I do miss seeing those guys (the yellow finches are the males I believe) at our feeder while living in NE. BTW, they love sunflower seeds so put those in your feeder to get more. I think the chickadees like thistle seed, though I may have the two mixed up.
This is a goldfinch. They love thistle seed (also called niger), but will not eat sunflower seeds at my other feeder. Thistle seed requires a special feeder because it is so small. Years ago, I put up a thistle seed feeder, and wondered if the goldfinches would be able to find it. Within a couple of days, they were on the feeder. No idea how they found it – sense of smell? Now I put it out every spring.
Goldfinches will hang around coneflowers also.
I miss the farm. Our captain’s porch had eight or more feeders of both seed and nectar. Dozens of everything all day long.
Of them all the hummingbirds were the assholes and the juncos the sweetest.
My favorites were the indigo buntings. Wonderful song that is surprisingly loud for a small bird and funny to watch as they sang. They’d take a breath and their little butts would squeeze hard as they sang.
I’ve seen a few yellow guys recently in the Northwest as well.
physicsguy, you should have Carolina Chickadees around all year where you live. Goldfinches would be in your area only in the winter, and that means they won’t have their summer breeding plumage, like this male Neo photographed.
Neo, I cannot get that close to any bird. Did you use a normal 50mm lens or a telephoto one?
Nice pix, in any event.
Cicero:
I used my cellphone with the zoom. It’s not an especially good zoom, but it’s okay. I wasn’t all that far away, either. Maybe 10 feet? I was being very quiet.
Yeah, I had a thought that I mixed up that the finches actually like thistle.
Kate, Yes, though I would miss the males getting their yellow coats on.
In other news: CBS now reporting to expect to be surprised as to how fit and vigorous Biden will be at the debate. I guess not hard if they knock him up with amphetamines.
yes it’s going to look fake though, like at the state of the union,
They can hop him up with amphetamines, but he won’t have a teleprompter and note cards. He relies on these for public appearances, and sometimes even those don’t help.
@Kate:but he won’t have a teleprompter and note cards
So we’re told. So the media will say even if they are clearly visible on TV, like the “mostly peaceful protests” commemorating the Ascension of St Floyd.
The 0.5% of the population that would actually watch that debate may come away with opinions they didn’t have before they went in, but I’d not hold my breath.
Since Biden taught Muhammad Ali the Rope-a-Dope – humble me suspects that he has been using that technique against Trump and the MAGA mob in a lead-up to the debates…
American goldfinch is the state bird of Washington. They love my thistle patch.
I’ve never seen a goldfinch and am the poorer for it.
My favorite bird here in New Mexico is, of course, the road runner. They don’t run so much as skip across the ground like a flat stone thrown across a pond.
neo – This isn’t bird oriented but it is open and I’m fairly sure you like dogs so…
It’s been done before but compared to this very shallowly. This is absolutely the finest dog/girl dance act I have ever seen. A brilliant animal and great dog trainer.
Today, the U. S. Constitution entered into force! I didn’t remember to put up the Betsy Ross until late in the day, unfortunately, but eventually did so.
huxley on June 21, 2024 at 4:31 pm said:
“… the road runner. They don’t run so much as skip across the ground like a flat stone thrown across a pond.”
So you are saying that they are willey and deceptive, like that? 🙂
R2L:
They are wily and deceptive. They can peel full-out then STOP on a dime and fade into the background. They can snag bugs out of the air or off the ground like a major league shortstop. They can even eat rattlesnakes! They often hunt cooperatively in pairs. They have complex communications.
When a road runner looks at you, you know you’re being looked at.
What I was getting at is the way they run low to the ground — no vertical motion — with such long horizontal strides that they seem to be skimming along like a stone side-armed across the water.
Fascinating birds.
Doing a little research I find that road runners can run at speeds up to 20 mph. Usain Bolt, the fastest sprinter in the world, can almost hit 28 mph in the 100m.
I see road runners at my cafe. You can’t go up and pet them or anything, but they aren’t afraid of people. If their path takes them within 3-4 feet of a human sitting in the patio, it’s no skin off their beak.
Last week for several minutes I got to watch a parent road runner feeding a youngster in the parking lot. Road runners raise their young cooperatively, so it could have been the mother or father. The parent was so fast.
Boom! a cricket. Here you go, kid. That’s the way you do it. Boom! a bug. Here you go, kid. That’s the way you do it. Etc.
I do miss seeing those guys (the yellow finches are the males I believe) at our feeder while living in NE. BTW, they love sunflower seeds so put those in your feeder to get more. I think the chickadees like thistle seed, though I may have the two mixed up.
This is a goldfinch. They love thistle seed (also called niger), but will not eat sunflower seeds at my other feeder. Thistle seed requires a special feeder because it is so small. Years ago, I put up a thistle seed feeder, and wondered if the goldfinches would be able to find it. Within a couple of days, they were on the feeder. No idea how they found it – sense of smell? Now I put it out every spring.
Goldfinches will hang around coneflowers also.
