The Winter of the Siskins

Winter days are days for bird watching from the comfort of a warm recliner. We have well over a dozen feeders up each year; thistle, black oil sunflower seeds, mixed grain and suet cakes attract a regular contingent of at least eighteen species each winter day.
I think this winter will be remembered as the time of the Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus ).Many winters it is Goldfinches that mob the thistle feeders and we have just a few Pine Siskins although now and then a larger flock may come for a few days. But this winter our thistle feeders are usually filled with siskins - joined by only the occasional determined American Goldfinch.
A large flock of the siskins- several hundred birds - arrived in late fall and have remained in varying numbers all winter long. I’ve read that the Pine Siskin's winter visits to the United States occur mainly in years when the seed crop has failed in the boreal forests. They are acrobats, often hanging upside down, like titmice and chickadees, plucking seeds from hanging seedpods and cones.
The birds are so hungry and eat so rapidly there is a constant shower of thistle hulls falling to the ground. I expect we are going to find the soil under the feeders makes some unusually nice compost for our garden in a year or so. We have begun to wonder whether or not we will need to cut back on our groceries so that we can continue to supply our voracious visitors with Nyjer Thistle. Our siskins are eating their way through about twenty-five pounds of seed a week! Just like oil sunflower, the high oil content of Nyjer makes it an energy packed food that is highly desirable for any bird adapted to eating small seeds. Since it is shipped across the ocean from Ethiopia and India and has to be heat sterilized to kill out any weed seeds, it is rather expensive bird food but there is nothing else available that is as attractive to Pine Siskins and Goldfinches.
I understand that Nyjer is a native of Ethiopia and apparently it is not a thistle at all but is in fact a relative of the beautiful cosmos that we enjoy as a garden flower here in the United States. Our other winter residents have had to push their way through the crowds of siskins to receive their usual rations. We have moved a number of black oil sunflower seed feeders away from the thistle feeders so the other birds can have a chance at the food.

Siskin calls are amazing when one hears a large flock just outside the window. They have a short sweet call followed by a loud sharp buzzing zrreeeeet.

I had expected the siskins to head north as soon as the ground thawed and we had a few sunny days — although a few have gone - today our oak and maple trees are covered with pine siskins sitting among the deep red maple blossoms. Cornell Lab indicates that following a large irruptive winter fligh some individuals may stay near a dependable food source and breed far south of the normal breeding range. So, if the seed holds out, our siskins may be here for a while.