Or, What I did This Summer
A Photo Essay

Clockwise from the top: pine siskin, male and female house finches

Carolina wren, chickadee

Downy woodpecker

A cardinal forages with some sparrows

House sparrows

I love watching the birds outside my kitchen window and in my backyard. For years I had goldfinches every winter and I could not keep the thistle seed feeders filled because the birds emptied them so fast. Then for the past couple of years, the birds stopped coming. The thistle seed would go bad in the feeder. I got thistle new seed, I got new feeders, but the birds stopped coming. I mentioned my problem to the folks at Wild Birds Unlimited in Hoover earlier this summer. The nice lady there told me that I should try shelled sunflower seeds. “Surveys across the country,” she told me, “are showing that finches are now preferring shelled sunflower seeds over thistle seed.”

Goldfinch

Well, those folks at Wild Birds Unlimited were way ahead of me. For one thing, I did not know that goldfinches responded to surveys. I certainly had not heard the news of their change in diet preference. I decided to give it a try, and lo and behold, they were right! As you can see in the photos here, goldfinches are back. I’ve also had wrens, nuthatches, chickadees, and a hairy woodpecker frequenting the feeder.

In addition to changing the seed in my feeder, I have also tried to make my yard bird-friendly, which has really paid off in this summer of COVID seclusion. My wife and I have planted flowers and placed birdbaths in the yard, all of which the birds enjoy.

One unexpected surprise (speaking of goldfinches) was our abundance of zinnias. My wife planted some last year and again this year, but we also had many volunteers from last year’s seeds. I discovered that goldfinches also love zinnias! We have seen them fluttering about the flowers all summer, finding nourishment as the blossoms go to seed.

Another unexpected delight came last week as I was trying to film a hummingbird at the feeder. Suddenly, a goldfinch came down to the hummingbird feeder sending the hummer off in flight. The goldfinch found the “ant trap” in the middle of the feeder to be a perfect watering hole.

Just for good measure, here is a shot of the hummer who came back for the nectar after the goldfinch left.