April 19, 2015 - Pine Siskins

Pine Siskins are nomadic little birds. They are found all year in southern Canada and the Rocky Mountains. In summer, some of them migrate to northwestern Canada and even into Alaska to breed. But in winter, they start to roam. They mostly go where they can find a good source of food. Some years they spread out over the whole United States. This winter, I even saw them several times during our stay in Florida.

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We’ve had as many as 50 Pine Siskins at our feeders in northern Minnesota this winter. This photo was taken about a month ago during a snow storm.

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Pine Siskins are small birds, only 5 inches long, and mostly streaked with brown. They do have varying amounts of yellow on their wings and tails.

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This Siskin has almost no yellow on its feathers.

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I tried mounting a moss-covered log near our feeders and used a few dried wildflowers to add some interesting background. Some of the birds would land there before or after getting sunflower seeds from the feeder.

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These are assertive little birds. Here’s one that was chasing another bird away. The fully spread wing gives us a good look at its yellow wing bar.

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This Siskin seems to have an injured or malformed bill.

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Here’s another Pine Siskin during that snow storm about a month ago.

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