WITH SUMMER PLUMAGE IN THE SNOW

Male American Goldfinch with spring molt almost completed

The photo today sums it all up how we started the day. A fresh layer of very wet snow clung to trees, flowers, and bushes while more than a dozen American Goldfinches visited our bird feeders. They are in process of changing from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of their body feathers and most male goldfinches have their distinctive summer colors already. Yesterday evening when it started snowing I was already hoping for this photo opportunity in the morning. As you can probably tell, I was not unhappy. The snow melted away during the day and spring will continue…

FRONT AND BACK

Bobolink, Dubuque, Iowa

Usually we call it a failure when we just get a shot of the backside of a bird but sometimes there is an exception from the rule…

Habitat loss is the main reason why we don’t get the Bobolink more often in front of the camera and when I have a chance I try to make a few clicks. They are one of the few songbirds that go through two complete molts each year. After breeding they change to a more camouflaged plumage.

As you can see, this male is still in full display. When they show you the front side, it is not easy to get a sharp picture from a distance. Most of the time I use the eye or the chest as my focal point, but here both are pitch-black and there is no contrast to lock focus on.

Well, here is the butt shot! Isn’t this angel-shaped pattern of a white rump and white wing patches interesting? And it is much easier to make that photo! The sensor in the camera just wants to stay on that black and white contrast…😉

ALL YEAR LONG

American Goldfinch, near Durango, Iowa

Goldfinches breed later than most birds in North America, mostly not before mid-summer. They are vegetarians with almost no exceptions and they rely on plants that provide seeds, like thistle, milkweed, and others. The American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts twice a year. The males get their pretty yellow feathers in late winter and it makes it very easy to identify them even over a long distance. We have them around here in eastern Iowa all year long, but it might not be the same birds that we see during the winter because they migrate.

A good way to attract them to the backyard is by providing a bird bath that is always filled and of course heated during winter time. We don’t see them actually bathing very often but they sure like to drink. Setting up a little perch helps to make a picture without the bird bath in the frame. The gesture of the finch, just ready to jump down to the water source, made me choose this photo for today’s blogpost. Nothing spectacular, but still pretty…

SPRING MOLT

American Goldfinch ---------------- 

It was an easy picture to make. This is just outside of my office window and the only challenge is the glass between the bird and the camera. I don’t do a lot of “feeder pictures” but couldn’t resist this time. The American Goldfinches are in their spring molt at the moment. It happens very fast and in a few days they all will have their new feathers and this golden-yellow color that makes it easy to identify them during the summer. Although the males sing like crazy during spring, pairs do not nest until later in the summer when seeds are available in abundance. Goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively, from thistle, sunflower, aster, to grasses and tree seeds. We have a lot of Goldfinches here and their molt is for us another sure sign that winter is almost over.

CHANGING FEATHERS

American Goldfinch, Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

Several bird species change their feathers twice a year during the molt. The most apparent one here in spring is the American Goldfinch. The males give up their olive-gray to olive-brown winter feathers and change to a bright yellow body. The shot was made right through my office window and as you can see the goldfinches are not completely done yet with their spring molt.

NATURE CLICKS #261 - AMERICAN GOLDFINCH IN WINTER PLUMAGE

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head

The American Goldfinch male is the prettiest of all finches we have here, especially in the summer. Their winter plumage is a little dull, but if the sunlight is bounced around by the snow on the ground, as we had it earlier this month, the colors can be very intense. The goldfinches stay in Iowa all year long and we see them here in large numbers coming to the bird feeders. Now, with the snow all gone and temperatures on the rise we will see soon the change to their breeding plumage again. It is the only member of its family that has a second and complete molt of its body feathers in the spring. All other species have just one molt each year in the fall. (source: iBird PRO app)