Fw: Pine siskins

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

Tuula and Everyone,

I haven't had Pine Siskins at my feeder this year either; however, yesterday
I saw Pine Siskins on the Alta bypass road.  I was actually looking for
rosy-finches and didn't see any.  The Pine Siskins were using the tube
feeder at the house at the end of the road where we usually see the
rosy-finches.  I saw Pine Siskins again closer to the house named 'Ben
Hame', but not at the feeder.  I was along the side of the road a couple
hundred feet east of Ben Hame near a 25 mph sign and was watching activity
high above me.  I heard and saw Pine Siskins the whole time I was there.

On another note, I also heard and saw a couple Pine Grosbeaks in the same
location.  They were up to their usual tricks--alerting me to their presence
with their "Chur-di-le" warbled call note, and then dashing quickly out of a
tree and behind it so I barely got a look.  Most other birds I saw were
regulars:  Clark's Nutcrackers, Steller's Jays, Mountain Chickadees,
Red-breasted Nuthatches, and House Finches.  There may have been a
Golden-crowned Kinglet present as well, but I never got a look at the caller
that vocalized a thin, high-pitched note.

One unexpected and unusual sighting made me laugh.  As soon as I arrived I
saw a dark, round-headed bird dash out of the top of a fir and out of sight.
It was bigger than a finch and smaller than a corvid.  Shortly it teed up on
another fir, pumped its tail regularly and "Chuck-chucked" at me.  It was a
Red-winged Blackbird on a tall tree in the yard of the rosy-finch house.
Huh.

Regarding your query about the Lesser Goldfinches, I had them at my feeder
around the holidays, but haven't seen them in a couple weeks.  I've been
looking for irruptive finch species for weeks now.  I hoped a cold and snowy
winter would mean we'd have more visitors from the north, but it hasn't
happened.  Last year's mild and dry winter produced a regular noisy throng
of 30 Pine Siskins at my feeder (Sharp-shinned bait, I called them).  This
year's cold and snow hasn't produced anything yet (she types with her glass
half-full).

Kris

----- Original Message -----
From: <tuularose@juno.com>
To: <birdtalk@utahbirds.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 10:06 AM
Subject: Pine siskins


> Jack's backyard report of missing pine siskins is prompting this
> question: "Has anyone seen any at all this winter?" They have not showed
> up at my feeders in south Provo. I used to have lots last year.
> The lesser goldfinches that were here all last winter and all summer have
> been replaced with  the American variety. Is it too cold and snowy for
> the lessers this winter?
> Just wondering  ~  Tuula
>
>
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