Tyler did a good job explaining how the filters work and why these reports
are being flagged and he is correct that it doesn't really make sense for
us to alter the filters statewide when these exceptional irruptions take
place.
This is already a historic Fall for Pine Siskins. On the 7th, the Morning
Flight at Cape May broke the season high count on a single day!
http://cmboviewfromthefield.blogspot.com/2012/10/morning-flight-7-october-2012.html
With ebird, when can see how much earlier this irruption is incurring
compared to previous years. We have pretty good data in ebird for the last
5 years, and both 2008 and 2010 were Pine Siskin irruption years. However,
the first birds usually trickle in the first half of October before
becoming more widespread in the second half. Check out the ebird frequency
charts for Maryland and notice how we have already reached the maximum
frequency of the 2008 invasion, which didn't happen until mid-November.
http://tinyurl.com/8owbw82
Also, for fun, check out the same graph for Red-breasted Nuthatch. They
didn't really arrive early, but they have been in much greater numbers than
the most recent invasions. *http://tinyurl.com/968t4uv*
Good birding!
Matt Hafner
Forest Hill, MD
On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM, James Tyler Bell <jtylerbell...>wrote:
> The Anne Arundel eBird filter for Pine Siskins is zero from April 25
> until October 7 when it bumps up to 5. This is clearly an exceptional year
> and flagged PISI reports are being validated pretty much as soon as they
> are reported. The filters will likely not be changed statewide to fit this
> irruption so be patient when submitting PISIs and Purple Finches which also
> seem to be arriving in high numbers. As always with eBird, when you get
> flagged for a species, it helps the reviewers tremendously if you include
> field notes that denote critical ID features. Photos are especially welcome.
>
> BTW, our feeders in St. Mary's are being rapidly depleted by Carolina
> Chickadees and Tufted Titmice but no sign yet of Pine Siskins or Purple
> Finches. I hope this isn't going to be like the winter of the White-winged
> Crossbill where they stopped short of most of southern Maryland.
>
> Tyler Bell
> <jtylerbell...>
> California, Maryland
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* "<jovet...>" <jovet...>
> *To:* <mdbirding...>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 10, 2012 11:06 AM
> *Subject:* [MDBirding] Pine Siskins
>
> I have a flock of 15-20 Pine Siskins at my feeder this morning (southern
> Anne Arundel county). This is a first-ever feeder visitor for my feeder.
> They are feeding at a black oil sunflower feeder, a hanging feeder. No
> thistle in available here. E-bird flagged this as a high and early count,
> although I have seen other Pine Siskins reported here recently.
>
> Joanne Howl
> <jovet...>
> West River, MD
>
>
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