i haven't seen any pine siskins here in seattle yet, but i do have a couple species that tend to come in flocks. i came up with a good way of counting them this year, and i'd recommend it to anyone who gets large numbers of birds (pine siskins or otherwise)

i used my digital camera to take pictures of my feeders during my bird-watching period, and when i was done watching, i put the pics on my computer and by looking at them it was much easier to get an exact maximum number for each species.

I counted 9 yesterday and 18 today. It is so hard to count them because they come in large flocks with goldfinches mixed in. I took pictures but they aren't good enough for the contest. I may submit them anyway, just to show that I know what I'm talking about. I see the scorekeepers are reluctant to post my counts. Is there a place to post pictures without entering them in the contest?

PS I'm from near the coast in SC. couning 9 yesterday and 18 today.

Also SC coast I have loads of American Gold Finches and the bird I can't identidfy is either a Pine Siskin or a golden crowned kinglest. All mixed in one flock.

I'm sure I am seeing Pine Siskins. I posted about it on my blog and included a picture that shows a few in a seed dish along with one American Goldfinch. The link to this post on my blog is http://queenbjan.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/great-backyard-bird-count/

Janice Green

Here in SE Vermont, I've seen many siskins this year, and had only seen them rarely in prior years. I counted 8 at most during the GBBC but I am sure there are many more in my yard... I just can't see them all at once! It seems to me there are fewer goldfinch than in other years...

I am excited about the two red-bellied woodpeckers I have been seeing... one male, one female...

I was not able to count a Carolina Wren here during the GBBC but have seen one off and on all winter...

I have seen no redpolls this year... but I see they are in Vermont, just not in my neighborhood!

I live in the northeast corner of Nebr. (Hoskins) I also encountered the scorekeeper with my goldfinches.I had over 100 at my feeder locations. Best to take a photo, as it is easier to count them.

My husband and I were doing the GBBC several miles from our home in Mechanicsburg, PA on Sat., 02/14/09. As most of the more senior birders in our area know, we do not own a camera (broken) nor a cell phone. Yet, we, eagerly posted this rare find anyway. We asked for anyone to confirm the sighting via PA Birder email network. To out GREAT relief, one of the senior birders confirmed it. We are thrilled and hope many others will get to see this rare find. It was the Swarovski of birds for us.

Today is April 24th and I was actually looking for a way to rid my feeders of pine siskens, when I saw your comment. I live in Pottsville, Pa. I thought the pine siskens would be gone by now! They are agressively chasing away the other small songbirds from my feeders. Any suggestions? Kathy L.

i have had dozens of goldfinch at my feeders for several years . this year, the siskins have taken over, they chase the goldfinch away. Is there any thing t can do?

Has anyone responded how to encourage the Gold Finch to return?

This won't impress you but we either have a heck of a lot of pine siskins or as my survey says golden crowned kinglets. The bird in question is smaller than the American Gold Finch.

According to my field guide, the Pine Sisken has many brown streaks going from its neck and down its breast. More are on it's back. The wings have a yellow band that is more noticeable when the wings are spread. I have taken a picture and posted it to my blog. Please let me know if I have mis-identified these Pine Siskens.

J Green

The pine siskins are just a little smaller than the goldfinch. If you can see the back they will have a small yellow strip

Sorry I did not put my area it Hoskins Nebraska.

Today I had a conservative 60 Pine Siskins at my feeders with a few Gold Finches mixed in. It's a repeat of 3 or 4 years ago, but this year I took pictures of the two large concentrations at feeders about 20 feet apart. They have been here for two weeks and I expect to have them back tomorrow. Interesting how the Gold Finches mix and travel with them. I look for heavy streaking and the small patches of yellow to ID the Siskins.

Yes, and I have two EURASIAN SISKINS at my feeders in Harrisville, MI.

Upstate NY Saratoga County checking in with lots of siskins! Daily counts from western Saratoga County on http://wildbirdsunlimited.typepad.com/

is our high count here in Upper Black Eddy Pa. near Van Sant. airport. Initially there were only two siskins at our numerous feeders back in Dec. Their numbers then seemed to grow exponentially, usually peaking prior to, or during, a storm. Still seeing at least a hundred at a time now on the colder days.

This was the first year pine siskins noted at my urban feeder, in Utica, New York, up to four at a time. None have been seen during the actual bird count, though maybe yet today or tomorrow.

