̽»¨¾«Ñ¡

If you've never seen a Pine Siskin, this is yourÌýyear.ÌýIn the past month,Ìýthe birds have invadedÌýthe United States in search of food, inundating backyard feeders across the country. Without question, it's one of the biggest irruption years in recorded historyÌýfor the finches.

Brown and heavily striped with a flash of bright yellow on their wings and tails, Pine Siskins are typically found in abundance across Canada, and to a lesser extent in the U.S.,Ìýin northern states and higherÌýelevations of the west and northeast, as well as parts of Mexico.ÌýThis year, though, they areÌýeverywhere in-between.Ìý

As with a handful of other northern species,ÌýPine Siskins can irrupt southward in years when there is a shortage of food in their home range. This year, a meager supply of conifer seeds across Canada's boreal forest has caused the birds to push south inÌýmind-boggling numbers. Nick Lund, aka The Birdist, perfectly summed up on Twitter earlier this week what many birdersÌýacross the country are experiencing.Ìý

weird how every bird on Earth is now a Pine Siskin

— The Birdist (@TheBirdist)

This year's irruption is so strong, in fact, that Pine Siskins have also been recorded migratingÌýat night—something highly unusual for the species and that has only been observed once before, during theÌýlast major irruption a decade ago. Ryan Mandelbuam of this rare phenomenon over at the Finch Forecast Network:Ìý

"Passerine birds like warblers and sparrows typically migrate at night, but ornithologists consider Pine Siskins to be exclusively diurnal, or daytime migrants. However, from October 10 to October 16, 2008, scientists Michael Watson, Jeffrey Wells, and Ryan Bavis recorded 190 Pine Siskins migrating at three sites near Gardiner, Maine for the first time in published history. This year, Spahr’s recording station in Middlesex County, Massachusetts once again picked up the flight calls of Pine Siskins migrating from 11pm until dawn, totaling several hundred birds."

So,Ìýwhere can youÌýsee a siskin if you haven't already? Anywhere it seems. Looking at the map for of theÌýbirds, you'll see there isn't a single region the birds haven't been spotted, includingÌýaround the Gulf of Mexico. A couple small flocks have evenÌýmade it to Bermuda, where they are an extremelyÌýrare visitor.ÌýIf you have an eBird account, find the closest and most recent sightingÌý(lucky you if that's Bermuda), grab your binoculars, and give it a go.Ìý

Or you couldÌýtry a little ole-fashioned birding. Pine SiskinsÌýfeed onÌýtheÌýseeds ofÌýa variety of trees and flowering plants,Ìýso stopping by a few ofÌýyourÌýlocal parks or preserves will likelyÌýturn up someÌýbirds. Keep an eye out for a flock of finches frantically feeding as if they might never eat again.Ìý

Of course, if you want to make thingsÌýeasy and entertaining, siskins are not shy and will happily show up in droves to feeders with nyjer and sunflower seeds. If you go this route,Ìýjust be prepared to have yourÌýfeeders overrun by the birds.ÌýHere's how Chad Witko, an outreach biologist with ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡'sÌýMigratoryÌýBird Initiative,Ìýdescribed the scene at hisÌýhome in Vermont earlier this week.ÌýÌý

"Over the last several days, we went from 2 to 12 to 50+ just this morning," he wrote inÌý̽»¨¾«Ñ¡'s Slack on Tuesday.Ìý"Interesting to watch how aggressive the siskins are at the feeders, quickly becoming the dominant species (too bad House Sparrows)." In the days after his initial post, the flock grewÌýto 70-100 birds, Witko reports, thoughÌýthose numbers have come down since.Ìý

A scroll through Twitter findsÌýmuch more of the same, with backyard birdersÌýsharing videos and photos of similiar scenes from around the country.Ìý

A photobombed my photo of the pine siskins at the feeder this morning. 😂

— 🇺🇸🎣 Red 📷🔬 (@ElfNDragon)

The scaleÌýof this year's Pine Siskin irruptionÌýcomes as a bit of a surprise. For this season's Winter Finch Forecast, Tyler Hoar, who recently took over the forecast from creatorÌýRon Pittaway, Ìýthat the "siskins likely will remain concentrated in Western Canada with its heavy spruce cone crops for the winter. The smaller numbers remaining in the eastern boreal forest should move southward looking for food."

HoarÌýdid predict the likely irruptions ofÌýother finch species, including Evening Grosbeak and Common Redpolls, and those have proven out. A redpoll hasÌýevenÌýbeen reported , which is highly unusual for this bird of the far north. Purple Finches and Red-breasted Nuthatches are also having a notableÌýirruption year and are being seenÌýin high numbers across the country. So keep an eye outÌýfor all of these birds while they're here, and in the meantime, let us hope theÌýsiskins decide to leave peacefully whenever they do. For now, though, it's their country.Ìý