Families: Fringillidae, Passeridae, Ploceidae, Estrilididae
Finches are small to medium sized birds with pointed wings, notched tails, stout bills, and distinctive flight calls. Female finches can be quite plain while males can be quite colorful.
Yesterday opportunity knocked when several Lesser Goldfinches flew in to knosh on wild sunflowers seeds near a road at Farmington Bay WMA.
My Facebook timeline is buzzing with people posting photos of large numbers of Pine Siskins at their bird feeders across the country.
The bird activity picked up just after the sun rose over the mountains peaks and as I scanned the area for birds I spotted this Pine Siskin almost directly in front of me clinging to a small branch.
Two days ago the first bird I photographed high in the mountains was an adult male American Goldfinch clinging to thistles that were covered in ants and aphids.
The bright yellow bird that flew into my field of view was a male American Goldfinch that stood out like a ray of sunshine against the shadows of some tall nearby trees.
I have never heard so many American Goldfinches flying overhead for such a long period of time and I was in awe. I still am.
I feel a little like this American Goldfinch this morning, meaning I feel like I am upside down because of issues on my web site that started just after I woke up at o'dark hundred.
Having this male House Finch perched in a frost kissed Greasewood a few days ago with blue sky behind it did make him stand out well.
Small birds like these White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches need cover that provides safety for them from predators.
Pine Siskins are year round residents in Utah but that doesn't mean I get to see them as often as I would like because they are nomadic by nature.
Until three days ago I really haven't taken any decent images of Lesser Goldfinches that weren't at bird feeders but that changed when this one landed on a greasewood in front of me at Farmington Bay WMA.
The cones of Douglas Firs provide food for birds and mammals and the trees provide shelter and nesting areas too. I've been paying attention to the Douglas Firs we have here for several years because of the birds I know I can find eating the seeds of the trees from their cones.
One year ago today I went up into the Wasatch Mountains and for about three minutes I photographed a molting American Goldfinch feasting on Musk Thistle seeds.
I kept my focus on this male American Goldfinch and when he lifted off I was able to take a photo with his wings raised just as he started to take flight.
I don't have many photos of siskins in my portfolio and every year I hope to add more so when I was able to photograph a Pine Siskin foraging in a willow 5 days ago I was thrilled.
Last year I was able to take hundreds of photos of this male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage while he fed on the seeds of a Musk Thistle.
I'm not sure I have ever been as close to a Pine Siskin as I was to this one before, I'm glad this siskin decided to delight me with its presence even though it was just for a very brief time.
Earlier this week I left home well before the sun came up, sat on my rear end for over five hours, traveled over 230 miles and the only decent image I took was of this American Goldfinch perched on a wild rose surrounded by scarlet rose hips.
I see, but don't often photograph House Finches at home, I get most excited about them away from human civilization and in their natural habitats.
When the female American Goldfinch lifted off I liked the eye contact I had with her and how graceful she looked when she raised her wings, when I saw this image on my camera LCD I just had to smile.
I am always glad when a bird unexpectedly flies in so that I can take close up photos because close ups show so much fine detail in their plumage and that is what happened earlier this week with a Pine Siskin.
Today I am keeping it short and sweet and sharing one photo of a male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom plus a short video clip I took of him as he lifted off and flew away.
A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.
The day I photographed the Green-tailed Towhee singing up in the mountain canyon I also had an opportunity to take a nice series of photos of what appeared to be a mated pair of American Goldfinches.
Imagine a bird whose bright yellow feathers rival the rays of the sun then add a black forehead, ebony eyes, black and white wings and you have a male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Feathered sunshine.
Okay, that is enough for now, there are more birds that people love to hate but I can only deal with so much of it before I feel the need to get out and photograph all the birds I see, even those that other people despise.
I photographed a couple of American Goldfinches that morning too, as usual I heard the finches well before I spotted them foraging in some vegetation next to the auto tour route.
Last week I found a small flock of American Goldfinches foraging on the auto tour route at Bear River MBR and I was able to capture a few images of them before they took off in a rush.
I spent time photographing primarily small birds yesterday in northern Utah which included Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows.
I took this photo of two Pine Siskins in the autumn of 2015 as they perched together on a wild sunflower at Farmington Bay WMA where they appeared to be having a tiff over the seeds.