I live in Bennington, Vermont. Friday morning I counted 130 pine siskins (conservative count) at my feeders and in the surrounding trees--most were sitting in a couple of tree tops so they were easy to count. On Saturday morning, I counted 103 siskins, but there were probably closer to 150 birds. Unlike the day before, however, they were scattered in more trees, so I could not get a good count.

I have been getting lots of pine siskins this month in Ramsey, NJ (NE section of state). They are attracted to the feeder with nyjer seed and a nut blend. We have as many as 7 or 8 at a time. No large groups yet. They mix with goldfinches, but are less shy.

My husband and I were wondering why the thistle seed we put out for the goldfinches was disappearing so fast this year. We've had to fill the feeder every other day. While I was watching the feeder for the birdcount, I realized that all of the "goldfinches" I was watching were not goldfinches - they were pine siskins. Ths siskins get a little testy with the goldfinches, but they do both feed on the same feeder at the same time.

Sorry - forgot to put my location in the above.

Greeting from Mellen, Wisconsin: I have never witnessed so many pine siskins as this year...literally hundreds show up at my feeders each day. I have done my best to make an accurate count using photos --- I am estimating I have 50 to 75 on any given day. I love the little rascals

Jeff Peters, ECHO publisher

www.echopressonline.com

I had never seen Siskins before. My neighboor and I have estimated on a particular day, in december, over (300 and maybe more) just in our backyard. I to have from 50 to 100 daily. I took a lot of pictures and posted some on my website: photos.demikael.com and check out the months of December and January on the left side menu.

Michel Rondeau, Sherbrooke, Quebec

Here on Long Island I have had pine siskins SWARMING my feeders for days now. They are unbelievably tame, allowing me to stand a foot away on the other side of the window, even staying put while I inched the door open and put my hand out towards them. Unbelievable!

A note from Upper Black Eddy Pa: If you,patiently, hold on to your cylindical nyger/thistle feeder,with your arm outstretched, they will land all over you. I had one in my hand, two on my arm, one on my hatted head and another tried to land on my glasses! I get the impression they don't see too many humans up in their vast boreal forest empire!

I noticed they were very tame also... in Southeastern Vermont. I can walk right up to the feeder and watch them closely...

With all the siskins being observed, be on the lookout for FEMALE EURASIAN SISKINS. Male Eurasians are different from male Pinies, but females Eurasians can look similiar to Pine Siskins. On female Eurasians, look for bright yellow and wide wing bars and scapulars and a general wash of yellow on body especially between the streaks. The ear patch and eyebrow will be yellow, not gray or dark as in the Pines. Also, the undertail coverts on Eurasian is white, not yellow. The breast and throat will be clear of streaks on the Eurasians. There is a report from Michigan of 2 Eurasians. Are there more?

I too have been "gifted" with many Pinies! They have been here at my feeders daily since December. Mingling with the Gold Finch and perching in the tree tops. Getting along just fine with 2 Downies and a Red Breasted Woodpecker that visit a few times each day, and the other assortment of "feeder" birds. I thought I lost them when a Sharp Shinned Hawk made a visit the 1st day of the count, but they were back in force on the 2nd day! Waywayanda State Park is my backyard in Hewitt NJ, amazing place to live!

I guess that everybody must have all the siskins that were destined for my house, because I've only had one coming to the thistle feeder. I'm not sure if my location might have something to do with it, ( I live across the street from a large suburban town park with mountains going west to east no more than half a mile away) or if more of my neighbors are feeding the birds than before and they are going to their feeders. Just to note, great comments from everybody all over the country. Glad to be reading about birds I've never even heard of before, which I would assume are European and Asian species.

Ricki Soucy, Meriden, CT

to attract mega numbers of siskins is to create large feeding areas. For examp., we provide a six foot diameter wooden feeding platform and cover it with nyger,b.o.sunflower and millet. In addition, we have two 100 sq. ft. ground feeding areas and multiple "thistle feeders". The real issue then becomes...keeping up with the "frenzy"! It's beautiful! -upper black eddy pa

I live in Yardley, PA and have been feeding birds for 16 years here. I have NEVER seen Siskins at my feeders until this year, and now after reading this blog I know why. I have only seen two at a time but they love my thistle and seem to gladly share it with the Goldfinches.

