Hello Tweeters,
I have lived in this home in Madrona, among the big leaf maples, and
checking and filling our hanging feeders for about 40 years now. In the
spring we regularly host a few Pine Siskins and an occasional Goldfinch,
inserting themselves between our much more numerous House Finches and
Chickadees.
This spring we had our usual bunch of Siskins -- and then, about a
month ago the Goldfinches arrived. The giant flock of perhaps a hundred
birds, including a few Siskins, has been feeding in and singing from our
maples, beginning at daylight. They festoon our feeders, both nyger and
sunflower hearts, and both outnumber and outcompete our intimidated (I never
thought I would use that adjective for these) House Finches. As I write
this, there are a couple of dozen Goldfinches shifting in and out of our
feeders at about noon. Over the past month or so, the males have been
molting into their breeding plumage. Their dusty yellowish plumage makes
them almost invisable when they sit and feed in the maples with their
yellow-green leaf buds about to unfold.
I was interested in whether others have seen a significant increase
in the Goldfinch presence in Seattle over the past several weeks (as
compared to years past) or is it just my magnetic personality? Perhaps the
State Bird is now frustrated that they are now competing with our Great Blue
Heron City Bird.
Happy Goldfinching,
Fran Wood (male)
Madrona / Seattle
<fbwood at u.washington.edu>