What they like

Alders and birches with seeds. Pines and spruces nearby. Quiet corners with some scrub to dart into. In winter: feeding spots you don't fiddle with every day. Do: plant an alder or birch (even if it stays small). Leave thistles and dandelions partly standing until they've finished flowering/setting seed. Hang a silo feeder with nyjer seed or sunflower seeds in winter. Mow parks or yards in stages: there’s always seed somewhere.

Ecological importance

Siskins are seed-cleaners. They extract seeds from alder cones and birch catkins, keeping the seed flow going. They are themselves prey for sparrowhawk and goshawk—little energy packets in winter.

When in the Netherlands

Possible year-round. Numbers fluctuate: some winters suddenly in huge numbers, other years hardly at all. They breed mainly in coniferous woodland and mixed forest edges.

Status

Not threatened. However dependent on seed-bearing trees and herb-rich margins.