Purple Finch flock overwintering in Fort White, FL | January 6, 2021 | LONG version

The Purple Finch population in North America has declined by about 50% since 1966 (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Finch/lifehistory) and so what used to be a fairly regular and sometimes irruptive overwintering visitor to Florida has become increasingly rare. In most winters now, the Purple Finch doesn't even occur this far south although reports of "a few here and there" are expected.
This winter, however, is far different with dense flocks of Purple Finch occurring deep into the Southeast as far as Alabama and Georgia through mid-December and now, in January, well into the peninsula of Florida.
This video was taken at a private residence (thank you, J.S. and G.B.!!!) in Fort White, FL but somewhat smaller flocks are showing up around Gainesville now.
You'll need to study the differences between Purple Finch and House Finch if you don't have a reasonable degree of confidence in your ability to distinguish the two yet. They are superficially similar and House Finch is VERY commonly misidentified as Purple Finch. Learning the basics of differentiating these two species, though, is an excellent learning tool for birders of all levels but especially beginners and intermediates. The differences seem subtle at first but are distinctive enough to become routinely usable without a great deal of confusion.

[@Scrambler85]

A thumbs up for the video 👍

[@WBU319]

Thanks 👍