We have a few different species of birds visit our feeders, but today we had a visit from a bird we have not seen in the garden before, a Siskin. I noticed a squabble going on between a Goldfinch and another bird on the nyjer seed feeder and on closer inspection this revealed itself to be a Siskin! I quickly set my digiscoping gear up, before the bird flew and managed to get a couple of shots of it feeding on my sunflower hearts feeder before the local Sparrowhawk buzzed by scattering everything. Unfortunately the bird stayed on the `wrong` side of the feeder giving me only glimpses of this splendidly bright bird.
The Siskin is a member of the finch family and at first glance can be mistaken for a Greenfinch, but on closer inspection it is a much smaller, slimmer bird than its bulkier cousin. They breed in coniferous forests mostly in the north and west of the country, but spend the winter in all parts of the British Isles with some having migrated from Europe.
The species is not rare and in the winter months is fairly common in the area with flocks of a couple of hundred being present at Woodwalton Fen and Ferry Meadows CP. This bird, however was on its own and a welcome addition to my garden list.
John, you bring a chuckle with the imagery of you trying to get your gear together before the bird flies off! I know that feeling oh so well. And doesn't it seem they are always on the "wrong" side of the feeder? He's a cutie.
ReplyDeleteHi Cat,
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me how `excited` I get when I see a new bird in my garden, I have seen hundreds of Siskin, but it brough a smile to my face when this one appeared in front of me!
I am glad I made you chuckle, my wife thinks I am mad!
J
You are obviously quicker getting your gear set up than I am. A very nice surprise visitor to have.
ReplyDeleteL also loved reading how you raced to set your digiscoping gear up (just learning, through you, about what this might be!). I am in awe that you managed to get the shots you did, when I think how many I have lost just trying to get off my lens cap and turn on my camera. (And aren't those little birds devilish the way they persist in perching on the wrong side of the feeder?)
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI was lucky in the fact that I had just got back from a walk around my local patch, so the `scope was set and I just needed to extend the tripod legs. I was still all fingers and thumbs though, more haste, less speed!
J
Hi Raining Acorns,
ReplyDeleteIt gets easier the more you do it! I managed to rattle off 5 shots, all bar 1 blurred and over-exposed! At least 1 was half decent!
J
That looks a colourful visitor. Is Peterborough the epicentre of UK bird-watching? You seem to be blessed with fabulous guests in your garden.
ReplyDeleteBazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Whenever I see them John, its normally a lot of females and just the odd male for some reason. The bird hide at the Lodge (RSPB) is good spot for them.
ReplyDeleteHi bazza,
ReplyDeleteFar from it, I am just lucky I suppose! I spend a small fortune on bird food and feeders etc to tempt the little blighters in and it seems to work! We are also lucky in that our back garden backs onto a small copse. We do get some nice birds, but I would love to get House Sparrows on a regular basis, sounds daft I know!
J
Hi Roy,
ReplyDeleteI will have to check that out on my next visit to The Lodge. I saw several dozen on Saturday at Thetford Forest and there was a mixture of males and females, with the birds starting to moult into their breeding plumage!
J
Nice capture! I have flock of greenfinch invading the backyard recently:)
ReplyDeleteKah Wai
http://kwbirding.blogspot.com/
Hi Kai Wai,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the `Follow`. You are lucky to have a flock of 50 Greenfinches! Here in Britain they are suffering from a parasite and so the numbers are falling, however I still get about 6-8 daily.
J