New bird

[digi-birder]

Keith has just looked out of the back bedroom window and shouted "What's that?" he came and dragged me away from the computer and ran and fetched the binoculars.

It's a Siskin. The first one ever in our garden, that we've seen anyway. We recently added a red string nut feeder as well as the plastic and mesh tubes we already have scattered around. It was that one that it was feeding from. Perhaps this type of feeder is preferable to them.

We have the usual Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Starlings, Greenfinches, Sparrows (yes we do have a few), Blue Tits, Great Tits and loads of Goldfinches, but now we can add Siskin to the list.

We are in a very built-up part of Rotherham with quite a small garden, so it will be wonderful if he/she goes back and brings a few more next time.

[Tammie]

Enjoy the sighting Diane. I wonder if your siskins are the same as the kind I get here?

[digi-birder]

Tammie,

I just checked in my very old (1988) National Geographic Birds of North America and our Collins Bird Guide and the Eurasian Siskin, which is what we get here, is very similar to the Pine Siskin, as far as I can tell with the different illustrative styles of the two books.

The Eurasian Siskin's Latin name is Carduelis spinus and the Pine Siskin is Carduelis pinus, so they are obviously related.

[Gaye Horn]

Elaine I would be interested in knowing what these Eurasian Siskins are like with other birds feeding. We have siskins here and they are so territorial over the feeders that they actually fight to keep it to themselves. They fight each other as well!

[Nina P]

Digi birder, had my first siskins a fortnight ago, and down here they herald winter weather from the east, and the cluster of them came in stayed for about a week and have now vanished, the thing is that I have tried to encourage them with red bags, red on feeders, and as fast as I can put the red bags on the, dreaded tree rats ( squirrels) shred them and make me mad. You can imagine my surprise when they turned up on my bird table, no red items to intice them, they just appeared. NinaP

[digi-birder]

Gaye - there were no other birds trying to get to the same feeder and the single bird was there ages, flitting to the ground, where there was a Dunnock gathering up all the spillage from the feeders, and then back up to the feeder again. BTW - I'm Diane ;)

Nina - there must be an influx as someone nearby told me that they had quite a flock in their garden this week and they'd never had them before. Keith just said that this is exactly why he'd purchased the red bag - to encourage the Siskins. Fortunately, we don't get squirrels in the garden - they stay in the park round the corner.

[Common2412]

We too had a male and female siskin in the garden today, the first for about a year. I guess they are on the move from their winter to summer residence.

Steve

[Doug]

Hello from Sheffield again Diane. We had a single Siskin in our Garden just once last year but over the last fortnight we have had 3 females and 2 males. I read that they come into gardens now due to a shortage of their natural food in pine woodlands so I suppose we have to enjoy them while we have them. I haven't witnessed them being overly territorial - we have a small gand of Goldfinches and they seem to hang out together a bit and will happily feed together - in fact they seem wary of the Greenfinches and Sparrows we have. They have homed in on our sunflower kernel feeder and sit stuffing themselves while taking in the view - delightful!!

[jayhunter]

We have had a pair for the last six weeks here in Cheshire. They are feeding on the normal metal peanut feeder (green). First I have seen in fifteen years but maybe because my wife was made redundant last year and now a home bird! It was her who spotted them and rang me at work, I notice the Greenfinches see them off. The male is really pretty and him and the female feed well together they will allow blue tits on at the same time.

[digi-birder]

We think that one was a female, but it did not appear to return (as far as we can tell anyway, not being able to stand at the kitchen window all week, unfortunately). However, this weekend another one appeared and it was definitely a male as it had a black crown.

It happily fed for quite some time along with the Goldfinches (about 20) and Greenfinches. Again, this one has not been seen since, but I suppose it, or others, may have been around while we've been working. Lovely to see them though.