It took a while to capture the goldfinches on the thistle socks but I was determined since I never know when they might disappear again. But they seem to be happy for the moment. This was the scene in the yard on Saturday. Try counting how many goldfinches are in the picture above. I get 17, but there could be a couple more on the other side of the socks that were not visible.
At first I took several pictures through the back porch windows, but even if they were clean, the screens would make the image fuzzy, so I decided to try going outside, knowing fully well that I would flush the birds and they might take their time coming back.
When nobody came back to the feeders after a few chilly minutes, I decided to walk out to the front yard when I heard crows calling from that direction. As far as I could tell they were not harassing a raptor. I was happy to see them hanging out in the vicinity. They were a bit too far away for the 300mm lens and I couldn’t get all six of them to line up at any one time but I managed to commemorate a crow presence.
There was a starling.
And a nice male House Finch.
A female house finch offered an even better pose.
But I really wanted to see how many goldfinches I could capture on the thistle socks before they dispersed, so I walked back slowly toward the yard and snuck up on them, hanging by the gate.
The goldfinches have shown their preference for fresh niger in three large socks. I have noticed from previous experience that the more socks I hang, the more will come. And I really think they like this situation because they don’t have to compete with the other birds for position, only each other.
Not much else to report locally at the moment, I’ll be back to pictures from Ecuador shortly.
How nice to see a group of goldfinches in one place. I wish I could get a bunch of them in my backyard next spring. Thanks for the post Lisa. 🙂
Thanks, H.J. I’ll try to send some your way. I had no idea there were still so many around, I guess it was just a matter of providing them with what they wanted. (!)
Loved seeing so many Goldfinches at once! I counted and got 18! I recounted too. I did count the little tail from the back on bottom far left and isn’t there one behind the left side of the green roof? Maybe I’m wrong, but fun and 17 or 18, WOW!
I think you’re right, it is 18! I kept forgetting which ones I’d counted. I think at times I have had nearly 30. And it’s mind-boggling because until I got these thistle socks and fresh seed, I was getting maybe 4 birds tops. Now if I could just straighten out the feeder pole… 🙂
Thanks Lisa. Great to see so many goldfinches.
Thanks, MaryLee. I’m amazed myself! 🙂
Excellent pictures of your goldfinch flock on the sock.
Thank you. I just had to commemorate the crowd as it still amazes me.
Nice photos. I’ve used nyjer socks but they tended to wear out faster than I liked.
Yeah I am not wild about the socks but the finches love them and they’re not expensive. I may try something else in the warmer weather and see what happens.
Look at them all! I was wondering where all our goldfinches had gone to, I haven’t seen one for months.
They really communicate with each other because I only had a couple checking in every now and then, and now with the new socks and new seed there’s about 30 regulars. I look forward to hearing their whiny little calls when I go out in the yard. 🙂