It’s Still Snuggle Weather
We have been experiencing high winds, cold temps and rain in Southern California, and the birds in the area are hunkering down as much as possible. I spotted this Lesser Gold Finch trying to keep warm in my garden and couldn’t resist a click.
The Lesser Goldfinch:
Lesser Goldfinches are tiny, stub-billed songbirds with long, pointed wings, and short, notched tails. They are most common in California and Texas, with pockets of local populations throughout the rest of its U.S. range. They are quite small in stature, approximately 2.5 inches tall and weigh approximately ½ oz
Lesser Goldfinches feed in weedy fields, budding treetops, and the brush of open areas and edges. Depending on food availability, they may concentrate in mountain canyons and desert oases, but they are also fairly common in suburbs.
These finches primarily eat seeds of plants in the sunflower family, and they occur all the way south to the Peruvian Andes. Listen closely to their wheezy songs, which often include snippets from the songs of other birds.
The oldest known wild Lesser Goldfinch was a male, and at least 7 years old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2015.
(Nikon Z, 500/4 + TC 1.4, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO 3200, edited to taste)
It’s Still Snuggle Weather
We have been experiencing high winds, cold temps and rain in Southern California, and the birds in the area are hunkering down as much as possible. I spotted this Lesser Gold Finch trying to keep warm in my garden and couldn’t resist a click.
The Lesser Goldfinch:
Lesser Goldfinches are tiny, stub-billed songbirds with long, pointed wings, and short, notched tails. They are most common in California and Texas, with pockets of local populations throughout the rest of its U.S. range. They are quite small in stature, approximately 2.5 inches tall and weigh approximately ½ oz
Lesser Goldfinches feed in weedy fields, budding treetops, and the brush of open areas and edges. Depending on food availability, they may concentrate in mountain canyons and desert oases, but they are also fairly common in suburbs.
These finches primarily eat seeds of plants in the sunflower family, and they occur all the way south to the Peruvian Andes. Listen closely to their wheezy songs, which often include snippets from the songs of other birds.
The oldest known wild Lesser Goldfinch was a male, and at least 7 years old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2015.
(Nikon Z, 500/4 + TC 1.4, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO 3200, edited to taste)