Pine Siskins?

We live in the Appalachians in Western NC, the first three years we had flocks of pine siskins at the feeders most of the deep winter, they headed back into the highlands in (usually) February.


But, the last two years , and now this year, I have not seen even one. does anyone have any idea what's going on with them?

Pine Siskins?
Pine Siskins move around depending on food each winter. Last winter in Colorado, the Pine Siskins stayed in the mountains, and this winter quite a few are on the plains. I don't know what they do in the east, though in the west, they can be easy to find or not easy to find, depending on their food source.
Reply:According to recent reports from the Audubon Society, many species are in serious decline - some declining 50-80% on the past 4 decades.





"Since 1967 the average population of the common birds in steepest decline has fallen by 68 percent; some individual species nose-dived as much as 80 percent. All 20 birds on the national Common Birds in Decline list lost at least half their populations in just four decades."


http://www.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebi...





Also, with global warming, many birds have changed their migration patterns. Some birds are being seen in places they were never seen before, and some birds are absent from parts of their historic range.