Oklahoma Irruptive Species Profile: Pine Siskin

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The Pine Siskin often associates with the American Goldfinch, and can be a common nomadic winter bird in Oklahoma.  But as an occasional compatriot, its presence can vary on a yearly basis.  It feeds upon insects, buds, seeds of many conifers, as well as what could be left upon deciduous trees.

Sometimes displaying yellow wingbars, this finch enjoys thistle and will be at your feeder when it is present.  Large numbers of this migratory bird can appear sporadically and it is usually due to lack of food in its normal habitat.  They have a remarkably high metabolism and will eat constantly.  They are generalist feeders, so almost anything will please them.  Mineral deposits will also send them to roadways and roadsides in order to eat these sparse flecks from road salt.  However, the newer melting agents are made of less worthy chemicals, which could cause them physical angst or worse.  They also tend to be run over in the roadways, leading to added mortality.

                                                                        Pine Siskin
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2014
                                             
During times of breeding in the northern states, mountains, and the Boreal Forest, they are a known Brown-headed Cowbird host.  Forest fragmentation has increased this probability, so they tend to have their young survive much better through appropriate forest management, where large swaths are not clear cut and replanted the following spring.

These songbirds are often afflicted with salmonella which can be common at bird feeders, a reminder to keep them very clean, much more than normal during inclement weather.  Cats should be keep away from feeding stations, and they are also victims to other predators like raptors, crows, and red squirrels.  They will do well in a yard with much cover, especially shrubs and enjoy ornamental conifers.  They also enjoy remains from leftover sunflowers, weeds, and thistle plants.

Oklahoma Vagrants: Cassin's Finch

Uncommon in western montane coniferous forests, this finch has a more pointed and longer bill than the Purple Finch, as well as a longer primary projection.  The most distinguishing characteristics between House Finch and Purple Finch are the short, deeply forked tail and the peaked head.  They usually forage upon the ground, feeding on fruit, insects, buds, and conifer seeds.

First seen in Oklahoma in 2000, the American rosefinch has steadily become more common and was observed several times during 2018 at the Black Mesa Bed in Breakfast in winter, as well as New Year's Eve, as well as once in spring.  It was also seen in the spring this year in Guymon.  In Oklahoma, they appear to be moving west to central to likely survive climate change over the next few decades.

These birds breed throughout western conifer belts of the interior mountains between 3,000 and 10,000 feet.  They favor most pines, spruce, and quaking aspen.   Some prefer open sagebrush scrub with interspersed western juniper.  Breeding numbers tend to change as the food supply does over yearly periods.  Some northernmost birds will migrate south for the winter, yet others choose not to do so.

                                                                 Cassin's Finch
                                                         Madera Canyon, AZ 2018

In late summer and early fall they will flock with Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks,  and other assorted birds of the mountains to forage and seek out salt through mineral deposits.  In the winter, they migrate to lower valleys, or altitudinal migration.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Black-billed Magpie

A large bird of the American West in the corvid family, the Black-billed Magpie is easily identified by long black tail with black, white and blue-green iridescent plumage.  It also boasts white primaries and scapulars, readily observed in flight.  The mechanical sounds that the magpie makes are reminiscent of R2D2 of Star Wars fame.  With such a recipe, this is a bird sure to cause the curious to become even more intrigued.

This unusual bird flashes white wing patches while in flight, somewhat similar to the Northern Mockingbird. The long rudderlike tail, which makes up half its body length, appears to belong to the Great-tailed Grackle at first glance.  So what IS it?

The American magpie is common in parklands, riparian thickets, and prairies, as long as there are scattered trees at its disposal.  It also perches on fenceposts as well as along the roadside.  A seed- as well as animal eater, it forages on the ground for insects, rodents, and worms, usually in small groups of its kind.




                              Black-billed Magpie
        Pen, ink, graphite pencil, marker, colored pencil
                        Art by Liana Winters Smith

A Cimarron County resident in the 1920s and early '30s, it has recently been seen in Cimarron County along the river for which the county is named off Highway 325. Though a very rare bird now, it still remains in the Panhandle as a species.  It was last seen in numbers of a dozen in 2012.

The domed nest, though historical, sits near the tops of trees and is twig construction.

These omnivores have habits of the Cattle Egret, which also stays around moose or cattle herds and removes ticks and other pests from their backs by standing upon them. As a gregarious species, it is also somewhat tolerant of humans, often in their vicinity and around their structures, conveyances, or bird feeders to supplement their diets.

They have also followed wolves, cleaning up after their kills, as any opportunistic animal would.  Like crows, they cache food on the ground.  The food is covered up with grass or leaves, and usually consumed within a few days, moved elsewhere for security reasons, or simply abandoned.  No doubt that the aroma will eventually lead other animals to its location if unused.

The magpie ants as well as suns itself under appropriate conditions.  They also roost in the winter, like the American Crow, but don't huddle.  They will also regurgitate pellets, which can be found under the trees on the ground.

They have decreased in the plains due to habitat loss since the mid-1960s and are susceptible to topicals applied to the backs of cattle as a pest deterrent.

Magpies tend to use altitudinal migration over any other type of seasonal movement.
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