 1980) 45 on 16 January 2005 (D. Tetlow, Davids) at Rattlesnake Hill. (LG, March 2005) 70 on 23 January 1976 (H. Madden) Conesus Lake. (KB 26:103) 100 on 15 February 1979 (C. Cass) Cumming Nature Center. (GOS, April 1979) Misc.
“Often a plentiful food supply will influence individual birds to change their nesting habits,” Horsey and Edson noted in 1929. “Such a case has occurred in Highland Park with a purple finch. This species seems never to have been recorded as nesting anywhere but in evergreens, but one female . . .built her nest in a smoke tree. Finches are great consumers of the seeds of this tree, and it certainly is convenient for the nesting bird to have a well-stocked larder of its favorite food right at its doorstep so that it does not have to go out of sight of its treasures while feeding.” (“Mrs. Finch Likes to Eat, So She Builds Near Big Larder,” D&C, 22 July 1929)