[mou] Re: [mnbird] Siskins nesting? and irruptive species

[ignacio_magpie@rohair.com]

Getting in on the Siskins nesting discussion...

The winter of 1996-7 apparently had the combination of being harsh, long,
and without suitable food supply for winter finches. For this apparent
reason, White-winged Crossbill and Pine Siskin remained in at least one
location in southwest MN - Memorial Cemetery at Lake Benton (Lincoln
County) - throughout the winter and long enough into spring when their
biological clocks started ticking.

At least on pair of the 7 individual White-winged Crossbill seen
throughout the seasons at this location sucessfully fledged three young.
(This article appeared in the Loon notes of interest, though I'm not sure
which issue)

In addition, at least one Pine Siskin was pair was observed on a nest,
though no the height of the nest prevented further investigation, and no
fledge were observed at this site during subsequent visits.

In this situation, the cemetery obviously supplied the right combination
of elements to to allow these birds to reply to their natural instincts.
No doubt this has happened long before we birders started keeping track of
such events, and most likely will happen again (even in southern
Minnesota) if the right combination of factors again present themselves to
such species.

Roger Schroeder