Bird watch
BY DAN REINKING
Sunday, December 16, 2012
12/16/12 at 6:03 AM
One of several species with a distribution described as irruptive, the pine siskin is making a good showing in Oklahoma this year.
Its presence and abundance in a given area can vary dramatically from one winter to the next, likely resulting from changes in the availability of the seeds that make up its diet.
During the past 10 years, the total number of pine siskins reported on Oklahoma Christmas Bird Counts has ranged from 6 to 550, clearly indicating how variable its annual abundance can be.
Siskins will readily visit bird feeders.
This week in eastern Oklahoma
ARRIVALS
None listed
DEPARTURES
None listed
Dan Reinking is a senior biologist at the Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville. Contact him at dreinking@ou.edu or see tulsaworld.com/suttoncenter.
The Bird Watch list is excerpted from the Date Guide to the Occurrences of Birds in Oklahoma, which lists normal dates of occurrences for bird species by seven geographic regions of the state. It is a publication of the Oklahoma Bird Records Committee of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.
For full information about the guide and how to report unusual bird sightings at unusual times of year go to tulsaworld.com/okbirds.
Associated Images:
A pine siskin in Pawnee County. JAMES ARTERBURN/Courtesy
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