August 27, 1961 - GoldfinchesFocus on Nature
by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
Lt's raining outside and there
The female bird, I am told, does
is a damp chill in the air, the
all the incubating wile the de-
sort of day that makes you feel
are losing our summer. Other
voted male provides curb service
to the nest and sings his heart
we
things add to this melancholy
out 'as flies in great Acl soles
feeling —the Grackles are flock-
the ne area.
ing in the nearby woods, t h e
os the young hatch, both a r e
busy gathering seeds from thi-
Tree Swallows have left and my
stles, dandelions and other weeds
Martin boxes are empty for the
that make up the summer har-
first time this year. That mystical
vest of seed.
flight called migration has started
can fl the y
again and we become just a little
When the young
y g y
blue to think of losing the joys
join other birds to take up their
of Nature we have- been accus-
wandering from field to characteristic old Gold -
g is
tomed to all summer.
T h e r e is some consolation
finches and the birds remain in
though in the fact that for some
flocks throughout the year with
the breeding
strange reason each year some
the exception of
hardy individuals that ordinarily
season. The is made of delicate
migrate to the warmer, tempting
South, remain with us. Proff of
plant fibers and lined with the
this is the occasional Robin,
soft down of the thistle. This is
Thrasher, Towhee and others who
perhaps another reason why Mr
Goldfinch holds off his house -
turn up during the winter months.
building until suitable material is
But of all the birds who "stick it
my favorite is the Goldfinch.
available
n add touyour
out"
He not the
ycne
ch these
delightful birds around, it might
g
of hardy
unction of being one of the hardy
being
be worth your while to put out
ones but also holds the honor
being the last nesting bird
tufts of cotton where you have
of
in our area. This is not because
seen them about. And should you
be lucky enough to have the Gold-
he lives the life of a playboy and
he
fts too busy to settle down to
finch building in your area,
domestic affairs but rather it is
might consider using your cotton
Nature's way of making s u r e
as a substitute. Then by following
there will be enough food on the
the typical undulating flight of
table for the little ones when
this bird you will surely be given
they arrive. You see, the Gold-
a clue as to where the perfect
finch eats and feeds primarily
nest can be found.
on seeds and it is during late
July and early August that there
is an abundance of weed seeds
for the young. '
It is hard to believe that a
builder and tender of this nest,
could be such a sloppy house-
keeper, for that he is. One of the
trademarks of an abandoned Gold-
finch's nest is the messy ring of
excrement found about the edge
of the nest. Most birds, as you
know, are very careful a b o u t
removing any waste that is pro-
duced and carry it far from the
nest before dropping.
Goldfinches are found in all
parts of our country but differ
slightly according to area. The
Eastern Goldfinch, which we are
concerned with, needs little de-
scription for he is a small yellow
bird, with black cap,, tail and
wings. To some he is the "wild
canary" and well he might be
called for like most finches he is
an exceptional songster.
The yellow and black descrip-
tion applies only to the male, for
the female most always wears
the less conspicuous coat and in
this case Mrs Goldfinch we a r s
olive drab with dark wings. Dur-
ing the winter, Nature takes the
gay coat of the male and re-
places it with olive drab similar
to the female, but this does little
to dampen the spirit of t h i s
bright, buoyant bird who seems
ever alive and on the go.
The field traits that are worth
remembering, should confusion
arise concerning th eidentification
of this olive drab winter resident,
are the undulating flight accom-
panied by the never to be for -
gotLVn canary -like song and on
close observation the finch -like
bill so characteristic of the spe-
cies. The only other birds you
might confuse them with during
this time of the year would be
the Siskin or the Redpoll b u t
these are streaked while t h e
Goldfinch is not.
For those who know this bird
intimately, I am sure each has
his own particular vision of the
Goldfinch. Mine was just recently
formed when my family and I
took a trip to Canada. We had
just arrived and were pitching
camp within view of the pictures-
que and historic Perce' Rock on
the Gaspe jpeninsula, when a
flock of Goldfinches twittered
their way into a field of seeded
dandelions nearby. This a r e a
must have been a blaze of color
• few days before but now was
• mass of puffy seed balls which
the Goldfinches headed for. I can
recall them alighting on the long
dandelion stems and with a grace-
ful sweep they lowered them to
the ground and there commenced
their feast. All that day and the
next they continued their feeding,
chattering constantly, until their
restlessness beackoned them on to
new and untouched harvests.