Shari Sees Some Siskins

A week or so ago there was a Pine Siskin on our feeder that Shari didn't see, and there have been a few siskins on feeders around the neighborhood that Shari didn't see so Saturday we uncustomarily set out to the northwest where the siskins have been abundant and at Scherman-Hoffman refuge, they were. We walked a few hundred feet from the parking lot toward the feeders and I said to Shari, "You want siskins? There's siskins."

Pine Siskins with one goldfinch
Photos: Shari Zirlin

Every perch on the feeders had a siskin and along the frame sat more siskins. The ground was literally crawling with siskins. A bare tree across the walk had a siskin on every branch and the spruce tree nearby continually spilled out more siskins and a puddle in the back of the nature center had siskins taking baths and the goldenrod along the path had siskins hanging on every stem. There were a lot of siskins.

As I understand it, a pine cone failure in the boreal forests up north have pushed the siskins south--they are, in the technical term, irrupting. Purple Finches have also been numerous and even the rare Evening Grosbeaks have been reported in unusual numbers. There were 6 of them last week at Scherman-Hoffman and we stood around with another birder we know for a while hoping that at least one more of these robin-sized yellow finches would appear but had no luck with what would have been a life-bird. Still, we came for siskins and we had siskins up the wazoo.


The siskins were crowding out all the other birds from the seed. Once in a while a goldfinch or a titmouse would try to elbow its way in but sheer force of numbers prevented them from really chowing down. At one point I saw a chickadee hanging in there--I didn't think much of it until remembered that I was in north Jersey so it was a Black-capped Capped Chickadee and not the now familiar Carolina that I seen constantly out my window.

After we had our fill of siskins we walked around the refuge trails, finding most of the expected birds. What we found unusual was the behavior of the bluebirds. They seem to already be checking out the bluebird boxes, a behavior that doesn't normally occur until late winter.

Weren't they surprised to find that a new tenant had moved in for the season. Look closely and you'll see a Red-breasted Nuthatch peeking out from entrance.

Sparrows were all over the fields, diving into the high grass just as you got your binoculars focused on one. We had 7 species there today.

In all 30 species at the refuge with siskins by far outnumbering all the other birds combined.

Canada Goose  25    f/o
Turkey Vulture  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  2   
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Downy Woodpecker  4
Hairy Woodpecker  1    
Northern Flicker  1
Blue Jay  1    Feeders
American Crow  1   
Black-capped Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  5
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  5
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  4
Eastern Bluebird  15
Gray Catbird  1
Eastern Towhee  1
Chipping Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  10
Swamp Sparrow  3
White-throated Sparrow  10
White-crowned Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  25
Northern Cardinal  4
Pine Siskin  150    Feeders and all around Nature Ctr. This is a conservative count.
American Goldfinch  3    Feeders
House Sparrow  3    Feeders

After lunch we set out for a couple of other places. The Great Swamp is nearby, on the other side of I-287, so we drove up & down Pleasant Plains Road but didn't see very much, the most notable being 2 Northern Harriers affording very close looks as they swooped over the fields in front of the overlook. I suspect one has to walk, not drive, this road to pick up a good number of birds, because checking eBird shows me that someone after us found around 40 species to our 10.

Northern Harrier  2    Overlook
Blue Jay  3
American Crow  1    Heard
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Eastern Bluebird  3
American Robin  1
Northern Mockingbird  1    headquarters
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Song Sparrow  10
White-crowned Sparrow  1

Our last stop was Lord Stirling Park, about 3 minutes away from Pleasant Plains Road just on the other side of the Passaic River which forms the border between Morris (Great Swamp) and Somerset Counties. The road that connects them is an ordinary paved road except for about 1/8 of mile of what the sign warns is "rough road." This section is only gravel. I have no idea why it isn't paved, though I suspect some sort of inter-county feud.

Lord Stirling Park is large with a number of habitats--meadows, woods, a fairly large pond, and a trail by the Passaic. A few years ago, the day after Halloween, Shari & I walked a trail to the meadows that turned out to be our spookiest birding experience. In the woods that led to the meadows, dozens of Turkey Vultures were roosting, and as we walked they shifted positions, silently except for the rustle of their wings, seemingly following us, tree to tree, though I suspect they were actually trying to get out of our way. We went along that trail this time, figuring the date was about right, but no vultures were to be found. 

Sparrows again were the order of the day. The last birds found were 3 Palm Warblers. No waterfowl was on Branta Pond, surprisingly, though as we were leaving a small flock of Canada Geese were coming in, probably after a long day munching away on a nearby golf course.

20 species
Canada Goose  18    f/o
Northern Harrier  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  1    Heard
Tufted Titmouse  1
Carolina Wren  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Palm Warbler  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Savannah Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  10
Swamp Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  10
Dark-eyed Junco  15
Northern Cardinal  1
Pine Siskin  2
American Goldfinch  4

We had 37 species total for the day; most importantly, Shari saw some siskins. 

(Now we await the arrival of Sandy. The latest projection has it on a trajectory to smash into Barnegat Light, about 15 miles southeast of here. For you Bruce Springsteen fans, the name of this storm about to loose chaos on the state is deliciously ironic.)