Goldfinches are a species of bird belonging to the genus Carduelis, which is part of the songbird family. Three of the four varieties of goldfinches found in the United States are the American, smaller, and Lawrence’s goldfinches. The most prevalent of these and the ones you’re most likely to see in your backyard are American goldfinches.
Since American goldfinches are songbirds, they are distinguished by their vivid colors and melodies. They become more colorful in the spring and summer, with orange bills and males with plumage that is canary yellow and black. Their plumage is not the only thing that makes them unique. Unlike other birds, goldfinches are voracious eaters of seeds rather than worms or other invertebrates.
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Attracting Goldfinches with Feeders
Whether you’ve been attracting birds to your backyard for years or are just starting, goldfinches are relatively easy to lure to a bird feeder.
American goldfinches will readily come to bird feeders all year around. A good birdfeeder can supply almost all of their needs.” That’s because they love eating seeds, which are the base of their diet.
Their favorite foods are nyjer seeds in a tube feeder and black oil sunflower seeds—both in the shell and without the shell—in either a tube feeder or a hopper feeder.
Nyjer seeds are little, black, extremely nutritious seeds that give goldfinches lots of energy. Although nyjer seeds are sometimes confused with thistle seeds, they actually originate from the African yellow daisy, or Guizotia abyssinica, not the thistle plant.
Goldfinches consume a lot of thistle or nyjer seeds during the winter. They will flock in large numbers on thistle seeds, especially in the winter months.
For a variety of reasons, goldfinches may refuse to feed from a feeder on occasion. Avoid setting up a feeder in a public place as birds want to feel secure and shielded from predators like cats or hawks. The best location is next to tiny shrubs or trees so they can quickly hide if necessary.
Best Plants for Attracting Goldfinches
Try growing the goldfinch’s favorite flowers in your yard, as the birds are drawn to certain plants in addition to feeders. Attracting goldfinches can be achieved through the use of sunflowers and other aster plants with enormous flowers. Thistle, coneflower, and cosmos blooms are likely to offer a consistent food source that will entice them to stay.
The tall native species known as the cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), which has yellow, sunflower-like blossoms and an abundance of seeds, is another well-liked food source. A bonus feature of the cup plant is that its leaves come together around the stem to create a tiny cup that can be used to store rainwater for avian thirst.
Water Resources
The provision of a water source for goldfinches to sip from and take baths in is another factor to draw them in. A range of receptacles will be used by goldfinches for drinking and bathing; however, these should only be one to two inches deep, particularly while swimming.
Make sure the position of a water basin or bird bath is out of the way for cats and other animals that prey on birds before setting it up. They are safer when raised off the ground; however, avoid packing them too full. Make sure they are shallow so the birds can bathe in them without worrying about getting submerged in too much water.
If you want a variety of bird species to have access to the water in the bird bath, you need also to designate different levels of height for the birds. Adding flat stones to a bird bath to create varying depths may enable more species of birds to use the water source for bathing, as various birds have varying sizes. In the winter, goldfinches will make use of a heated bird bath.
Materials and Environment for Nesting
While some birds nest in cavities and may use birdhouses, goldfinches do not nest in cavities and will not live in nest boxes or birdhouses. Preferably, goldfinches construct their nests.
Nests in tiny trees and tall shrubs are preferred by goldfinches. Thistledown is the primary material used in goldfinch nests because it gives the nests their strength and is extremely soft inside. They use different materials to construct their nest as well.
They enjoy lining the nest cup with plant fibers, such as grass fragments, and completing some of the finer details with moss, animal hair, and plant rootlets, just like many other songbirds do. If you want goldfinches to build their nests on your land, you should have some open areas, have a cover that resembles a meadow, and have shrubs close by.
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