Another installment in my intermittent series on the ‘common’ species. They don’t come much more common than a goldfinch on thistle or sunflowers..
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I found this one two days ago in a mountain valley. Many of our goldfinches are looking extremely ragged right now but the plumage of this one is in pretty good shape. In this shot early fall colors complement those of the goldfinch, a combination that may or may not appeal to viewers.
The American Goldfinch is one of the latest breeders of all North American songbirds and on the morning I took this photo they were still feeding hungry fledglings as they clamored for food. Somehow that timing seemed a little wonky to me but it isn’t.
It’s my intention to post several more ‘common’ species in the days and weeks to come. I’ve been guilty of mostly ignoring them on Feathered Photography for far too long.
I guess it’s my attempt at redemption.
Ron
Notes to photographers:
- Yes, I surely was tempted to clone out that distracting bright yellow stem in the upper left corner of the frame but I resisted.
- I’ll confess to another reason I decided to post this photo. I wanted to demonstrate that I actually DO shoot at lower ISO’s on occasion… 🙂
I really love these birds. I have seen them here or something that looks like them. Such pretty birds.
Love the deeper golden coloring — can definitely see where the name came from.
Count me in for your posts about the “plentiful” critters! 🙂
Thanks, Marty. I’ll try to not overdo it with the ‘commoners’… 🙂
There’s no such thing as “overdo” with a beautiful piece of nature! I’d enjoy a post of your lichen shots! 🙂
Had my first finch come to the bird bath today 😁 Perfect timing of your post. I call these my Gucci birds… the price of thistle ❗️ They’re worth it, their color in the winter is so beautiful.
“I call these my Gucci birds… the price of thistle”
Made me smile, Diana.
“Gucci birds”Amen!,,
Beautiful shot!
Thanks, Jean.
Smiling at a far from common bird to me.
And I love the way the birds colours are reflected in its environment (which probably is more accurately put the other way round).
Thank you, EC.
Interesting observation…(but what else should I expect from such a smart lady!)
Beautiful! Hit the feeders hard in the spring and then, once other things become available “poof” they disappear until it gets time to go. Yes, they do tend to wait for the thistles to bloom and BOY have we had a bumper crop this year! Good for them even if not for us! 😉
Judy, we had a good crop of thistles this year too, until the various counties largely finished them off with their spraying activities.
They are a pretty bird. We don’t have as many in the neighborhood as we use to, I believe it is due to more weed control in the gully behind my house. They keep it short to prevent fires. Most of the fields along Gaurdsman road are developed now too.
You’re probably right about the reason for their reduction, April.
Probably a dumb question, but can you see what the background looks like through your view finder and do you choose your f-stop to achieve a pleasing background as shown in this photo? Perhaps the answer is too complex for this blog.
Not a dumb question at all, Lyle. In fact it’s a very good one.
Yes, I can see it in my viewfinder.. But I nearly always choose my aperture based on other considerations (primarily the bird itself) rather than what the background will look like. For this particular photo I chose f/7.1 because I was close to the bird, I wanted both bird and flowerhead sharp and I wasn’t going after a takeoff shot so I didn’t need a fast shutter speed.
My lens is so very good at creating a pleasing background bokeh that I can usually rely on it to do exactly that if it’s optically possible.
All that said, the background is extremely important so I make every effort possible to choose a background I like when I’m approaching a bird. Just a few inches in my position can make a huge difference. That lesson took much too long for me to learn. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped my pickup to photograph a bird and realized that if I’d only stopped slightly quicker or later my background, and thus the photo, would have been vastly improved. Just raising or lowering my shooting platform (my pickup window) can make a huge difference one way or the other.
Perfect photo, and on the most appropriate flowerhead. I was just getting ready to write a short article for our customers. This is the time of year I get the question “Where have my goldfinches gone?” Many casual, backyard birders don’t realize that the birds looking like your photo are the same birds that looked so bright yellow just six weeks ago.. They also begin to wander so they may have left your backyard for your neighbor just two block away. They are the latest nesting songbird in North America, often waiting until mid-July when there is an abundance of thistle seed and down. But, for unknown reasons, the subspecies here west of the Cascades frequently breed earlier, even in mid-May. There may not be an abundance of thistle down yet, so they often steal soft nesting material from Cedar Waxwing nests. Such variations are part of what makes nature fun.
That’s interesting about your population of goldfinches, Dan. Birds are resourceful and resilient and that gives me hope, even with all the environmental negatives going on.
Really love this picture…the colors are right up my alley! The finches are especially active in my garden beds…I have dozens of coneflower clumps from native to hybrid and they are just ripping the all dried seed heads apart, While driving when ever I see tufts of thistle down floating I’ll stop and look for the source and many times…yup it’s a goldfinch hidden in the dried heads just voraciously eat the seeds! Those ‘common birds’ are what gets us through the ‘dry spells’ birder always encounter! 🙂
Kathy, “voraciously” eating certainly applies to feeding goldfinches. Not sure I’m aware of any species more enthusiastic at the feed trough, whatever it might be but thistles especially.
Great shot and sweet picture!
Many Thanks.
Thanks, Dick.
Did not realize that they breed this late in the season. I like your recent attention to our more common species. Already I have learned some things I was not aware of. And of course the photos speak for themselves. Off to do some early morning birding and try to finish up before the 95 degree heat closes in on us.
Thanks, Everett. I wish you early birds before the heat. It’s going to be a scorcher here today too – they’re calling for us to beat you by one degree.
Even hot at the beach….forecast 93° today here in Laguna Beach, CA!