Siskins

The Diary had never really come across siskins until after the move from Essex - where they are winter visitors - to Ardnamurchan. Even then, it was some time before they registered as, when we lived at The Ferry Stores, they were crowded out by other, more assertive birds. They've become much more evident since we've moved to the quieter, western end of Ormsaigbeg.

The siskin is a small finch, about the same size as a blue tit, the male (there are four in the top picture) having a very distinctive yellow-green plumage and almost black cap. The female (above) is much more subdued in colouring, with more white on her belly, but both have a very distinctive yellowish flash on their wings. Their indigestible habit of eating upside down makes them easily recognisable, even in silhouette, as does their confidence - they don't move until approached quite close- and their forked tail. Most finches are described as seed-eaters, but our siskins seem to prefer peanuts, spending long periods hanging from the peanut feeders.

This winter we saw hardly any until after Christmas, when they suddenly took up residence, some half a dozen or so, enjoying the peanuts put out in our various feeding contraptions. In winter they tend to move around in groups; come the spring we'll see less of them and, when they do arrive, they'll be in breeding pairs.