I love to see the bright yellow and black Goldfinch at my bird feeders. For years we didn’t have one, but I realized getting then to visit my backyard feeder is not that difficult. All I needed was a bag of thistle seed.
As is common in the wild, the male is more showing with yellow with black trim and the females are an olive-yellow.
The adult birds put on quite a show they gather seed from my seed bag and from plants like thistle and zinnias, cosmos, bee balm, liatris and coreopsis.
I read that the Goldfinches love thistle seed, also known as nyjer, and sunflower seeds. Seed makes up almost their entire diet.
I also realized that the little yellow birds really appreciate having a bird bath close by. It is mesmerizing to watch them feed and then splash.
The Goldfinch is among the latest nesting birds and in late summer, they collect thistle-down to line their nests and raise four to six young, feeding them a partially digested substance called “canary milk.” Both the male and female feed the baby birds.
I must say I’ve not heard my Goldfinches sing; the birding books say they may sing “per-chick-o-ree” with each flap of their wings as they fly. In winter, they may sing “se-mee, se-mee” and other pretty twittering songs.
It’s not too late–put out a bag of thistle seed now and you’ll have these amazing little yellow birds in your yard in no time.
Living In Door County 