American Goldfinch: State Bird of New Jersey

American GoldfinchI guess we should put a New Jersey Bird up on this blog too. We still have 25 or more birds from our Trinidad and Tobago trip to post, but spring is here and the New Jersey State bird is starting to be more colorful.

Goldfinch and Chickadee

The Chickade can't stay still and confuses the goldfinches at the feeder.

It's too hot for us to go far. We went to Dairy Queen to get the new (to NJ at least) Blizzard minis. Otherwise, we've just been sitting out, having a glass of wine and waiting for birds to come by. Oh, we also had the peach salsa from Terhune farms which may be better than the nectarine. Mike set up the ladder, put the tripod on top of it, and set up the birdcam to video the baby wrens first flights. Unfortunately, wrens are too small or the motion sensor isn't sensitive enough so the birdcam didn't capture it. There's a good video of Chris looking into the birdcam asking if it's on, but Mike has promised not to post it.

American Goldfinch: The New Jersey State Bird

The bananaquit is a bright yellow bird with black wings that is common in the Carribean. New Jersey's state bird, the goldfinch, has nothing to be ashamed of and compares quite favorably to the bananaquit. Its yellow is even more brilliant in the summer.

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch is a stunning bird this time of year. No wonder he is the state bird of New Jersey. They are always at the nyjer feeder.

Nyjer Feeder Birdcam

Male and Female Goldfinch

Goldfinches and House finch.

The goldfinches are starting to look more colorful this time of year. Like many birds, the male bird has more brilliant colors than the female. We put out the birdcam to photograph birds on the nyjer feeder. The bottom photo also got a house finch. It looks like we need to get a larger bird feeder.

We're ready for Spring

 

 

 

Here are some photos from last spring. We are tired of the winter weather, the snow and the rain. We are looking forward to spring when the orioles return, the goldfinches are brighter, and there are baby birds around.

Winter birds: Tufted Titmouse, Goldfinch and Blue Jay

 

A heated bird bath, some nyjer seed, and some peanuts help the birds get through a cold winter. The backyard birds help us get through the winter.

Red Bellied Woodpecker at the Nyjer Feeder

 

 

 

We were surprised to see a Red Bellied Woodpecker at the nyjer feeder. I think the goldfinches were surprised too.

Goldfinch having a drink

 

Chris got this photo of a goldfinch having a drink from the drip waterer.

A baby goldfinch! How cute is that?

 

 

 

The goldfinches are usually very quiet, but this week a goldfinch family has been chirping constantly. We'd normally criticize the goldfinch for taking too much seed, but there are three babies to feed.

Birds from the backyard feeders

We put up a jelly feeder for the orioles. They ignored it while building their nest and then disappeared entirely during the June rains. The catbirds have been sampling the jelly recently.

 

The goldfinches are returning to the nyjer feeder now but not in the same numbers that we saw last year.

 

Goldfinch at the feeder

 

More Birds

 

We read that the Robin turns its head not to listen for worms but to look for them.

 

The male goldfinches are a bright yellow this time of year. The females aren't nearly as colorful.

 

A Canada Goose sitting on her nest. We've seen some goslings the past few days, but they aren't plentiful yet.

 

We usually post profiles of the Red Bellied Woodpecker, but here he's showing off his red belly. They are very awkward on flat surfaces

Eastern Kingbird

Spring Birds

American Goldfinch

Red Winged Blackbird

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Bluebird

Sometimes we need air traffic control at the feeder

 

 

The feeder is quite popular these days. Pine Siskins and Goldfinches are sharing the feeder in the top photo. Two house finches are shown in the bottom photo.

Chickadee & Goldfich

 

 

We want spring to come as much as these birds do.

More Winter Birds: Pine Siskin, Downy Woodpecker, & American Goldfinch

 

 

 

We've been taking the great backyard bird count seriously this year.

Pine Siskin sharing the feeder with some finches

 

 

 

 

Recently Mike has been talking about a smaller goldfinch at the nyjer feeder, and there has been a lot of traffic at this feeder. We received a newsletter from Colleen at Wild Bird Country yesterday talking about the pine siskins that are in the area. So, upon closer inspection, it looks like we've had pine siskins join the usual gang. In the top photo the pine siskin is sharing with a goldfinch. The bottom photo shows his tail feathers with a house finch.

More Winter Birds: Junco, Goldfinch & Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal

American Goldfinch

Dark-eyed Junco

The dark-eyed junco is a common winter visitor. This black and white bird mostly feeds on the ground. The cardinals stay year round but they come to our feeders much more often in the winter when food is scarce elsewhere. The American Goldfinch, the state bird of New Jersey, also stays year round, but its yellow color is more vivid in the summer.

Goldfinch

Here is a photo of a goldfinch, the state bird of New Jersey.