Country diary: The creaking song of the siskin unfurls in the cold air | Mark Cocker

Calver Weir, Derbyshire: Quite how many there are in the bare alders is hard to tell, but to hear them is pleasure enoughIt's interesting to reflect that until the 19th century, breeding siskins were confined to the northernmost Scottish pinewoods. Even now they're erratically spread and often no more than wandering winter visitors to this county.This was the perfect place to find them. The Derwent ran under the road bridge as a glimmering black plane then vanished into a skein of alder branches along each bank. Siskins love alder seeds, and even above the river roar I could hear their distinctive "be-Doo" calls. Perhaps the best way to convey the species' tiny size - it measures approximately 12cm and weighs 12g - is that I could see the birds in the bare alders only when they moved. Continue reading...