I have many Pine Siskins this year including a green-morphed Pine Siskin. It is larger than a regular pine and is greenish overall. It also has much more yellow below and above it's tail. In flight it shows much more yellow in the wings and tail than regular pine. Location northern lower MI.

We have had 30 or more at our Thistle feeders with more at the sunflower feeder and regular bird seed feeders. They have caused there to be less Red Polls and American Goldfinches. We have no mor then 1 or 2 or them at any time. We have had up to 5 Blue Jays this winter, 3 Downys,up to 5 House Finches and some House Sparrows with an occational White Brsted Nuthatch and Chickadee. I have nt been able t do a regular count this year but I feed and seethe birds come daily. We have had s much snow this winter tha I do not have a good view of he feeders so that I can count.

Norma in North Dakota

We have had 30 or more at our Thistle feeders with more at the sunflower feeder and regular bird seed feeders. They have caused there to be less Red Polls and American Goldfinches. We have no more then 1 or 2 or them at any time. We have had up to 5 Blue Jays this winter, 3 Downys, up to 5 House Finches and some House Sparrows with an occational White Breasted Nuthatch and Black Cap Chickadee. I have not been able to do a regular count this year but I feed and see the birds come daily. We have had s much snow this winter that I do not have a good view of he feeders that I need so that I can do a count.

From Bowdon, North Dakota

I noticed the increase in pine siskens weeks ago. I live in a suburban area (ellicott city) of maryland fairly near some rural areas. I'd occassionally see one or two, but this year they've really invaded my feeders. So, I was pleased to see the data and comments confirming this invasion. Any theories as to why? I know the east coast especially north of the mid atlantinc, is losing a lot of it's pine trees to some disease. Mid atlantic started to get the disease around summer too. I wonder if this has somehow changed the food supply and hence the reason the siskens have invaded our feeders. Can't even rely on the upside down feeders to take care of my goldfinch as the siskens can eat upside down too!

I had a large flock of Pine Siskins move in back in December. Counted 143 on the deck railing, deck floor and the six thistle feeders. Though I was happy to see so many grace my feeders, they were eating me out of house and home! It was a relief when they moved on and my regulars has free access again.

Three weeks ago, the Redpolls moved in and this flock dwarfs the Pinies. I counted 186 on the feeders, deck railing and deck floor. There were as many more on the ground under the deck and in the woods around the piles where I toss swept up seeds. I did send a picture of the deck railing/feeders to the photo contest, not to enter as much as to show I am not kidding. I am going through almost 50 pounds of thistle a week, spreading fresh seed along the deck three times a day. This is definitely a case of put it and they will come.

Counted a couple of Hoaries amongst the flock.

I am in central Minnesota.

Happy birding all.

I have alot of Pine Siskins in Falls Creek Pa. my thistle feeders are taking a big hit.B.G.

It was insane in my back yard. I have never noted any in previous years, but counted at least 65 this morning in a 50 x 75 foot back yard (in NW NEw Jersey). Could have been many more, but I only counted until they got spooked and whooshed away.

Here in River Falls, Wisconsin I have seen a very large "explosion" of Pine Siskins and even larger numbers of Common Redpolls this winter. My initial reaction was that this must be the result of a large irruption in our area this year. I still attribute most of this to this reason but I am also providing much more "finch" type food this year than I have in the past.

I have always provided an elevated tray feeder for sunflowers and a hanging mesh bag for thistle seed plus a suet feeder. This year I added to hanging tube feeders with a finch mix that includes thistle seed, sunflower chips and millet. A few weeks ago I had a mixture of Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, and Common Redpolls that numbered about 125 birds. Most of these on the ground feeding, others on the feeders. It has been quite an experience seeing all these this year. The last time I had a Common Redpoll in my yard was in January 2005 and Pine Siskins in 2004.

I started seeing them in my yard, in the vicinity of Savannah, Georgia, in the middle of January. This was a week after I first saw goldfinches here. The highest count I had during the GBBC was 7, but I may have seen a few more than that at once earlier. I never saw them last year, but I didn't have a feeder out then to draw them, and didn't have goldfinches around then either. Now that the siskins and goldfinches have been coming to my feeder, along with the birds that have been around longer--chipping sparrows, house finches, and the occasional Carolina wren or brown-headed nuthatch--it turns into a real battle sometimes in the mornings. I think I could use another feeder.

