Yard Critter of the Week - Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin.

A northern relative of our resident American Goldfinch (one of which can be seen in part at the lower left corner in the above image), Siskin are winter visitors to these parts. This week had a mixed flock of thirty plus birds, with at least a dozen of these visitors.

And as you might imagine, they made quick work of our thistle feeders, a preferred food.

This is our fourth winter here at Piney Place, and we've had Pine Siskin at our feeders for each. Although this year they seem to have arrived a bit later. In December it seemed our thistle feeders would stay full for weeks, now they can be empty in a day.

But soon enough they'll be headed back north, although they have been known to breed well south of their usual grounds should a dependable food source be available. Alas, it seems our feeders are not dependable enough. Or perhaps there is just too much competition from the Goldfinch. It would be cool to add them to a yard breeder list. Maybe we need a bigger feeder ...

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.