The warmer El Niño winter we’re experiencing this year has had a big effect on which species of birds have stuck around.
This time of year I’m usually overrun with Dark-eyed Juncos. Right now I have one of the smallest flocks I can remember.
Juncos, also known affectionately as snowbirds, like to feed on the ground. I regularly toss a mix of millet, cracked corn and safflower on the ground for them. This also attracts Northern Cardinals and Mourning Doves.
It’s been rare to see more than a pair of House Finches in my yard at any one time over the last couple of decades, but this winter a small flock arrived. The birds regularly visit the feeders and sit in the shrub just outside my window:
But the prize for the largest flock (other than those 55 European Starlings that are driving me out of my mind) has to go to the Pine Siskins. I’ve regularly counted 50 or 60 of the birds visiting my feeders at any one time.
Many birds are quiet in winter but not Pine Siskins. When I go outside to fill the feeders, the crisp air is alive with the sound of their wheezy little trills.
Even though they are just tiny things, Pine Siskins are well-equipped to handle the bitter-cold, below-zero temperatures we experienced recently. Not only can a Pine Siskin store seeds in its esophagus to help it survive a chilly night, but it can also increase its metabolic rate—up to 40% higher than a songbird its size—for protection from the cold.
Pine Siskins prefer tree seeds, but at feeders they eat Nyjer, cracked sunflower seeds and even safflower seeds.
I also had a pretty large flock of goldfinches for a few months, but many of the birds have disappeared over the last couple of weeks. Maybe they got tired of competing for space at the feeders with all those Pine Siskins.