Backyard Birding: Pine Siskins

by Judy Brinkerhoff

The last forty-five days have brought small birds to my black-sunflower feeder in droves. I could hear them twittering in the early morning just as it began to turn light. When I would leave for work at 7:30, they could be seen moving in the trees. The oaks, bare of their leaves, seemed to be alive as the birds shifted positions and prepared to move onto my freshly-filled feeder.

The first weekend that I was home, I watched the amazing spectacle of the birds hanging in clusters, like grapes, all over the feeder. And I was able to finally identify them: House Finches, American Goldfinches, Golden-crowned Sparrows, but mostly Pine Siskins, all of them in their rather drab winter coats. The nuthatches and titmice waited in the background for their turns at sunflowers seeds. More than a quart of seeds was gone by noon, so no wonder it was empty by evening! The flock seemed to be composed of about two-hundred birds. They were eating two quarts of seeds a day, but now, suddenly, in mid-February, more than half of them have vanished. I assume they've moved along to breeding grounds in the north, although some siskins do stay here year-round.

The Pine Siskin is rather plain-looking, streaky-brown. Its relationship to goldfinches is revealed when it flies or moves its wings. Then a flash of bright yellow feathers is seen at the base of the tail and on the wings. Its beak has a short, seed-eating appearance, similar to other finches, but perhaps thinner. Since it travels in groups of other plain, brown-streaked female House Finches, winter-drab American Goldfinches, and Golden-crowned Sparrow females, the overall effect can be one of a group of dull brown birds. Look closer, however. You may be as delighted as I was.