Goldfinches

We love our little goldfinches! We have them year round pretty much unless it is really cold and then we may not see them for a few months during the coldest part of the year. They started coming to our yard many years ago when we put out niger seed for them in a finch feeder. They came with the little red or purple finches and have been a staple in the garden since!

In our front garden we have tons of Coneflowers, Brazilian Verbena and Phlox, which we found out through watching are some of their favorite seeds to eat. They also like thistles and teasels, which grow in the bottom of the back yard by the road.

They are so fun to watch. They arrive in small groups sometimes, but mostly in pairs, either groups of males or males and females. They will eat and eat and if you get to close, they will fly up to the wires above the house or the branches of the pinoak and fuss until you move back to a safe distance so that they can resume eating.

That is part of why I have had such a hard time getting pictures of them. I try and try, but have not been able to win their trust yet. These were taken at the beginning of July when the Brazilian Verbena was just starting to go to seed. Keith could not figure out why the tall stalks were bent over in some places until we caught these fellas in the act. In most cases, when they land, they are so light that the stalks can support them, but I guess on the stalks where more flowerheads had gone to seed, they would bend when the birds landed. But that didn’t bother them, they just hung on and kept eating.

Lots of times when I go out to get into my car in the morning before work, I catch them munching away and they fly up to the wire and just fuss and fuss at me while I get into the car. I have gotten in and backed out of the driveway and just waited and watched as they come back and happily continue munching. We love watching them. They are so bright against the purples and pinks and greens in the garden. And they are very social amongst themselves when they arrive in groups.

Natural entertainment!