January
7, 2010 - We thought after the virtual invasion of pine siskins last
January, we might not have any of these birds in this year's winter mix.
Spotted one so far after our first really big snowfall of the year.
Being vastly out-numbered by goldfinches, he remains quiet and aloof.
Time will tell, if a "few" of his feisty friends follow him into our
yard. Well, as long as the nyjer seed holds out...
March
21, 2009 - Even though we have few pine siskins now, they are still
exhibiting pushy behavior at the feeders. With so much food available
and less competition for it, I'm surprised at the energy wasted.
When breeding time and territorial challenges arise, it would be amazing
if more than one pine siskin is left flying. It's been said that when so
many winter this far south, some of them actually stay to have their
families in this area. It would be interesting to see that.
January
9, 2009 - Our half a dozen visitors must have put out the word
about our well-stocked feeders. Now we have dozens of pine siskins.
Winter population size varies each year. As the quantity of birds
increases at the feeders so does the crankiness and pushing and shoving.
During
some winters in upstate New York we see no or very few pine siskins.
Migration into our area, in other years, occur when buds and seeds
of birches, alders, pines, and sweet gums are
inadequate in their summer homes in Canada. Erratic irruptions
cause this wide range of pine siskin populations.
Often after a winter of large numbers of these migratory birds,
breeding may occur in areas further south than normal. Maybe we
will get to see baby pine siskins this spring. Sure hope the Nyjer
seed supply increases in the stores.
January 2, 2009 - A small flock of different birds came in with the
snow and ice. Recently, we had only seen this bird during his
single trips to the nyjer feeders. Now we have many more pine siskins at
a time. Sometimes they mingle with the house finches and the goldfinches, on the wire feeder, but they seem to prefer to meet and
hang out with their own kind. They usually leave the net sack feeders to
the finches. No one seems unhappy with these arrangements, in fact, the
goldfinches are more likely to scuffle for position with other
goldfinches than with house finches or pine siskins.
November 28, 2008 -
I read an article recently that said that pine siskins often go
unnoticed at bird feeders. They tend to feed with
house
and purple finches (and in my yard, lots of goldfinches). A
quick, passing glance at a group of finches chomping away at
sunflower seeds or on nyjer sacks may not be enough to distinguish
these quiet, unassuming birds.
They resemble female finches, all having varying amounts of brown
streaking (pine siskins have more streaks than the others).
Beaks are thin and sharp and definitely not finch-like. Tails
are deeply notched. The birds, themselves are slightly smaller and
more delicate looking than finches. But the best indicator is the
section of yellow feathers on the wings.
Often pine siskins visit in small groups, as they did last spring,
but a single bird may also be seen. This was the case, as we watched
yesterday. They tend to wander around and travel especially to
nyjer feeders. We have lots of those and hope to see them (or
at least one of them) again soon.
Last April I was snapping still more pictures of our numerous
goldfinches, and I noticed something different. There was a new
bird hanging from one of our nyjer sacks.
This bird, while resembling a female purple finch, had yellowy wing
tips. Wow! That tiny, pointy bill certainly wasn't a finch beak. Many photos later revealed some more yellow at the base of the tail
feathers.
I later saw five pine siskins on the nyjer sack at one time.
They stayed about one week before moving on.
