Pine Siskins Irrupting All Over North Carolina
January 12th, 2009 · 5 Comments
The pine siskins are here at last! Dozens of them at a time overtake the thistle socks and the Ultimate Platform Feeder, crowding in there with just as many American goldfinches. I’d almost given up hope on seeing these guys. Birders across the state have been reporting them on the various bird lists, but it wasn’t till last weekend that siskins arrived in my yard in force. Interestingly, the juncos seem to have moved out as the siskins moved in. It’s been a pretty light year for juncos anyway, and they only make themselves known to us when the temps dip below 30 (which, btw, is happening far too often this winter!).
Besides the low junco count, other notable absences this year include white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches (although the latter was last winter’s irruptive treat). Also lots of woodpeckers, but fewer sapsuckers than last winter. We do have an abundance of natural food in the area, including a bumper berry crop, which might explain the lower counts. Siskins are the big show. The ever-informative Hilton Pond posted some fantastic close-up siskin photos and offers more useful info about them than I ever could. If you’re interested in these little birds, do check it out.
Tags: Pine Siskin
5 responses so far ↓
1 Carla // Jan 17, 2009 at 12:15 am
I love Hilton Pond but “Wash all your seed feeders inside and out each week with a 10% solution of chlorine bleach”?!!!
2 Iris // Jan 17, 2009 at 8:41 am
Yeah, some birders have rigorous feeder-cleaning regimens, and then there are the rest of us. One of my feeding areas is a stump, and I’m not washing a stump. I wash the hummingbird feeders regularly, and occasionally spray down the Ultimate Platform Feeder if I think of it. But I also don’t use fancy feeders with lots of nooks and crannies where gunk can build up.
It’s kind of like expensive organic dog food with “no animal by-products” and whatnot. Tito eats his own poop, so I think he’ll do fine with plain old Iams. Keep it simple.
3 David in Greensboro // Jan 17, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I was just writing a post about the Pine Siskins at my feeders and said, “If anybody else has seen them, it’ll be Iris. ” It’s been frigid, but a great time for seeing unusual birds!
4 Mary // Jan 17, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Iris, the Siskins have been here for a week. That’s unusual! I might have about a dozen but they are very busy. Very pretty, too.
5 Natalie // Jan 29, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I was just researching this bird a bit when I came across your blog post. I have a new house so am unfamiliar with the patterns for my area (Durham, NC) but I can’t get over these Pine Siskins! I’m estimating a minimum of 50 birds but I’m not too skilled in counting large flocks and there are house & gold finches mixed in. I have two very large sock feeders which I’ve counted up to 14 of these birds on at a time and they swarm the ground below and a tree nearby. They drained these large sock feeders in a matter of days and have to admit, having Siskins appear to be an expensive habit! They started coming sometime around Christmas.
I do think my other visitors shy away when the big flock moves in. But my cats go completely nuts looking out the window.
I took a little video, it doesn’t even do justice to the amount we have:
http://gallery.mac.com/natalieflowers#100108