![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/american-goldfinch-9975-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"american-goldfinch-9975-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nAnother in my irregular series on the ‘common’ species.<\/p>\n
Because they’re common, or if you prefer – abundant, some species don’t get the attention they deserve from bird photographers, birders and others. The American Goldfinch is high on that list, especially when the males aren’t in their flashy breeding plumage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago near Farmington Bay WMA this female (gray bill instead of pinkish bill) came in so close I could barely fit her in frame. I usually prefer my birds further away than this because when they’re this close depth of field becomes an issue so it’s very difficult to get all or even most of the bird sharp. But for a moment she turned broadside to me which pretty much solved that problem. Because she’s filling the frame I had almost no wiggle room for cropping and composition.<\/p>\n I often wonder where we’d be without the common species. We tend to pay far more attention to those species we see much less often and ignore flocks of abundant birds like goldfinches, blackbirds, certain sparrows, finches and others.<\/p>\n But which would we miss more if they were gone – a species we see almost every day or some ‘prized’ species we rarely see? I can’t speak for others but for me the clear answer would be the former. When it comes to birds I believe there’s more than a sliver of truth to the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt”. Or at least less respect.<\/p>\n It’s a tragic fact that birds around the world are in decline. When I hear the words to this song<\/a><\/span><\/span> I often think of birds instead of some about-to-be lost lover.<\/p>\n But then I’m a bird photographer and an old fart to boot.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another in my irregular series on the ‘common’ species.<\/p>\n