Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)

Abundance: Variable; usually Rare or Very Uncommon during winter but may become Uncommon, Fairly Common, or even Common during irruption events, which occur sporadically, the most recent events of moderate or greater magnitude having taken place during the winter of 2008–2009 and prior to that during the winter of 1989–1990 (LINK to Regional CBC data); records for 23 Regional counties, 7 in Kentucky and 16 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population irregularly wintering in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident; photograph [lateral view of adult] (DJ Stanley; Cumberland County, Tennessee; February 2009).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 241 (17 December 2008; Cumberland County, Tennessee [Crossville CBC]; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season Records: 

15 July 1999 (1) east of Monterey, Putnam County, Tennessee (Richard W. Simmers, Jr., unpubl data).

7 August 2009 (2) Lakeland Dr., Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman, Judy C. Fuson).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall Arrival: 10 October 2000 (1+; Pulaski County, Kentucky; Stephen J. Stedman, Roseanna M. Denton).

    Late Spring Departure: 27 June 2009 (1; Putnam County, Tennessee; Ginger K. Ensor); next latest: 9 June 1990 (1; Putnam County, Tennessee; Richard W. Simmers, Jr.; Stedman 2006–2010); but see also Out-of-Season Records (above).

    Note: General dates of fall arrival and spring departure are difficult to provide for this species because of its variability in abundance from winter to winter. Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure for winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:

Habitat: this species' purported preference for evergreens during the breeding season does not appear to carry over into winter, as siskins can be found in the Region foraging in a variety of wooded habitats at that season, and they even frequent weedy fields, often in the company of goldfinches, during winter.  The seeds of sweet gum are apparently an especially attractive natural food source of wintering siskins.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 0 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 but on 14  (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, results that are reasonably consistent with the species' variable abundance in the Region from winter to winter.

Remarks: May linger quite late into May, even into early June, before departing northward; note the Out-of-Season records (above) in July and August.  First fall arrivals often detected by the characteristic "skeeah" call, a harsh, emphatic vocalization most often uttered by birds in flight. During irruption events, quite likely to appear at feeding stations, especially those providing black oil sunflower; sometimes breeds well south of usual breeding range in the aftermath of irruption events.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited