Hello tweeters,

Working at home today, I noticed a big flock of Pine Siskins in the trees
behind my house. I decided to scan them for redpolls (why not dream
big?), but no red polls became apparent. However, while watching them I
realized they were doing something I'd never seen siskins do before -
behaving like nuthatches! The flock had 50+ birds, and most of them at
one time or another flew to the multiple trunks of a big, dead bigleaf
maple and either perched at one spot, apparently eating something from
the trunk, or actually crawled/hopped around on the trunk, apparently
searching for whatever they were eating. I assume it was eating rather
than drinking, as I can't imagine free water available on the trunk. I
have no idea what they could have found - fungi, tiny insects, airborne
seeds? They also foraged among the branches, and then moved into a
western red cedar, where they may have been feeding on the seeds, as it
was full of cones. The branches were too dense for me to see them there
very well, and they eventually moved on.

I wonder if anyone else has seen this behavior. I've seen flocks of
siskins in the neighborhood pretty steadily for a few weeks now, when
there had been none for many months.

Dennis Paulson


Netta Smith and Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 528-1382