Ed Coleman submitted this report about Pine Siskins. I also had a gang of them at my place, pigging out on sunflower seeds.
What a treat. About a week before
Halloween, a flock of about 20 or so Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) arrived in my yard and
stayed for about 10 days. Normal range for Pine Siskins is Canada and
to a lesser extent northern
US states and the higher elevations of the western and northeastern
states. However, during the fall and winter seasons, small nomadic
flocks of Pine Siskins make
unpredictable movements called irruptions into southern and eastern
North America in search of food, migrating from one seed crop to
another.
As their name may
suggest, Pine Siskins prefer conifer cone seeds and can be observed
clinging to the ends of conifer branches, even upside down, to feed on
cone seeds. Forging in very tight flocks, Pine Siskins
are gregarious and can dominate back-yard feeders when small seeds such
as thistle, nyjer, millet or shelled sunflowers are available.
So why
did they stop in my yard? Well, turns out these little birds were
feasting on the seeds of sweet gum balls, which
are released around this time of year. As with conifer cones, these
acrobats clung to the sweet gum balls to feed. While I really enjoyed having them around, I’m not sure if I was
more excited about observing the Pine Siskins or finally learning that
there is a beneficial use for sweet gum balls.
Photo by Ed Coleman
Nice!
ReplyDelete