Siskin Surprise

Just after noon today I happened to glance out of the window to see a bird with strong yellow colouring. I was surprised to see what I thought could be a Siskin. I couldn’t believe it! After quickly setting up my video camera, I looked up my bird reference book. I was able to identify both a male and a female and was thrilled to catch on video what appears, to me, to be a pair.



Siskins, above, show the female perched higher on the left. You will notice as the male turns round how much more colourful he is and also the black cap on his head.

It appears they only started visiting gardens in the last 50 years. They are reported to have a liking for peanuts from feeders. Today they went straight to my table which did have peanuts on it! If they become regulars they may well find the hanging feeders of peanuts placed around my garden. I have already noticed their very acrobatic flying! The next dry day I’ll get the camera outside and catch them closer up. At first glance they are similar to the Greenfinch but their yellow markings are quite distinctive and size-wise they are a little smaller. I am absolutely amazed that my garden has attracted yet another new species – one too that I have never seen before!

To see more information on the Siskin follow the link below:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/s/siskin/index.asp

The video, shown above, was taken in my garden on February 11th 2007.

If you have enjoyed looking at this video you may like to see more – click on the link at the top of the right column where you will see further links direct to all videos published in previous posts.