Pine Siskins swarm the garden

Nature Notes for October 26, 2012

For several days now, my garden has been alive with Pine Siskins. There has been constant activity there tod (Oct. 23), in the rain, as between 50 and 100 birds feed furiously at the niger feeder and on black oil sunflowers seeds. Even the local chickadees could scarcely find a spot at the feeder to grab a sunflower seed.

Many have also been feeding on the ground under the feeders. Some are foraging on the seed heads of the purple coneflowers and the wild evening primrose. This latter is a rather straggly looking plant, but the seeds are very popular with finches, so I leave a few plants for them.

These small finches could be heard passing over since late September. By Thanksgiving weekend, some appeared at the feeder. Late last week, they appeared in a large numbers and have been there ever since.

Unlike last year, the siskins are coming to feeders. They were in the area last winter, but natural food was abundant so they didn’t come into gardens with feeders. This past summer’s dry weather resulted in a poor seed crop both in the boreal forest and locally. This has meant a shortage of food for the siskins, which feed primarily on seeds. Now they are taking full advantage of the seed provided in backyard feeders. The seed vanishes very quickly. One observer reports having to fill the feeders twice a day.

Pine Siskin are about the same size as the American Goldfinch, although the beak is much finer and very pointed. Their plumage is a streaky brown with a few splashes of yellow. They can be quite difficult to see against a background of leaf-covered grass.

Big flocks of Pine Siskin are being reported throughout Ontario. Some have made it to southeastern New York State. These huge flocks are unlikely to remain in Ontario. They usually continue south, although I doubt that they will find much more food further south. It was a dry summer everywhere in the east.

Along with the siskin a few other finches have been reported – American Goldfinch, Purple Finch, House Finch and, from out of town feeders, a few Evening Grosbeaks. Probably in a few weeks, the siskin will move on and be replaced by Common Redpolls. Redpolls, when they come, usually stay for the winter.

In addition to finches, there has been a noticeable movement of Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches and White-breasted Nuthatches. These species also rely on seeds for winter food.  The first indication of this irruption was back in July when Red-breasted Nuthatches could be heard in our neighbourhood in Port Hope.

In my garden, there are still a few White-throated Sparrows hanging on. Most will probably leave before winter sets in. Although none have appeared in my yard, Fox Sparrows have been reported by other observers. Dark-eyed Juncos have just arrived here in numbers during the past two weeks. Many of these will stay around for the winter.

In the country, the first American Tree Sparrows have arrived. This is a sure sign that winter will soon be here.

A new Project FeederWatch season begins on November 10. The finch movement should certainly give us something to count!