Those same catkin-laden gray birches were alive with little birds again this morning. This time it was a mixed flock of American goldfinches and Pine Siskins, one of which is shown here - a male with its yellow wing bars. These are the first pine siskins I have seen at the marsh so far this fall, although they have been coming to my bird feeders at home for the past few days. These two tiny birds plus the Common Redpoll are close relatives, and are often seen together.
I caught this little fellow in between getting some shots of a squirrel in the wooded section of the trail this morning. It's a juvenile Pine Siskin. This is the time for seeing juvenile birds, and sometimes it's very difficult to identify them.
There are a number of birds which are found in the wooded section of the trail around the marsh, a kind of mini habitat all its own. Yesterday morning I noticed a couple of Pine Siskins fluttering about in -- you guessed it -- the pine trees. I'm more used to seeing these finches in the winter at my bird feeder.