I miss the farm. Our captain’s porch had eight or more feeders of both seed and nectar. Dozens of everything all day long.
Of them all the hummingbirds were the assholes and the juncos the sweetest.
My favorites were the indigo buntings. Wonderful song that is surprisingly loud for a small bird and funny to watch as they sang. They’d take a breath and their little butts would squeeze hard as they sang.
I’ve seen a few yellow guys recently in the Northwest as well.
Meanwhile,
Sen. Cotton: Biden Has Been Slow-walking Arms to Israel Since January
physicsguy, you should have Carolina Chickadees around all year where you live. Goldfinches would be in your area only in the winter, and that means they won’t have their summer breeding plumage, like this male Neo photographed.
Neo, I cannot get that close to any bird. Did you use a normal 50mm lens or a telephoto one?
Nice pix, in any event.
Cicero:
I used my cellphone with the zoom. It’s not an especially good zoom, but it’s okay. I wasn’t all that far away, either. Maybe 10 feet? I was being very quiet.
https://x.com/JonathanTurley/status/1804157968767726049
Yeah, I had a thought that I mixed up that the finches actually like thistle.
Kate, Yes, though I would miss the males getting their yellow coats on.
In other news: CBS now reporting to expect to be surprised as to how fit and vigorous Biden will be at the debate. I guess not hard if they knock him up with amphetamines.
yes it’s going to look fake though, like at the state of the union,
They can hop him up with amphetamines, but he won’t have a teleprompter and note cards. He relies on these for public appearances, and sometimes even those don’t help.
@Kate:but he won’t have a teleprompter and note cards
So we’re told. So the media will say even if they are clearly visible on TV, like the “mostly peaceful protests” commemorating the Ascension of St Floyd.
The 0.5% of the population that would actually watch that debate may come away with opinions they didn’t have before they went in, but I’d not hold my breath.
Since Biden taught Muhammad Ali the Rope-a-Dope – humble me suspects that he has been using that technique against Trump and the MAGA mob in a lead-up to the debates…
American goldfinch is the state bird of Washington. They love my thistle patch.
Hudson Inst., “The Agendas of Jew Hatred” (1:11:50):
https://youtu.be/w2yCNkBO0XU?si=MoilaCnT0d71xvoL
I’ve never seen a goldfinch and am the poorer for it.
My favorite bird here in New Mexico is, of course, the road runner. They don’t run so much as skip across the ground like a flat stone thrown across a pond.
neo – This isn’t bird oriented but it is open and I’m fairly sure you like dogs so…
It’s been done before but compared to this very shallowly. This is absolutely the finest dog/girl dance act I have ever seen. A brilliant animal and great dog trainer.
One of our first DuckSpa videos and one of the few without music. Two American robins and a Spotted towhee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CQ9LeGOUCI
This is our first attempt at a sunset video from the sunset two years ago today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHouCH712Aw
This is from last year on this day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8LpdRIwWy8
Might have good one tonight. Can never tell.
Today, the U. S. Constitution entered into force! I didn’t remember to put up the Betsy Ross until late in the day, unfortunately, but eventually did so.
huxley on June 21, 2024 at 4:31 pm said:
“… the road runner. They don’t run so much as skip across the ground like a flat stone thrown across a pond.”
So you are saying that they are willey and deceptive, like that? 🙂
R2L:
They are wily and deceptive. They can peel full-out then STOP on a dime and fade into the background. They can snag bugs out of the air or off the ground like a major league shortstop. They can even eat rattlesnakes! They often hunt cooperatively in pairs. They have complex communications.
When a road runner looks at you, you know you’re being looked at.
What I was getting at is the way they run low to the ground — no vertical motion — with such long horizontal strides that they seem to be skimming along like a stone side-armed across the water.
Fascinating birds.
Doing a little research I find that road runners can run at speeds up to 20 mph. Usain Bolt, the fastest sprinter in the world, can almost hit 28 mph in the 100m.
I see road runners at my cafe. You can’t go up and pet them or anything, but they aren’t afraid of people. If their path takes them within 3-4 feet of a human sitting in the patio, it’s no skin off their beak.
Last week for several minutes I got to watch a parent road runner feeding a youngster in the parking lot. Road runners raise their young cooperatively, so it could have been the mother or father. The parent was so fast.
Boom! a cricket. Here you go, kid. That’s the way you do it. Boom! a bug. Here you go, kid. That’s the way you do it. Etc.
That was a good day.
RE: The Religion of Peace.*
* See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13554601/lynch-mob-tourist-police-station-beat-death-fire-Koran-Pakistan.html
The question all of America has is: do road runners make that cartoon beep beep sound, or is that a Republican cheap fake thing?
How fast does the coyotes run
Jerry, according to this: “Clucks, crows, dove-like coos, dog-like whines, and hoarse guttural notes.” No beep-beep. 🙂
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-roadrunner
That is a seriously chonky goldfinch. They are normally roundish but he is impressive. Unless of course the camera puts on 20 grams…