{"id":113374,"date":"2023-05-11T04:32:53","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T10:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113374"},"modified":"2023-05-11T05:01:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T11:01:44","slug":"male-american-goldfinch-in-his-finest-plumage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/11\/male-american-goldfinch-in-his-finest-plumage\/","title":{"rendered":"Male American Goldfinch In His Finest Plumage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The heavy snowpack is still making it impossible for me to get into the mountains to photograph birds like this male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-113370 size-full\" title=\"Male American Goldfinch in spring\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg\" alt=\"Male American Goldfinch in spring, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Male American Goldfinch in spring \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I took this goldfinch photo two years ago today high in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wasatch_Range\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> in Morgan County. The finch was perched on a hawthorn branch that had already started to leaf out.<\/p>\n<p>I miss being up in the mountains. Hopefully the snow melt this spring won&#8217;t cause damage to any of the roads I use when I am in them.<\/p>\n<p>I keep wondering what trees and shrubs are leafing out, if the spring migrants have arrived, and how long it will be before I can visit them all.<\/p>\n<p>Time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/american-goldfinch-images\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my American Goldfinch photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The heavy snowpack is still making it impossible for me to get into the mountains to photograph birds like this male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2715,27,4594,26,773],"tags":[4004,2716,4897,4053,3940,4101,3504,3495,6198,6199,6566,8218,4062,4069,4104,4018,2717,165],"class_list":["post-113374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-goldfinches","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-american-goldfinch","tag-branch","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-canyon","tag-clouds","tag-finch","tag-finches","tag-goldfinch","tag-goldfinches","tag-hawthorn","tag-leaf-buds","tag-male","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-sky","tag-spinus-tristis","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tuC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59176,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/07\/23\/american-goldfinch-male-in-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":0},"title":"American Goldfinch Male In Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Goldfinch male in breeding plumage on a Musk Thistle, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103606,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/24\/male-american-goldfinch-perched-above-a-creek\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":1},"title":"Male American Goldfinch Perched Above A Creek","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am keeping my post short and simple with a male American Goldfinch in his breeding plumage perched high above a Wasatch Mountain creek.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Goldfinch and a bright blue sky, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/american-goldfinch-male-and-blue-sky-mia-mcpherson-9856.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/american-goldfinch-male-and-blue-sky-mia-mcpherson-9856.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/american-goldfinch-male-and-blue-sky-mia-mcpherson-9856.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/american-goldfinch-male-and-blue-sky-mia-mcpherson-9856.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104824,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/08\/male-american-goldfinch-with-ripe-serviceberries\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":2},"title":"Male American Goldfinch With Ripe Serviceberries","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was happy to have this male American Goldfinch perched with ripe serviceberries in front of him for a few moments yesterday high in the mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Goldfinch and ripe serviceberries, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/american-goldfinch-ripe-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-1567.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/american-goldfinch-ripe-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-1567.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/american-goldfinch-ripe-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-1567.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/american-goldfinch-ripe-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-1567.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89095,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/26\/spring-male-american-goldfinch\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":3},"title":"Spring Male American Goldfinch","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I photographed this male American Goldfinch and thought about how he is as bright as the dandelions that are blooming now in the mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male American Goldfinch, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0680.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0680.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0680.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0680.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52072,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/05\/11\/male-american-goldfinch-in-breeding-plumage-small-in-the-frame\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":4},"title":"Male American Goldfinch in Breeding Plumage &#8211; Small in the Frame","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-mia-mcpherson-4176.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-mia-mcpherson-4176.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-mia-mcpherson-4176.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-mia-mcpherson-4176.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/28\/hearing-thousands-of-american-goldfinches-flying-overhead\/","url_meta":{"origin":113374,"position":5},"title":"Hearing Thousands Of American Goldfinches Flying Overhead","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Goldfinches&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female American Goldfinch in the Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4476.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4476.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4476.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4476.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}