This winter has been quite warm. I have not seen as many birds at my feeders this year which could be because of many factors such as "the worse drought in Texas history" that happened last year. I was especially worried about why I haven't seen many American Goldfinches. Last year there was an abundance of Goldfinches at my bird feeders. I think that had to do with them feeding on the seeds of the two mature crepe myrtle trees in my backyard. This past summer those trees almost died and didn't produce any flowers and now have no seed pods for the Goldfinches to feed on.
This morning I was pleasantly surprised as there was a flock of American Goldfinches at my feeder with thistle seeds. I counted 14 but I think there were some more up in the crepe myrtle trees.
American Goldfinches - Carduelis tristis,
are a common backyard bird in winter time for the Houston area.
Some more American Goldfinches with a
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus.
The House Finches are residents in my backyard all year long. In the spring time they sing a very pretty song which is nice to listen to during spring gardening.
Here is a close-up of a Goldfinch. This male is in its winter plumage but is still very pretty.
Other birds I commonly see at my feeders in by Houston, TX backyard are:
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Blue Jay
Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee
Common Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
does this photo show yellow shoulders? if so it is the only one I have found on that web site.
ReplyDeleteHi! Yes, the males in the non-breeding plumage have yellow shoulders or lesser coverts. Some also have more yellow feathers as they transition in and out of their breeding plumage.
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