RE: [cobirds] Late Lesser Goldfinch Jefferson County

[Kayleen A Niyo]

Bob and all,

 

I still have several Lesser Goldfinches (LEGO) at my thistle feeders at the N base of N Table Mt.

 

When I took to heart the post on NEBirds about rancid thistle seed and NO goldfinches and started using fresh seed on 6/26/12, I have had my usual dozen or two LEGO and a few AMGO at each of my two thistle feeders all summer.  The past couple weeks when the cold fronts go through it ramps up to a couple dozen fighting over a place at the feeders.  Now I have 6 or 8 LEGO on the feeders every day including at least 1 green-backed male.  A week ago I still had fluttering-winged juvs begging at the feeders.  All summer I had 2 black-backed males on the feeders at the same time.  I have had a couple black-backed males every summer; see bottom of page at http://www.kayniyo.com/birds_finch.htm.

 

Now the annual dilemma is how to feed safflower or black oil to other birds without getting the neighboring horse stable flocks of pigeons on the ground too!  And my fem flicker was calling from my patio roof on the Wed saying “where is my winter suet cake?”  Shades of Bob Spencer’s recent posts!

 

Kay

Kayleen A. Niyo, Ph.D.
Niyo Scientific Communications
Kay Niyo Photography
K...@KayNiyo.com

www.KayNiyo.com
______________________________
5651 Garnet Street
Golden, CO 80403
Phone: (303) 679-6646
Fax: (866) 849-8013

 

From: cob...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cob...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of birderbob
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2012 10:05 PM
To: cob...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [cobirds] Late Lesser Goldfinch Jefferson County

 

10/13/12 While birding with Urling's Beginning Birding Class at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt we encountered a mixed flock of goldfinches in the tall willow trees at the southeast corner of Bass Lake (Bass is the smaller lake east of the larger West Lake).  I had set up my scope to allow the class members view the birds and I focused in on a male Lesser Goldfinch.  Several of the class members took turns watching this particular  bird through the scope for a couple of minutes - I also rechecked the position of the scope several times to make sure it was kept on the bird.  I was careful to point out the distinguishing features emphasizing the black back and the yellow front of this species (as a rule we are not allowed to identify the bird for them, they must make the i.d.)

 

After the flock moved out of sight (to the west) in review for the class, Urling talked about the American Goldfinches - and several of us revealed that we had been watching a male Lesser.  She advised me to post this on COBirds saying that it was significant because it is so late in the season to see a Lesser Goldfinch.

 

Bob Santangelo

Wheat Ridge

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[Chip Clouse]

Kay, Bob, and CObirders,

Having barely birded in the state of CO since taking a job with Opticron optics last February, I take the opportunity to at least watch my feeders when home. My fiance and I have started a once-a-month birdwatching club for kids in Olde Town Arvada.  After visiting the Ralston Creek Trail with mixed results last month, the kids came to our house yesterday to learn about feeder birds and backyard habitat.  Imagine my surprise at seeing two new yard species - Lesser Goldfinch and Pine Siskin - before their arrival.  I had one male and 3 female-types of Lesser Goldfinch and two Pine Siskins that accompanied all the usual suspects.  I've started using a mix of finely ground sunflower seed and nyjer in my thistle feeders this year and have enjoyed a family of Northern Flickers (the adult female is an intergrade) tonguing out the sunflower all summer.  Lately, my Downy Woodpeckers are enjoying this feeder more than the suet too.  The kids had a blast culminating with an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk taking a House Sparrow and perching on the open ground for a while before retiring to a tree to pluck it.  When it departed we went out and looked at the pile of feathers.  Very cool!  Anyway, the goldfinches must have just been passing through as I haven't seen them since the hawk episode.

