american goldfinch

Still very busy here getting ready to teach at a four day painting seminar and getting hundreds of tender plants cleaned up and back in the house for the winter. So, here is a photo from last May when our Goldfinches were in their fresh summer plumage. This beautiful fellow gave me some...

My Goldfinches seem to be down to 1 pair that come to the yard regularly now. The male is still quite bright. Maybe the others have scattered to start nesting process since they are very late season nesters. That cvould be why I only see the one pair now.

Enjoying some black oil sunflower seeds.

This handsome boy was sitting atop the crook which holds our Niger Thistle feeder. Isn't he gorgeous?!!

As common as these guys are, it has taken me a couple years to get a decent shot of one in all of his summer glory. This one and the House Finch coming up are from today.

Milk thistle makes excellent building materials. 1/750th sec., ISO 400, tripod, shake reduction off. Not sure what the f/stop is, maybe ~f/14.

The photographed female landed in a shrub at the edge of a field. Unlike the breeding male's bright golden body, the breeding female's is more subdued, and the back retains much of the buff color of a winter bird. The breeding female also lacks the black forecrown of the breeding male

In central Maine, American Goldfinches are year-round residents. In winter, the adult male goldfinch's body plumage is largely buff (and beautiful), with a little black on the forecrown just above the bill. In spring, molting and feather growth transforms the body to gold, and black spreads...

While this species is most frequently seen foraging in mixed hay fields the Orono, Maine area, this individual was photographed on a tree branch at the edge of a field.

This is a Goldfinch in a Juneberry Tree.

Here are American goldfinch and Lesser goldfinch both on the same feeder sock, and I think the green-backed one is the sub-species of Lessers we normally get here west of the Rockies (Spinus psaltria hesperophilus), but there's also a black-backed Lesser's (Spinus psaltria psaltria) there, which...

This lovely male American Goldfinch came down for a drink at out birdbath. He certainly is colorful!

The Goldfinches were at the feeder, and a Titmouse came charging in.

With the winter weather here in Texas, I finally had goldfinches show up to my thistle feeders!

Like Stanley's Goldfinches, these guys are going through 20 lbs of sunflower hearts every two weeks.

...without my Sweet Gum trees ;)

In winter plumage...