The last bird to nest during the calendar year in our area is the American goldfinch. The female collects the plant fibers from thistle seeds — abundant in late June — to line her nest. It’s a finishing maternal touch to make her bassinet more comfy for her young.
Henry David Thoreau described the goldfinch’s song as a “watery twitter,” but within that there is a mournful “mew.” The latter is the source of the bird’s species name “tristis,” which means “sad.” Although to be truthful, it’s hard to see anything sad about these energetic, yellow and black songbirds; lively is a better descriptor.
Goldfinches are granivores; they eat seeds, seeds, seeds and are especially adept at balancing precariously on floral seedheads. They feed on a wide variety of annual plants such as thistle, teasel, dandelion, ragweed, mullein, cosmos, goatsbeard, sunflower and alder.
I recently received a report that the coreopsis planted by the city along Third Creek near West High School are now in seed and goldfinches are there in big numbers.
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