Good birding,

Chip Clouse

Arvada, CO

[Kayleen A Niyo]

Thanks, Chip!  Good idea!  I fed sunflower chips in IA and when I lived on Bear Mt in Evergreen.  I will go back to that.  I remember the woodpeckers, pygmy nuthatches, everybody else loved it too.  I haven’t had Pine Siskins down here since I left Evergreen, but this year is supposed to be an invasion year.  I don’t have much trouble with starlings here in this new development yet (not very big trees), but in IA, I thwarted them by laying the small-cake wire suet feeder flat with a cedar shingle wired to the top flat side with enuf overlap so the starlings couldn’t stand on top and reach over the edge.  They are not good at hovering underneath.  That worked!  I use a caged feeder too.  But I have to also have a tray under a bigger feeder so I get an occasional stray rosy-finch, or once, a male kestrel that landed on the tray to probably hunt voles underneath and sun himself in the W winter sun!

 

Glad you are having fun teaching the kids about birds!

 

Kay

Kayleen A. Niyo, Ph.D.
Niyo Scientific Communications
Kay Niyo Photography
K...@KayNiyo.com

www.KayNiyo.com
______________________________
5651 Garnet Street
Golden, CO 80403
Phone: (303) 679-6646
Fax: (866) 849-8013

 

[Brad Biggerstaff]

I  had two (western) Lesser Goldfinches on my feeder this morning, and they've been around consistently of late.

Brad Biggerstaff
Fort Collins

On Oct 20, 2012 8:48 AM, "birderbob" <bird...@comcast.net> wrote:

 Bob, could you please post this for me, for some reason, I can’t post on cobirds:

I still have lesser goldfinches on my sunflower seed heads and at my thistle feeder.

Brenda Beatty

5 miles west of Castle Rock

 

On Saturday, October 13, 2012 10:05:25 PM UTC-6, birderbob wrote:

10/13/12 While birding with Urling's Beginning Birding Class at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt we encountered a mixed flock of goldfinches in the tall willow trees at the southeast corner of Bass Lake (Bass is the smaller lake east of the larger West Lake).  I had set up my scope to allow the class members view the birds and I focused in on a male Lesser Goldfinch.  Several of the class members took turns watching this particular  bird through the scope for a couple of minutes - I also rechecked the position of the scope several times to make sure it was kept on the bird.  I was careful to point out the distinguishing features emphasizing the black back and the yellow front of this species (as a rule we are not allowed to identify the bird for them, they must make the i.d.)

 

After the flock moved out of sight (to the west) in review for the class, Urling talked about the American Goldfinches - and several of us revealed that we had been watching a male Lesser.  She advised me to post this on COBirds saying that it was significant because it is so late in the season to see a Lesser Goldfinch.

 

Bob Santangelo

Wheat Ridge

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[Nicolle Martin]

I still have lots of Lessers at my thistle feeder.  On a sad note, sometime during the windstorm last week, I lost a very large branch from my Willow tree.  Upon cleaning up the debris, we discovered a dead Goldfinch under the branch.  I don't know if it happened at night, or the following windy day.

Nicolle Martin
Littleton, CO 

On Sat, Oct 13, 2012 at 10:05 PM, birderbob <bird...@comcast.net> wrote:

10/13/12 While birding with Urling's Beginning Birding Class at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt we encountered a mixed flock of goldfinches in the tall willow trees at the southeast corner of Bass Lake (Bass is the smaller lake east of the larger West Lake).  I had set up my scope to allow the class members view the birds and I focused in on a male Lesser Goldfinch.  Several of the class members took turns watching this particular  bird through the scope for a couple of minutes - I also rechecked the position of the scope several times to make sure it was kept on the bird.  I was careful to point out the distinguishing features emphasizing the black back and the yellow front of this species (as a rule we are not allowed to identify the bird for them, they must make the i.d.)

 

After the flock moved out of sight (to the west) in review for the class, Urling talked about the American Goldfinches - and several of us revealed that we had been watching a male Lesser.  She advised me to post this on COBirds saying that it was significant because it is so late in the season to see a Lesser Goldfinch.

 

Bob Santangelo

Wheat Ridge

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