Wild Birds

BACKYARD BIRDING

Northern Mockingbird

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal

Blue Jay

Baltimore Oriole

American Goldfinch

Monk Parakeet

Feeders

Wild Birds II

Wild Birds (Home)

American Goldfinch

Adult males in spring and early summer are bright yellow with black forehead, black wings with white markings, and white patches both above and beneath the tail. Adult females are duller yellow beneath, olive above.
Most small finches such as goldfinches, redpolls and purple finches are agile clinging birds that can feed in almost any position—even upside down. They are active and very acrobatic. They sometimes mill about in large numbers at feeders or on the ground beneath them. Goldfinches fly with a bouncy, undulating pattern and often call in flight, drawing attention to themselves.

To encourage goldfinches into your yard, plant native thistles and other composite plants, as well as native milkweed. Almost any kind of bird feeder may attract American Goldfinches, including hopper, platform, and hanging feeders, and these birds don’t mind feeders that sway in the wind.

You’ll also find American Goldfinches are happy to feed on the ground below feeders, eating spilled seeds. They’re most attracted to sunflower seed and nyjer seed, sometimes called “thistle” seed. Finches have strong, conical bills for cracking seeds, which make up the majority of their diet. And they’re valuable in your yard because they destroy many weed seeds. .