It's a classic retirement activity - bird watching. We enjoy all sorts of birds in our yard, but it's only recently that the goldfinches have been delighting us with their presence. I learned that this is likely because they mate later in the summer than other birds, and their favorite foods (thistle (Nyjer) and weed seeds) are available now.
The granite fountain in our front yard provides a full spa experience for these little fellows. If we don't turn it on, they literally sit on it and look at the hole where the water comes out, like they are waiting for the water to appear!
When the water appears, they enjoy it all day long, drinking and bathing to their hearts' content. In the summer heat and smoke, I don't blame them a bit.
I call this video "pool party"! I read that they are sociable birds and fly in flocks of 30 or more. I think they are testing our fountain to see if they can all fit in it at once!
I have learned that if I sit very quietly, I can capture them on camera right up close. Yesterday afternoon I observed their drinking behavior. Some like to dip their beaks in the fountain, others prefer to drink from the water that runs down the side. Usually they drink and then they bathe. Good thing this water is pretty clean!
Earlier this summer I was watering and a hummingbird came to bathe in the hose spray. I tried to capture the behavior on camera...
Seeking a similar experience for the hummers on an ongoing basis, I asked for a fountain that can be used in a birdbath for my birthday, and my youngest son found one that was solar powered. We are still experimenting with using it, most of our bird baths were too shallow so we found this deeper bowl that it will float in. It sometimes floats to the edge and the water spills out, or the wind blows the spray, so we have to fill the bowl often, but it's working pretty well.
While I haven't caught the hummers on camera yet on this fountain, I did catch a goldfinch "riding" the fountain around in the bowl. When the fountain is in the shade, the spray disappears, when it floats into the sun, it shoots up. This bird seemed to quite enjoy having a shower vs. a bath.
In addition to the water features, the birds continue to enjoy the seed we provide. All the varieties seem to enjoy the black sunflower seeds and most especially, the "fruit and nut" mixture. https://www.kaytee.com/all-products/wild-bird/nut-and-fruit-blend They love that one so much they don't even wait for me to leave the area before they start dining.
The goldfinches prefer the Nyjer seed, which I feed them in a sock made for that purpose. They show off their acrobatic skills while flying and eating in this video.
While they will drain these feeders in a day, I try not to feed them more than twice a week to avoid going bankrupt!
In addition to Nyjer seed, goldfinches are known to like the following in your garden: sunflowers, coreopsis, cosmos, service berry, birch, hornbeam, sweet gum, mulberry, hemlock, zinnias, elm and alder. While I may not be planting many trees, I can definitely add those flowers to my garden plan next year.
They also like dandelion and thistles in the wild. Ever since we moved to this property 20+ years ago, we've been trying to control the thistle population (the seeds blow in from the neighboring dairy). Now if I don't get to it, I'll have a good excuse why. "Just saving the birds honey!"
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