I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we are possibly seeing an irruption of pine siskins rather than a normal spring movement. I have been having hundreds swarming at my home near Pillager (Cass County) since May 15th. On the 19th I caught one that was banded near Revelstoke, British Columbia on August 22, 2012, as a hatch-year bird. Also, I have banded another 65 and they are all second-year and after second-year birds (no young-of-the-year), and they all have wing lengths in the shorter spectrum of the range of possible wing lengths, suggesting to me they are mostly females with few males. They are also heavy with fat and weighing in far above the normal weight. None have shown any signs of breeding activity (i.e., no brood patches, no cloacal protuberances). Definitely atypical. The next few days or weeks should tell if we are having an irruption or whether I am "all wet."
-----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Alan Stankevitz Sent: Friday, May 17, 2013 3:10 PM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Pine Siskins Very strange... I have had a few Pine Siskins that have stuck around since Winter but this afternoon there must be hundreds of Pine Siskins in the trees nearby. The sound of zzzziiipppp... is everywhere. I have never seen/heard so many Pine Siskins and usually they are gone by April. Alan Stankevitz Near Hokah in Houston County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
