Gold Finches eating leaves

[daltonjj]

I was talking bird feeding items with a friend today and she said that in both the spring and fall, several gold finches in her yard were eating the leaves of their lilac bush. They would eat at the thistle feeder and then fly to and eat the top portion of the leaf, right near the stem.

Have any of your heard of that before and what do you make of it??

[smudgepot]

I've not noticed that behavior. I have a lilac bush in my yard, infact one of my thistle feeders hangs from the lilac. Very interesting!

[KCFoggin]

I remember reading somewhere that they eat leaves for the lipids but I was under the impression that this was done during breeding season.

[Katy Penland]

Our Lesser Goldfinches eat the small, new leaves on some of the weeds and (I think) sprouted birdseed. I've also felt, as KC mentioned, that they were picking up bugs as well, but the leaves are very shredded after the birds leave and there's been quite a bit of green on their bills while eating. None of the other species do this that I've observed, only the Lessers. I get Americans so seldom in the yard, I've only seen them eat from the feeders.

[I4ani]

Hi,
Some observations from a recently "acquired", small "Charm" of the English Goldfinches in my garden.I have been watching them through a scope from about 10m (30 feet ish) and have seen them go from the Niger feeder to the following shrubs/plants and eat the fresh shoots/buds from the following - Passion Flower and Winter Flowering Jasmine. I have been up to the plants and checked the buds/leaves, and on the leaves there are clear " beak cuts" in the ends of the leaves.Hope this is of some use to someone!!
regards i4ani.

[daltonjj]

Hi,
Some observations from a recently "acquired", small "Charm" of the English Goldfinches in my garden.I have been watching them through a scope from about 10m (30 feet ish) and have seen them go from the Niger feeder to the following shrubs/plants and eat the fresh shoots/buds from the following - Passion Flower and Winter Flowering Jasime. I have been up to the plants and checked the buds/leaves, and on the leaves there are clear " beak cuts" in the ends of the leaves.Hope this is of some use to someone!!
regards i4ani.

Thanks for the information ... my friend said the same thing about the leaves having a clear "beak cut" on the edge ... in this case with the lilac, as I noted in the original thread, in the spring and fall but not during the summer.
I will pass this on to her ... Thanks for the input from everyone.