I live in the country in western nebraska. I turned in a (conservative) count of 172 pine siskins. The ground literally moves when they are at the feeders and on the ground. My husband says i have undercounted by quite a bit. The flock is massive and impressive. I turned my count in, but it has yet to show up on the board. I also have over 70 pinyon jays that stay here year round and their count hasnt shown on the board either.

This is the first year I have seen the pine siskins. Mt Pleasant,NC

Comparing the 2008 vs. 2009 maps, the difference is astounding! Checking the count for my locality, there are 10 times (10 TIMES!) the number of birds reported from last year.

I do not recall ever seeing these birds around in past years. It is possible that I had confused them with Goldfinch, however. But this year there can be no mistake. We have had a flock of around 15-20 birds at our house for over a month now.

The two Eurasian Siskins are still being observed at 5452 Pine Street in Harrisville, MI., AS OF 02/19. Please park in driveway next to feeders 9 AM - 11 AM or 1pm - 3 PM. Thank You.

-Palmyra, VA: I have Pine Siskins galore since Christmas. They tend to empty my sunflower chips feeder daily!! Keep an eye out - the other day a few yellow-rumped warblers were in the "pack" on my deck. Fun!

Have not seen a Pine Sisken in Torrington, CT in the last 4yrs.. have between 60 to 120 per day...best thing, they have driven away my resident hawk! They would circle him every day until he left, he seems to be gone for good now...I will miss the Siskens when they leave...

This year I've had at least 50, or more, at my feeders everyday all winter. They were also here this summer. I've never had so many at my feeders before.

Today I got pictures of a female Pine Groesbeak, at least I think that is what it is.

I also have lots of Purple Finches, Common Redpolls, Woodpeckers, even a Red-Bellied Woodpecker (unusual sighting for around here). This summer I had a lot of various baby birds from Larks, Cardinals, Doves, and Grosbeaks to the smaller birds. Big Year for birds around here!

D Key

About 800 Pine Siskin showed up off of Lake Huron on a Northeaster and I got 130 of them coming to my feeder since last November. I have fed them 110 pounds of thistle seed. I calculate that I will need another 50 pounds if they stay through March. They have pushed out the 90 American Goldfinch I had in November. I see only 3-6 now. Also, I had 6 Common Redpoll in December, but only one for Jan-Feb..The only bird that seems to muscle them off are the American Tree sparrows.

We have a large amount of Pine Siskins this year. We don't have but maybe 20 a year. this year for weeks now well over 200 in our yard and trees most of the day. We are using a large amount of food. They are tame and will come right up to your hands. Sounds so good out side.

We love having all them here at Alpine Lake in WV. The first year for much over 20 for the 16 years we have watched birds here. Eating lots of food each day. But the sound is great. We have well over 200 in the trees and yard. Have had them since in December. Hope they stay for a while longer. The ground moves with them.

We have 100 plus in the back yard on any given day. They are eating us out of house and home, but we don't mind. They are a welcome guest to our feeders and we will miss them when they are gone.

I've had 2 at my thistle feeder and/or sock for a month now. I'm surprised I haven't seen more considering.

Janet in Gaithersburg MD

We have had a nice flock of both Pine Siskins and Goldfinches at our feeders in North central PA all winter. In the last couple of days the Goldfinches have all left. The Pine Siskins are still here, though they have diminished in number. The weather is still quite cold - where have the Goldfinches gone? Today is March 2, 2009

We've had feeders for years and have been extremely successful in attracting all kinds of birds, little to large. This is the first we've ever had pine siskins. While they're better than grackles, they're quite little piggies. They have all but depleted our goldfinches, our favorite birds because they are the least aggressive towards the other birds we have, and they are oh so dainty eaters. We've found the siskins, on the other hand, to be not only abundant, but far more aggressive at our feeders (niger, sunflower chips, suet and safflower seeds). We're hoping they go back north so we can have our cheery little goldfinches back. They've been pushed out by the siskins.

From Torrington, CT....have roughly 200 siskins between my feeders and my neighbors daily for close to 2 months...the siskins are all of a sudden becoming sick,was 1 every other day, now about 3 per day...I am washing out my feeders weekly....the sick birds are plumping up, aggressive towards other bids, staying behind until dusk...is anyone else seeing this? did have 1 goldfinch sick also...very concerned....

I am from Springs, Pa. and have had a flock of appx. 200. Recently I have noticed the exact symtoms although i haven't found any dead ones yet.

