Pine Siskins!! In My Very Own Backyard!

One of the greatest things about being a new homeowner, for me as a naturalist, has been having the space and freedom to cater to the wild birds by landscaping with native plants, installing nest boxes and setting up a bird feeding station.  Now, I watch with a smile as flocks of House Finches, American and Lesser Goldfinches, and White-crowned Sparrows show up each morning to patronize my birdfeeders.  Mourning Doves clean up seed that falls to the ground, and a few Golden-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos round out the assemblage.  Yellow-rumped Warblers visit the birdbaths, while American Robins and Cedar Waxwings perch at a distance in the pecan tree.  But of course, as a birder, I always want to see more birds and new species, and occasionally, something really amazing comes along, like the Peregrine Falcon that visited last week.  I have, in the back of my mind, a list of less common birds that could someday turn up at my backyard feeders, birds that are just within the realm of possibility.  That list includes White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch, Lawrence's Goldfinch... and Pine Siskin.

Spot the siskin: the streaky brown bird at the top left of the photo is not an American Goldfinch!

Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) are essentially goldfinches in camouflage, streaky brown birds with only a hint of yellow in their wings and a penchant for thistle and sunflower seed to give away their alliance with the goldfinch tribe.  During the summer, they breed in coniferous and mixed forests of the north and west, but during the winter they range across much of North America in unpredictable patterns largely dependent on that year's cone crop.  In years of abundant cones (cones = seed = food for siskins) Pine Siskins are able to remain in the north; years of scarcity coincide with "irruption" years, causing siskins to migrate south into the central and southern parts of the continent.

In California, Pine Siskins breed in the coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada and coast, dropping down into the Central Valley only during the winter months.  And long have they eluded me!

Two Pine Siskins here: one at the top left, another at the bottom left

But lo and behold, when I checked on my feeders yesterday morning, as I do every morning, I found not one but three Pine Siskins, feeding on nyjer seed alongside a flock of a couple dozen American Goldfinches!!

Notice the Pine Siskin's thin, pointed bill and hints of yellow in the wing

Like other goldfinches, Pine Siskins are natural acrobats, clinging to weed stalks and branch tips as they feed, often hanging upside down to reach seeds, tender buds and small insects.  At backyard feeders, they are particularly fond of nyjer or "thistle" seed (which is not a thistle at all, but the seed of an African composite, Guizotia abyssinica, grown for its oil and now as a high-quality seed for wild birds) offered in specialty feeders like the one pictured.

Clinging and hanging upside down is what goldfinches do best!

Flocks of Pine Siskins move unpredictably, but hopefully my little band of winter guests has found a ready source of food to their liking and will stick around for a while!


P.S. Pardon the photo quality... these were shot through a less-than-sparkling-clean window!

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