• Tuesday-What'sUP August 17 - 09:49 pm

Frederic W. Koski captured a couple great shots of this Goldfinch, perched precariously on the stem of what looks like some type of prickly thistle plant. In the second photo, it looks like he pulled a strand right out of the flower part for dinner. I hope it's tasty. Another colorful bird, although more subdued than the brightly colored Goldfinch, is this Cedar Waxwing that Frederic spotted. It sure is a pretty bird, despite the black mask he wears covering his beak and eyes. Since this bird's primary diet is fruit from trees, I'd say this is getting to be the perfect time of year for these birds to have a feast.

beautiful pictures

It seems like the goldfinches nest quite late, in order to feast on the thistles when they go to seed. Perhaps what he/she is doing is gathering nesting material in the second picture?

"perched vicariously"?????

The Goldfinch...Iowa's state bird.

What beautiful pictures. I have a "Green Wizard" flower here...had 4 this year, and it goes to seed, and those goldfinches clean the seeds right up...it is amazing to watch.

And one day, I watched a goldfinch take on a dandelion that had gone to seed. LOLOL!!! OMG...it was a wrestling match that was just hilarious to watch...the stem didn't hold the bird, so it kept hitting the ground and coming back up swinging....it persisted till that dandelion's seeds were gone...

BEAUTIFUL pictures!!

Birds are so darn cute! I could sit outside and watch them all day. We had some baby birds in one of our bird houses who must have lost their mother, because they died. So sad:(

Fine photos!

Wonderful pictures, thank you, Fred!

Around our property we usually have lots of goldfinches but I've only seen 1 cedar waxwing in the 23 yrs. we've lived here....it was out near our pond which had some wild cherry trees around. They're such beautiful, unique birds!

Ceder Waxwings like spiders too. Watched them pick the well nurished ones off the big window in front of the cabin. You could almost hear the spiders going "UH OH".

The first picture made a great desktop background today! Thanks for wonderful photos - I love bird pictures!

Just found this information about the nesting habits of the goldfinch:

Nesting: American Goldfinches breed later in the summer than most songbirds. Their breeding is timed to coincide with the peak abundance of thistle seed. They often nest in loose colonies. The nest is located in an upright fork of a shrub, tree, or occasionally a dense weed. The female builds a tightly woven, compact cup of plant fibers and spider webs and lines it with thistle-down. The female incubates 4 to 6 eggs for 12 to 14 days. The male brings her food while she incubates, and while she broods the young for the first few days after they hatch. After that, both parents bring food to the young. The young leave the nest after 12 to 17 days, but the parents continue to feed the young for a few weeks. American Goldfinches generally raise one or two broods each year.

Pat and Glenda: Perhaps the goldfinch is perched precariously on the end of that prickly thistle stem and not vicariously.

Mary says: That's the word I meant to use, Gary...thanks for helping me out with that. ;-)

Many autumns I've seen a flock of Cedar Waxwings gouge on the red berries of the shrubs around the front porch. And I really enjoy the cheery song of the goldfinches especially as they bob up and down while in flight. Such a joyous sound. I watch them feeding on a nearby feeder on the light post each day. Truely the best things in life are free!