Because the feeders are in the NE part of the U.S., I would think the feed you are using may contain slight traces of insectside. I remember back aways when we had a feed elevator in town that had accidently spilled what they thought was a very low concentration of bug killer on a conveyor belt that helped process the bird feed. What they did not realize how a bird can die with the smallest of a dose. I would suggest you ask the seed seller where the seed came from and see if there are more complaints to that seed store or where it came from.

I live in central Virginia and have been inundated with Pine Siskins this winter. Have had about 150 daily but now the number seems to be dropping.

In the last week, we have had three sick ones with the same symptoms as mentioned above. I read that possibly it is salmonella growing on wet seed. I Googled "Sick Pine Siskins" and it was in the first article from CT wildlife. And we have had a lot of rain and therefore wet seed. Will monitor seed better!

I read yesterday that salmonella can kill off lots of finches and siskins, resulting in such symptoms. Google it to find more.

This year is our first influx of pine siskins - don't think I've ever seen them before. They are increasing daily - current flock is maybe somewhere between 20-30 and seem to be driving away our other birds (chickadees, juncos, goldfinches). I'll be pretty happy to see them leave, frankly. Also, no one has mentioned what aggressive little things they are - to each other.

I live in Auburn, Kansas (near Topeka), and there are at least 20 pine siskins sharing niger seed with the goldfinches. I always have lots of goldfinches, but this year the siskins far outnumber the goldfinches. This is the first year I've seen them and I've lived in this house for almost 4 years.

This is my first year (of 6) in north Georgia where the siskins have invaded my feeders much to my delight. The only problem is that I'm finding them dead or injured quite frequently. Is this common because of the high numbers of birds or is it something else?

More likely you have the siskins hitting your window when they become frightened by noise. The higher the number of birds at a feeder, more likely they are to hit the windows. Keep feeders a minimum of 30 feet from any window. Decals help, too.

According to The Audobon Sosiety the sick siskins are likely victims of a solmanela virus. You should clean your feeders and evean take them down so the birds will disperse. They can transmit this to one another and is particually bad with gregarious birds such as siskins.

Decals on windows don't help birds that thinkt he window is not there. Around the decal, the birds can still see the relection of the sky. You need to remove the reflection all together. Google CollidEscape. I used this on a window that was a problem, and not only does this product cut down on the UV that enters my window, you can see outside with no problem and I have not had one bird strike since I put it up. Its fabulous for the birds.

I am getting eaten out of house and home by these little guys!!

I would say I have at least 30 Siskins daily at my feeders in Mass.

Over the past few weeks I found a dead pine siskin here and there in my yard. The last two days I have had two and two that don't look well at the feeder. I have read on-line about flocks of these types of birds spreading Somonella to each other through dirty feeders (I have a wooden one and lots of built up seed on the ground). Be sure to clean your feeders and keep the ground raked. I wish I had. Nothing is worse then watching a little bird dye and knowing I was responsible.

Here in central New Jersey we've gone through two 50lb sacks of niger for the first time this winter. And forget the feeders

we're just scattering on the ground to keep the fights down. In January and February, there was a flock of at least 30-35 every morning. The crowds are starting to dwindle now. Hope they have a good flight home!

I have been (what I thought was) diligent about cleaning the seeds on the ground all winter and even into spring but I have had maybe 6 or 8 dead siskins since january... compared with the flock of 100 that hung out here is SOuthern NH, I thought a few were bound to die, but when I read the symptoms of Salmonellosis, I knew that's what these birds had. Lethargy, not with flock, hung out by foundation of house, one flew into our garage. I hate to think my not cleaning the feeders appropriately caused this, but I will clean them better from now on. Some seed on the bottom of the tube feeder was a bit mold. Poor things were just trying to survive. I pulled all my feeders (except suet and mealworm) for a week and will clean them thoroughly.

I have been feeding a large flock of pine siskins this winter and have noticed that they don't fly away when I go out to fill up the feeder. Some even sit 6 inches from me while I do this. Are they normally this calm and people freindly. For a while I thought something was really wrong with them but many of them act this way. Are they considered people friendly?

Siskins are not use to people because they come from so far north in the upper reaches of Canada. So they have no fear of humans. If they are "flightly", there may be a hawk or shrike around. Otherwise, they will wait for you to feed them and I have had them land on my hat, back of hands, and even on my small pet dog, Gorga.

