Date: 10/26/12 6:37 am
From: jugbayjs <JugBayJS...>
Subject: [MDBirding] high alert, only siskins so far


This morning the resident birds were quiet, perhaps due to the calm overcast start to the day. It seemed like it would be a ho-hum morning for a while, but then I started to hear them. Siskins were on the move. The ones that have been at our feeders slowly began to trickle in. About 20 arrived here on October 12, and their numbers have flucuated slightly but this week hit 50 (most at feeders at one time). The birds I was hearing this morning seemed different though, and I thought I heard a flock somewhere high. Then it occurred to me to start listening for Grosbeaks!! I was on high alert mode, and focused on filtering the calls from high up but I kept hearing siskins.

There seemed to be a steady trickle of calls from way up, and I could not see them for a while. Then a low flock zoomed by, about 30-40 birds. And then a couple minutes later a flock of about 70 made a dive bomb into the trees out back, and I thought they would come in to the feeders. They did not, so I looked for them but they were not visible. Strange, how could 70 siskins disappear? Eventually I saw them again but it was when I heard some low ones in our front yard, so I went around and saw them flying away. The herky-jerky flock seemed to be looking for something, flying very erratically. Siskins, you have to love them!

I kept listening for grosbeak calls but the sound of siskins was drowning out everything else. It was amazing! Not counting fly-bys which were only heard, I had about 120+ siskins in the yard at one point, either at the feeders or perched in two trees. What a racket! A new high count for our property!

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD

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