Goldfinch | nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

Posts Tagged ‘Goldfinch’

flutter song

A well-known space can be transformed in an instant.

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Every day I walk the path from our front door. Our bird feeders are right there, beside the path. Usually the opening door sends the birds scattering. They fly into the trees around our yard and twitter and chirp until I go.

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But last week, just after a new fall of snow, I had a magical experience of being in the midst of the feeding birds. And for whatever reason, they paid no attention to me at all.

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The birds, mostly chickadees and goldfinches, whistle and tweet as they feed. But the prevailing sound as I stood among them was the fluttering and whirring of wings all around me.

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We have other visitors at the feeders, mostly a couple of cat-sized grey squirrels and a family of red squirrels, the descendants of the squirrels that moved in to take advantage of the feeders when we first moved here 37 years ago. The spaces around the feeder vary, depending on whether birds or squirrels are the dominant visitors. It was fun, just for a moment, being part of all the activity!

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Written by jane tims

January 27, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Posted in competing for niche space, in the grey woods, strategies for winter

Tagged with bird feeder, Chickadee, familar spaces, flight, Goldfinch, winter

in the branches of the White Pine

with 6 comments

Since finding the bird nests at our lake property last weekend, I have been thinking about the birds we see there in summer. Our cabin looks out on a very bushy, young White Pine where birds love to nest and hide.

: the White Pine is the larger tree to the left of the road

The most frequent denizens of the pine are a pair of Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus). They prefer berries for food and so are in their ideal habitat. Our property must look like a big dinner plate to them, with its orderly presentation of wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, hawthorn and winterberry.

Another bird who stops to rest in the pine is the American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), also known as the Thistle bird. These are seed-eating birds who fly across the fields in a distinctive pattern of loops. They are also one of the most common birds at our winter bird feeder.