I have been feeding Pine Siskens daily since they first arrived at my home on the boarder of Waywayanda park in November. The flock numbers from around 200 to 500, feeding with (12) 2' long sock feeders, at the height I was using 30 pounds of Thistle a week. As of today I am down to 10 pounds this week. With so many of them it has attracted a pair of Coopers Hawks that are feasting on them

I first noticed a pine siskin in San Francisco about two weeks ago and then last week there were four on my thistle feeder one day.

After having 130 Pine Siskins arrive in November at my feeders, including two Eurasian Siskins, I now as of 03/25, have less than 12 coming to the feeders for the last week. I now have an influx of American Tree sparrows that have arrived heading North. The American Goldfinches have also begun to come back to feed. I have had 26 species of birds at my feeders this past winter.

Around Feb. 20-22 I was in Port Jefferson, Long Island at a job site when I noticed several "goldfinches" in nearby treetops, or at least I thought I did. I was busy working and had glanced up for a few seconds when I spotted a few individuals that one would typically associate almost instantly with goldfinches (it was clear and the Sun was more or less directly in my line of sight). I turned back to finish what I was doing when I heard that unmistakable upward inflected song of the siskin from those birds. I didn't second-guess what I heard since it's a unique vocalization, but forgot about it afterward and was not aware they were known to irrupt until I happened to check today. Interesting.

It turns out I also wasn't aware they would overwinter on LI! The lesson here is that it's good to keep the field guide handy.

I'm in northern Lower Michigan and there are just swarms and swarms of pine siskins--it used to be silent in winter, now it sounds like a jungle every day. I can't count how many there are--too many.

I'm wondering when/if they start to head back north for the spring? I've never seen a pine siskin before in my life and it's been interesting, but they're eating the native chickadees and nuthatches--and me--out of house and home. I wouldn't mind a few of them, but this is crazy.

A MALE EURASIAN SISKIN HAS NOW SHOWN UP AT MY FEEDER WITH THE FEMALE AT 5452 PINE ST, HARRISVILLE, MI. IT HAS A BLACK CAP AND BLACK AROUND BEAK. THE FACE, THROAT, AND BREST ARE YELLOW. THE BODY IS YELLOW WITH BLACK STRIPES. AND IT HAS YELLOW WING BARS. I HAVE HAD 2 FEMALES, BUT ONE MIGHT HAVE LEFT, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT OBSERVED IT SINCE LAST WEEK. I HAVE 12-15 REGULAR PINE SISKINS STILL HERE. REPORTS HAVE BEEN SENT TO MBRC. FRANK APSEY.

The Male Eurasian Siskin that had shown up on April 01 at my feeders has not been seen since. On April 8th, the female Eurasian Siskin and the other regular siskins left the area. The other female Eurasian Siskin left a couple of weeks ago. I now have 22 American Tree Sparrow and 8 Dark-eyed Junco feeding here. A Song Sparrow has shown up yesterday, too. The American Goldfinch have also begun to return. I usually leave my feeders up to April 15th. I have had 140 pounds of thistle used up since November 01. Frank Apsey, Harrisville, MI.

I still have over 40 siskins working my feeders over(down from the 200+ I had earlier)here in Springs, Pa. and few other birds

The Eurasian Siskin (male) that was reported the first week of April, has now flown over to 420 Third Steet, Harrisville from 5452 Pine Street. No females have been observed. There are still about six Pine Siskins in the area as of 27 April.

The Eurasian Siskin has not been observed since Monday tne 27th of April. As of 8PM April 30, there still are 15 Pine Siskins in the area (Harrisville, MI).

I still have about 35 siskins at my feeders gere in Springs, Pa. Does anyone else have any?

I still have 3 Pine Siskins at my feeders in Harrisville, MI., as of May 17.

It seems that the last mob of siskins has finally departed Springs,Pa..Although I still have at least two. Haven't seen the 30 plus that were left for two days now. Considering a new car now that I'll be saveing all that money on feed. It's been fun! Who will it be next year? Maybe the grosbeaks will be back after several years of absense. We'll see.

Finally, the siskins have left my feeders in Harrisville, MI., on or about June 2nd.

Its July 5th and theres still three siskins here in Springs,Pa. Guess they couldn't give up a good thing.

Still have four siskins here in Springs,Pa. as of 8/3/09. Just thought I'd keep the Siskin saga going.