![\"american](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/american-goldfinch-3093-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I found a small flock of these birds as they fed on sunflower\u00a0seeds\u00a0at Farmington Bay.\u00a0 Most of the birds were unapproachable but occasionally one of them would come in close as it foraged for seeds.\u00a0 Often, as in this case,\u00a0I couldn’t get enough depth of field to get the perch entirely sharp.<\/p>\n These birds were losing their breeding plumage so they’re not as brightly colored as they would be earlier in the summer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The sunflower seed-heads were covered with wind-blown\u00a0Phragmites “fluff” which made for messy eating.\u00a0 Usually the birds beaks were covered with that fluff – this is one of the cleanest shots I got that showed food in the bill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/1600, f\/9, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0This shot gives you an idea of how pervasive that “fluff” was.\u00a0 It covered everything, including the surface of the nearby pond.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/1600, f\/9, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not set up, canvas added and blurry seed head removed <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n These birds were so frenetic in their feeding activities that it was difficult to catch one in a non-feeding pose.<\/p>\n Most songbirds, even those that are mostly seed-eaters, consume insects during the breeding season to provide protein for their growing youngsters.\u00a0 The American Goldfinch is an exception to that rule as it is almost exclusively a seed-eater, even during the breeding season.\u00a0\u00a0It is suspected that this may explain why the chicks of the nest-parasitizing Brown-headed Cowbird do not survive in goldfinch nests.\u00a0\u00a0The eggs hatch successfully but the\u00a0cowbird chicks have retarded growth and invariably die before fledging.<\/p>\n There are certain groups of birds (waterfowl and some common songbirds such as these\u00a0goldfinches\u00a0come to mind) that haven’t received much attention on my blog in the past.\u00a0 This post is one of my early attempts to rectify that situation.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Addendum:\u00a0 As per a request from Patty Chadwick I’ve added this image (below)\u00a0of a male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage – taken in early July.<\/p>\n \n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n