SPORTING ANSWERS
Siskins here in abundance
BIRDS
Q Last winter, I failed to see a single siskin, but this autumn I’ve seen numerous flocks of up to 100 birds. Where have they come from?
A Siskins are small finches that breed in the spruce forests of northern Europe, though widespread planting of conifers in the last century allowed these birds to colonise many forests in England and Wales.
Like other northern-breeding birds, such as waxwings, they are an irruptive species, moving considerable distances in search of food should their seed supply fail. This seems to be the case this autumn, because there have been many reports of unusual numbers of siskins.
Ornithologists have long noted siskin winters — 1901 was one such year, when exceptional numbers were seen throughout Britain. Intriguingly, this year a similar pattern has been recorded for pine siskins in the US, with unusual numbers in gardens.
The pine siskin is a close relation of our
