Pine Siskins Michael Conner 12/25/13

Just curious if anyone has seen pine siskins this season. By this time last year I had seen them in various locations as well as a steady 100 or so that visited my feeder every day. This year, none. I looked at Ebird and found no listings for the last three months of 2013 in Whatcom county.

Are we to be blessed by an absence of pine siskins this winter? My birdseed bill would certainly be less. 

We were just talking about this yesterday.  None at our house.  We live between Barkley Haggen and Alabama St.  

Suzetta

Our conversation as well: anywhere here on the lower south hill.

Lynn

None here in Ferndale either.

Brian

None here on Raymond street off Lakeway 

Jo Ann

I'm pretty sure that we didn't have a single PISI on the CBC on the 15th. And still, none to report? Mighty strange, indeed.

 

Joe Meche

Chirp,

No PISI here either! 

However, the last two days I have been seeing American Goldfinch for the first time in quite a while.

They were at my feeder today, and yesterday we found a small flock by the lower Whatcom Creek tidal zone.

This photo is from yesterday.

Dear Whatcom Birders,

I don't bird Whatcom enough, but I can say that I have not seen or heard a Pine Siskin anywhere since September, including several forays into Whatcom County. There were decent numbers of them in the Upper Skagit all summer long. I did see some in Newhalem and thereabouts last spring. The last Pine Siskin that I saw was a lingering individual at my feeder near Lyman on September 11.

Bob Kuntz and I tallied 497 Pine Siskins in the Tennant Lake area of the Bellingham CBC in 2012. We had zero in that area this year. I don't think there were any found anywhere on the North Cascades CBC, either. That count includes Diablo and Newhalem.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

I reported seeing them at my bird feeder on October 18th. None since. Nancy

It seems Pine Siskins are very patchy and with out good numbers i would say at least every  third year they do not show or show in the new year at my work feeders below squailicum high school.

None Yet .

Evening grosbeaks came through earlier an i have heard some reports of a flock (s) North Bellingham.

Also had a Ruffed Grouse drumming yesterday- seemed odd.

Fredrick R. Sears

On the Whistler, CBC they had a count of 900+ Pine Siskins. Yes, Whistler is a long way from Whatcom County, but it is good to know that there are numbers of them somewhere. Must be plenty of food for them in the North this year.

Andrea Warner

Likewise, I haven't seen any Pine Siskins my way either.

Barry Ulman

For everyone in Siskin withdrawal, please let it be known the species still
exists. Dick McNeely, Herb, and I had three at a feeder in LaConner
yesterday on the Skagit CBC. We agreed that with 18 Western Meadowlarks,
they were the birds of the day in our area.

Cheers,
Joe Mackie

I remember one winter when Pine Siskins were absent until January, then they showed up in good numbers. So maybe . . . . .

Barry Ulman