Little Joys

Getting to watch the birds migrate back into the area (or through the area, as the case may be) is one of the little joys of springtime.

The pine siskins have flown in with the goldfinches and they are all voracious winged piglets that empty my feeders in record time. I think they try and beat their previous personal best every day!

The siskins are far more speckled than the golfinches, although they still have yellow markings to help them fit in.

In the picture above, you can see a group of goldfinches (two of them squabbling), with one siskin. Can you spot him? He's on the far right cup holding its own on the feeder.

Here you can see the highly speckled breast and head feathers to set them apart.

They chatter in the trees along with their finch friends and it almost seems like they're scolding me for letting their little feeding troughs get empty (seriously, I fill those cups two or three times a day and there are other feeders, too!).

Here's a view from the back, so you can see the wing markings.

Finally, here's a goldfinch in the process of putting on his breeding plumage to impress the ladies. He looks like he's wearing a harlequin costume, but he's already quite striking. Also, it's a really good contrast to the siskin above, should you ever need to identify either one of them at a glance. 

They may be small, but they're delightfully entertaining. 

And I've said it before, but pigs can fly...