Hi all, new member here, and passionate bird lover. My question concerns siskin behaviour.
Around late March and early April, we began to see a few siskins on our feeders. Originating from a city suburb and now living in Herefordshire, I’ve never seen these birds before so i was excited to add a new species to my list. Anyhow, following a week or so, these birds grew in number. I counted around 25 of these birds on one particular day, some on the feeders but most of them on the ground hoovering up the seed that was dropped from the other birds. Unfortunately, this spectacle was short lived, only lasting for several weeks before they all disappeared, which leads me to my question: is this typical behaviour for siskins and that we may see them the same time next year, or was their presence just a one-off?
Best wishes,
Mitch
Yes, typical. Not had them at all the last year or so. Previous years, it's been every late Winter/early Spring. Migrants that stumbled onto a food source. Stuck around until it was time to migrate, or at least, head back to breeding grounds. For many areas of England, they're non-breeders, incl Midlands I believe.
Thanks for your swift reply, pardon the pun. Your use of the word stumble suggests we were lucky to have them. I do hope our location is buried in their memory and we see them again next year.
Their populations did increase in the relatively recent past. One success story amongst many bird population declines. Lucky to some extent. Same goes for redpolls, certainly in this area. Not seen them much in the last two or three Winters. Before that, it was every Winter. Just need to have them passing through this area of the village rather than up or down the road! If your area has plenty of alders, you should have every chance of seeing them again next Winter/Spring.
Fingers crossed. We’ll certainly keep the feeders well stocked.