American Goldfinch

Day 256: I have to keep reminding myself that American Goldfinches are now Spinus tristis rather than Carduelis, having been placed in the same genus as Pine Siskins. A lot of field guides haven't caught up to the change and will show them with the older nomenclature. The species is the official Washington State Bird, and one of the brightest spots of avian colour in our relatively drab population. They lose their gold in winter and in fact can be difficult for novice birders to distinguish from Siskins during non-breeding months. Pay close attention to the beak (Siskins' beaks are more pointed), and Goldfinches will have white wing bars (Siskins' are yellowish) and no streaking on the breast and back. No matter what the books tell you, American Goldfinches will pass on nyger if black-oil sunflower seeds are available to them.

American Goldfinch, Spinus Tristis

Day 208: The Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) are almost in full "bloom" now, having exchanged their drab winter colouration for summer's yellow plumage. They're still a bit pale, but even the females have taken on the greenish cast which makes them easy to pick out in a crowd of LGBs ("little grey birds"). In flight, there's no mistaking a Goldfinch. They fly like they're hanging bunting or a Christmas swag, in swooping dips followed by a peak which pins the top of the pattern: swoop, pin, swoop, pin, swoop, at last coming to rest on a branch or wire. As a human who has hiked trails like that, I can assure you that it has nothing to do with energy conservation, this going downhill just to climb back up again. So why has this flight pattern been selected for in their genes? Some bird species exhibit the same trait, but others are straight-line fliers, never losing altitude until it's time to land. There must be some advantage yet to be proposed by science for the swag-like flight of these golden ornaments of the sky.

Baker's Dozen

Day 351: Up until the moment this happened, I thought the Goldfinch Gang only had six members. There are at least thirteen in this photo, and I'm not sure there isn't a wee wink of a fourteenth head showing just to the left of the third bird from the left. These are mostly youngsters, some of which are still being fed by the parents. Their antics are hilarious, little wings trembling as they beg for food, vying with one another for space, learning to keep their balance, and of course coming to the shepherd's-hooks outside my window to remind me to refill the feeders. I'd been trying to capture at least five in one image and had the lens trained on the wire hoping that I was actually seeing six when a sudden flurry of yellow-grey swept in like thick mist. When it resolved into bird-shaped "droplets," there was my baker's dozen in perfect frame.

The Moochers

Day 344: You've heard me say it again and again: "There is nothing...absolutely nothing!...cuter than baby birds." In this case, it's half a dozen young Goldfinches who appeared as a group about five days ago as newly fledged, adorable fuzzballs with astonishing appetites. They gathered en masse on the shepherd's hook in the front flower bed, and when I didn't immediately look up from the computer, began flying to the window and flapping their wings gently against it. To be clear on a point here, they are not striking the window because they don't see it. It's less than a foot from the bend of the hook. I can't imagine that they aren't aware of the barrier and are trying to get inside. No, they are pointedly trying to get my attention. And it works. Sure enough, when I look up to see who's knocking, they'll be there, staring at me, trying to communicate by bird telepathy with the human they know is the Bringer of Food. A visual check of the feeders out the other window confirms it: empty. Whatever I am doing, it is laid aside so that I can fulfill my duties to my avian friends. In a few more hours, there will be another knock at the window, and I will again respond as my trainers expect. They've schooled me well.

American Goldfinch, Spinus Tristis

Day 221: This male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) capped off Global Big Day in the early evening of May 14, although I had already recorded the female of the species at the feeder. I had been worried that he wouldn't show up to be a spot of colour in my collage, but he obligingly perched in the contorted filbert for his portrait. Formerly known as Carduelis tristis, American Goldfinch holds the honour of being the state bird for Washington as well as for Iowa and New Jersey. Goldfinch pairs nest later in the summer than most other birds, and line their nests with fluff from dandelions, thistles and asters, the seeds of which also supply much of their natural food. At the feeder, they are said to prefer sunflower seed and nyger, but in my observations, they won't give nyger a second glance if sunflower seed is available. As a sidebar here, I introduced an invasive weed (Ambrosia artemisifolia) to my yard from a bag of nyger, so I no longer use it. In any event, I was glad to see Mr. Goldfinch at the close of Big Day, and for the record, I have now observed two visitors who did not show up for the event: Northern Flicker and Yellowthroat. I guess they didn't get the memo.

It's Behind Me, Isn't It?

Day 215: Don't turn around! Don't look! It's behind you! As he felt as the feeder rise like a teeter-totter when a significant weight landed on the far end, this Goldfinch must have thought the monster was catching up to him fast. I've often described Evening Grosbeaks as resembling a much larger version of a Goldfinch, but having the two birds side by side in proximity really points up the size difference. When you can only observe one bird, it is difficult to say, "That one's about the size of a sparrow" or "Big as a Steller's Jay, that one!" In trying to determine whether you're seeing a Raven as opposed to a Crow without the two side by side, an estimate of size is a poor tool because objects at a distance are almost impossible to judge. You need to learn the other identifying features. In the case of Goldfinch vs. Grosbeak, that's fairly easy. The Goldfinch is brighter yellow with very little darker shading on the neck and back. During mating season, Grosbeaks' heavier bills turn chartreuse, and a Goldfinch's dainty beak is pinkish.

