Pine Siskin
Credit: Brian E. Small

There is an explosion of Pine Siskins across the northeastern U.S. this October. An observer at a hawk watch in Connecticut counted nearly 3,000 in one day, an observer in Pennsylvania tallied 3600 in one location and a hawkwatch in southern Virginia had 140 pass by. Pine Siskins have been reported as far south as North and South Carolina, Missouri, and Georgia. Here in Maine it seems as though I hear flocks of Pine Siskins overhead almost every time I have been outside.

A couple of weeks ago the government of Quebec announced the protection of 4.4 million acres of Boreal habitat—areas that certainly provide nesting locations for Pine Siskins, White-throated Sparrows, and many other birds now migrating through the U.S. (View map of protected areas)

While the amount of protected area in the Canadian Boreal keeps increasing there are also major losses and degradation of habitat throughout the Boreal. I had the chance to talk with Mark Lynch on his radio show last week about some of the surprising connections between energy and birds.

Click here to listen (Right-click to save to hard drive)