I finally got to see an American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. They’ve been coming around all winter, but they’ve mostly headed north now, leaving before turning yellow. This little straggler made my day on Saturday when he stopped by the nyger bag for a few seeds in between visits by the always yellow Lesser Goldfinches.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
Neat! I haven’t seen a breeding plumage American Goldfinch yet this year. I hope I do before they all have left. The male Yellow-rumped Warblers have also gotten their breeding plumage — a nice change from the drab birds we’ve been seeing all winter long.
James,
The photo is wonderful! Great shot! I wish I could capture birds like that–think I probably need a higher tech camera though. 🙂
I’m glad you finally got to see one of these handsome fellows in all their bright yellow glory, right in your own yard! I’m so happy for you!
Heather, I was pretty excited. I wish he’d let me have the full view, but I’ll take what I can get.
Mikael, I didn’t know the Yellow-rumps were still around. I haven’t seen one in my neighborhood in weeks.
A~Lotus, thanks. It’s not that high tech. The feeder is really close to my window.
what a lovely handsome bird, so different from the UK goldfinch, which is stunning too
I looked at some pictures of the UK Goldfinch, which is also a very nice looking bird. It seems so exotic to me.
[…] Most Appropriate Use of a Nyjer Sock goes to Coyote Mercury and his post American Goldfinch. For the record, other appropriate uses include hacky sack and filling it with nickels to use as […]