Yellow Fellow

Day 199: Although many birds molt only once a year, others exchange their drab winter clothes for more attractive colours during mating season. Their winter garb helps to camouflage them when trees are bare, but obviously, this is less necessary when there is plenty of foliage in which to hide from predators. Then the birds can afford to put on the best show in the hopes of attracting a mate. This seasonal colour change is hormonally triggered, and a dramatic example can be seen in American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis). The vivid yellow of the males seems almost to glow, owing to the fact that the thin feathers overlap in such a manner that the yellow tips are backlit by light reflected from the feathers' white bases. The female also takes on a yellowish tinge, although not nearly as bright as the hue of the male, and thus as sole incubator of the eggs, the female benefits by retaining a large portion of her camouflage during this crucial period. Juveniles are similar in colour to females.

Goldmine

Day 265: There's a goldmine right outside my window. I can't recall a year when I've had as many American Goldfinches as have come to the feeders this summer, nor that they have ever taken up residence for so long. With Grosbeaks packed shoulder to shoulder on the trays (a situation which often leads to arguments and beak-fights), the Goldfinches have learned that the safest place to feed is on the ground. There's no dearth of seed there. The Grosbeaks are sloppy eaters and their cast-offs afford a banquet to those who couldn't book a table before the crowds arrived, but when the grass gets a little tall, searching for tidbits can be challenging nevertheless. I weed-whacked this morning, and before I'd even put the machine away, my guests showed their gratitude by showing up in droves. It's a busy place out there!

Yard Birds

Day 205: I don't want to bore my readers with too many posts of my sketching attempts, but on the other hand, I'm rather proud of what I've accomplished with the help of "Laws Guide to Drawing Birds." Each of these was based on a photo I've taken of the respective species: American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis, formerly Carduelis), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus). In the case of the female Purple Finch, I changed up the background to reflect a behaviour I observed recently. Several Purps settled in on my blueberry bushes in late afternoon and began plucking the blossoms! Cornell advises that they consume nectar by biting the base of the flower. The bushes are now netted and outfitted with mylar ribbon, and now I understand why I didn't get many blueberries last year. The drawings were executed in a combination of ink and coloured pencil, and the wing detail in the Pine Siskin was a real challenge to maintain.

Winter Clothes

Day 12: Yep, it's time to break out the winter clothes. A few light frosts had already touched my garden, not enough to knock the raspberries entirely out of commission, but I could tell by mid-afternoon yesterday that the overnight temperature was going to take a plunge, if perhaps not all the way to 22 degrees as has been forecast. It didn't miss by much. My weather station recorded 26 for the low, and I was glad I'd dug out my fleece nightgown and put an extra blanket on the bed. But I am not the only one changing into my winter garb. The Goldfinches have lost their summer glow and only their white wing-bars make them instantly recognizable among the other LBJs in the yard (that's "Little Brown Jobs" in birder parlance). A close encounter yesterday when one nearly landed on me as I was filling the feeders inspired me to wonder what triggers the change in some birds and not in others. I did a fair bit of information-mining, and the consensus is that we don't really know for sure. It is believed to be keyed by photoperiod insofar as timing is concerned, i.e., length/strength of daylight, but schools of thought are divided as to whether it is related to camouflage and/or thermal efficiency. There simply hasn't been much research done on the subject. Oh, if only I were fifty years younger! There are so many questions I want answered, so many "whys and wherefors" without adequate explanations. This, my dear readers, is why I write these natural-history posts: to inspire you to guide your children into pursuing education in the sciences and perhaps even to become the scientists of the future. Maybe one of them will find out why the vivid Goldfinch puts on such drab winter clothes.

Gold Mine

Day 190: The Goldfinches (now Spinus tristis, formerly Carduelis) are wearing their bright summer clothes now, and coming to the feeders by the dozen. The contorted filbert looks like a Christmas tree, the scarlet of Purple Finches here, bright yellow Goldfinches and Evening Grosbeaks there, blue Steller's Jays popped in for accents. That's not to say the LBJs are absent ("little brown jobs," female finches, sparrows, juncos, chickadees), although they're barely noticeable among the abundance of more brilliantly coloured birds. They're going through a coffee-can measure of black-oil seed per day now, and we're a long way from full population. There's a lot to be said for reliability, and I attribute the number and diversity of bird species in my yard to the fact that I've been feeding them daily for thirty years. And word gets around: "Hey, here's a consistent food source, good stuff!" I may never do a Big Year, but every day is a Big Day in Crow's corner of the world.