Question For A Goldfinch
Hey, did you guys see the nuthatch with the deformed bill over at Mary's View?
I've encountered some long-billed birds before, we had a peregrine come into the hawk blind a few years ago and I saw some deformed red-winged blackbirds in 2006 in Nebraska too. If you see long-billed birds you can report them to either Julie Craves or Cornell.
This goldfinch has little black feathers on his head--signs of his black cap he will have in breeding plumage. Now here is the question for the goldfinch: is he slow at molting, is this left over from last summer or is this a hint of what is to come? Is he starting his breeding plumage changeover all ready?
Speaking of signs of spring, this morning, even though it was -5 degrees F, black-capped chickadees were singing "Spring Soon!" The birds must be feeling like the glass is half full or they have read The Secret and are just trying to will the weather to be warmer.
I've encountered some long-billed birds before, we had a peregrine come into the hawk blind a few years ago and I saw some deformed red-winged blackbirds in 2006 in Nebraska too. If you see long-billed birds you can report them to either Julie Craves or Cornell.
This goldfinch has little black feathers on his head--signs of his black cap he will have in breeding plumage. Now here is the question for the goldfinch: is he slow at molting, is this left over from last summer or is this a hint of what is to come? Is he starting his breeding plumage changeover all ready?
Speaking of signs of spring, this morning, even though it was -5 degrees F, black-capped chickadees were singing "Spring Soon!" The birds must be feeling like the glass is half full or they have read The Secret and are just trying to will the weather to be warmer.Labels: deformed bills, digiscoping
posted by birdchick at 2:16 PM
3 Comments:
There was a comment in a blog post about an early molt on a Goldfinch recently and for the life of me, I can't remember who it was... If I think of it, I'll be back. My males look brighter than usual but not showing black on their heads.
I keep chickens and just today I saw one of my hens peck a male in what could only be called a flirtatious way. Normally, my chickens mean business when they peck, but this looked much more like a 'love' nip.
Spring is coming!
Hey Sharon,
I posted a similar goldfinch picture from last Sunday:
http://rjknits.blogspot.com/2007/12/frosty-sunday.html
Last year, I seem to remember the goldfinches starting to get their summer plumage in February....maybe they know something we don't know!
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