Around Portland, siskin reports have been scarce as of yet in the lowlands.
Many of the siskin reports are coming from higher elevations. Varied
thrushes have just started popping up in the last week or so since the big
storm last week, and siskins may (or may not) follow.

On their wanderings, it is much more complex than we think. For instance, a
bander friend in Nebraska caught a siskin when she was near Chadron,
Nebraska, last August (1998). Four months later, that bird turned up dead
at a feeder in Springfield, Oregon (near Eugene). In four months that bird
wandered east to west, somewhat farther north (though not a lot), across
several mountain ranges, and some 1200+ miles. They are indeed an "erratic"
species.

Ray Korpi, PhD
rkorpi at clark.edu
Portland, OR/Clark College, Vancouver WA
President, Oregon Field Ornithologists