I have been watching a Lesser Goldfinch nest for the last three and half weeks. The nest is neatly tucked in a cluster of leaves at the end of an oak branch. I could only see one baby bird in the nest and it was always very quiet and still. I checked the nest yesterday and it was empty.
It is thought that goldfinches are late season nesters in order to take advantage of all of the seeds. The parents regurgitate a mushy seed-porridge to the babies during nesting. Also, I imagine that the timing is beneficial for the juvenile birds to have a bountiful crop of seeds to eat when they leave the nest.
The meadows around the pavilion are full of grass seeds that the goldfinches love. It is fun to watch them forage. They will land on a grass stalk and move towards the seed head. This bends the stalk over where they can access the seeds and they can often be seen hanging upside down eating. Birds are acrobatic creatures.
You have to be observant and moving slowly to catch the goldfinches nibbling on seeds. They practically disappear in the dry meadow colors and the dappled sunlight under the oak trees. It is not uncommon for me to flush them out of the grass as I walk along. Many times they won’t go far and are usually fairly tolerant of my presence as I slowly inch closer to watch them.
Hope you are getting in some good birding this summer. Thanks for reading my blog.