Friday, July 17, 2009

Goldfinches amid the colors of Summer!

So much work for such a little tiny seed!
I found this pair of American Goldfinches seeking those tiny little thistle seeds. Fields of Canadian thistle beginning to seed...taking to the air like flocks of tiny white birds...

He, on one side of the path and...
she on the other...a perfect place for lunch!


It was a nice to see the finches feeding from Mother Nature. I usually see them hanging upside down on my nyjer feeders..
Such a lovely contrast of textures and color...on such a nice day!

18 comments:

Leedra said...

Beautiful photos, yes it is so nice to be able to capture them eating at natural's picnic table. This morning I watched a male eating at the zinnias. I was peeping through the wooden blinds, naturally no camera, but it was still a joy to watch.

Leedra’s Photos For Fun

Gail said...

Got their own buffet.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Great pictures.

Janice K said...

Tina, they are all beautiful, but I especially liked the 3rd one with the thistles floating in the air.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Tina, We have had alot of beautiful Goldfinches this summer also. They seem to be at the feeders off and on all day long.

I love seeing yours in all of that purple color..
Hugs,
Betsy

Chris Petrak said...

Thistle birds actually eating thistle! I plant thistle & milkweed in the hopes that they'll give me a break on my sunflower seed bill, but no noticeable decrease. Very nice series of photos.

NCmountainwoman said...

Beautiful photographs. The thistle is gorgeous. I agree that it is so nice to see birds doing their natural thing.

Wendy said...

Those photos are so sweet! Especially the close ups of the female, gorgeous!

George said...

These are beautiful pictures, Tina. We have lots of goldfinches around, but we see them visiting our feeders. They must be finding plenty of thistles, however, since they mostly ignore our nyjer feeders.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Tina: I have this same situation here in Ohio and I counted five goldfich in a ten foot section.

Anonymous said...

I had not seen this kind of thistle before. We get the Canada thistle which usually has a single blue flower at the top that turns to seed that the finches love. This is really a bonanza for them.

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Eve said...

Just beautiful Tina!

Unknown said...

The yellow plumage stands out beautiful in those wide angle frames. Beautiful

Shelley said...

They look so beautiful among the thistle - pretty birds in pretty scenery!!

Chris Petrak said...

A return thanks - biologist friend says with authority that red is a pigment color related to diet (e.g. the red spots on waxwings) - so that is probably why the cap is orange, not red, alto the juvie males - the ones w/red cap on top - rarely have bright red - at least the ones coming to my feeders. But you definitely have a juvie male Hairy. Sibley does not show the juvie female, but downy & hairy young females (no red caps or spots) definitely are getting fed around my yard. They always make for good birding. And oh yes, now you need to get started on your second 100 posts!

Dawn Fine said...

Oh my! such nice photos!love the two where the finches are picking out some of the fluff!
i wonder now..do they eat the fluff part or just the seed?
must use google now..:)

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Indeed a beautiful set of photographs :)

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A Colorful World said...

Wonderful goldfinch pictures!

would like to hear your thoughts..