The Lincolnshire Bird Club

I trapped a female Siskin at Willingham Woods this evening with a significant Brood Patch. A good indication they may breed in the county's conifer woodlands this year.

Hello Stuart et al

I have been doing a lot or surveying at Laughton this spring and have had a lot of Siskins with display flights and song being prevalent; but I never seem to know whether they will still move on in late March; the Lesser Redpolls were singing but still in flocks yesterday; but maybe I / we should think again -- ND bumped into a pair of Siskins feeding two recently fledged young yesterday and I was able to see them about an hour later still in the same place; the adults were very quiet when visiting the young and they just sat still in a sallow bush for hours so the chances of picking them up by chance would be remote. This seems like a very early date but as they only sit for 12-13 days (BTO facts) they would have started breeding in the hot weather in mid March when the conifer cones were cracking and releasing seeds. Interestingly the pairs I have seen were mostly feeding on willow and sallow buds and birch buds -- not had chance to look up how early this nest is in a national context as yet.

One of my ringing colleagues caught 6 Siskins this morning at Muckton including a very young juvenile who's primaries were still partially "in pin". May well have bred locally.

seems very likely Stuart; I heard from Dawn at the BTO that several pairs fledged young in Thetford just after the nest noted above; interestingly since this sighting I have hardly seen or heard any Siskins in the Laughton and all of the Crossbills seemed to leave en masse at the end of March after a lot of display and singing; also of interest we had about 20 Brambling including several singing males on the early April visit but I was surprised to come across 13 including singing males yesterday in the same area. Two Siskins flew west over Waters' Edge last week suggesting early post? breeding dispersal? We clearly still have a lot to learn about this highly nomadic species in Lincolnshire.