Jewels of summer

Male (left) and female American Goldfinches.

               Goldfinches are fairly regular visitors to my feeders. They come in groups and dress up my tube feeders like jewels of summer.
               In the summer the male American Goldfinch is about the prettiest bird that visits our yards. Their bright yellow and black coloring makes them obvious. They are less evident in the winter, when their colors fade to a yellowish-gray and black.
               Since American Goldfinches are year-round residents in most of the continental U.S., you have a good chance of attracting them most anywhere. If you live in the Southwest, you may confuse the American Goldfinch with the Lesser Goldfinch, which has a more black on its back and head.
               Like most birds, goldfinches like sunflower seeds. But if you want to bring them in numbers, try thistle or nyger seed. You can present the food in a number of ways. Some people even plant thistle in their gardens. And there are goldfinch-specific feeding methods. One is a tube thistle feeder, which looks like a normal tube feeder, only with tiny slits in the ports. A thistle sock works too. This is a seed-filled net that you can hang from a limb or another feeder. Finches cling to these like chickadees.
               If you're not sure you have any goldfinches around, try buying one of those socks to put out. The reward is well worth the expense.

               Here's what I saw at my feeders today:

(AM, partly cloudy, 85 degrees, 30 minutes)

House Finch
American Goldfinch
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Brown Thrasher
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse
Red-winged Blackbird