Introduction

For years I saw reports of Pine Siskin sightings in our area without ever being aware of seeing one. This changed on November 5th, 2018 when a small flock (at one point, I counted eight of them) descended on the Nyjer seed sock feeder in our front yard, variously coexisting and supplanting the American Goldfinches that normally dominate the sock. At least one of the birds was still there the next day, but that hardly rises to the level of a subsequent encounter.

First Encounter

On the morning of November 5th, 2018, I was watching the front yard from the front window because of the on-going visit of Purple Finches when I noticed this Pine Siskin on the sock feeder. I'd seen a report of Pine Siskins in the township so I was sensitised to the possibilty. It was the first time I'd ever recognized one, so technically a lifer. I wonder though if I'd actually seen them before with realizing because from the back and in poor light it would be easy to mistake them for American Goldfinches.

Here's a closer look at that some bird showing its striped under side:

Shortly after, the number of Pine Siskins on the feeder increased to the point that some had to wait their turn on the feeder support:

Another Pine Siskin on the feeder support but closer to the sock:

At first, the Pine Siskins appeared to prefer the top of the sock, leaving the bottom to the goldfinches:

But it wasn't long before they'd taken over the whole sock. This photo shows seven of the eight that were on the sock at this moment:

Comparison with American Goldfinch

At one point, during that November 5th morning, a Pine Siskin and an American Goldfinch provided this photographic comparison of the two species. The stripiness of the siskin is clearcut, but you can see that the sizes of the two species are very similar: