Preparing for Winter

This is the time of year that my American Goldfinches start preparing for the coming winter.  Nowadays we have to fill up our three thistle feeders every day.

This is my favorite time of year to watch the Goldfinches right outside my kitchen window.                              

The birds get very competitive, and the females now seem to out number the males.  Sometimes, even if there is a vacant perch they will push one another off a perch so they can sit there.  Not sure why they do this, but it is fun to watch them go at it.

American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts its body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer. The brightening yellow of male goldfinches each spring is one welcome mark of approaching warm months.  Of course the opposite holds true for the darkening of the feathers is a sign that Autumn is here.

Goldfinches do move south in winter following a pattern that seems to coincide with regions where the minimum January temperature is no colder than 0 degrees Fahrenheit on average.  Since we thankfully never get that cold on Long Island, we have our American Goldfinch all year round. The Goldfinches are very versatile, they will even feed upside if they have to.

Goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively. Main types include seeds from composite plants such as sunflowers, thistle, asters, etc., grasses, and trees such as alder, birch, western red cedar, and elm. At feeders they prefer nyjer(thistle) and sunflower.  So we keep our thistle feeders far away from our other feeders, but the Goldfinch know where everything in our yard is situated.  We even added another feeder to our collection that is primarily for sunflower seeds (the yellow feeder). 



An interesting fact about Goldfinches, is that human activity has generally benefited the American Goldfinch. It is often found in residential areas, attracted to bird feeders put up by humans, which increases its survival rate in these areas.  And believe it or not but, deforestation by humans also creates open meadow areas which are the preferred habitat of the American Goldfinch.

These birds sing for me outside my window all day long.  What a privilege it is to be a part of their daily routine!