{"id":134255,"date":"2024-09-09T03:13:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T08:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=134255"},"modified":"2024-09-09T11:49:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T16:49:52","slug":"young-male-house-finch-in-molt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/09\/young-male-house-finch-in-molt\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Male House Finch In Molt Plus A Photobombing Chickadee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I almost forgot to share this photo of a young male House Finch in molt. By the end of August, he was starting to get his more colorful chest and head feathers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-134251 size-full\" title=\"Young male House Finch in molt\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401.jpg\" alt=\"Young male House Finch in molt, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" 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\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Young male House Finch in molt \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/500, ISO 1250, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When he came to the feeder, I was sitting nearby and took quite a few images of him. Then, he was photobombed by a Carolina Chickadee coming in hot. When I saw the chickadee in my viewfinder, I laughed out loud.<\/p>\n<p>Life is too freaking short, so I&#8217;ll leave it to other people to be serious all the time. I&#8217;d rather have fun and laugh a lot.<\/p>\n<p>I do have other photos of the immature male House Finch without the photobomber, but this is the image I wanted to share. I love to laugh, don&#8217;t like being too damn serious all the time, and photobombers tickle my funny bone.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a little harder for me to tell when I\u2019m looking at a young female <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/House_finch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">House Finch<\/span><\/a> at this time of the year, but I can easily identify the young males.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, the Carolina Chickadee didn&#8217;t bump the immature House Finch from his perch. The chickadee flew under the vine on the left side of the frame in the next image of this series. The finch stayed put until it dropped down to feast on the sunflower seeds in the basket below.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday morning, I saw a low of 47\u00b0F, the first cool morning since early spring. I actually had to put a sweatshirt on the first time I stepped outside to stop the chill.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m hoping the cooler temps mean I&#8217;ll be seeing some migrants coming through soon. I&#8217;m excited for my first fall photographing birds in this neck of the woods!<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/house-finch-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my House Finch photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I almost forgot to share this photo of a young male House Finch in molt. By the end of August, he was starting to get his more colorful chest and head feathers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134251,"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":[13950,27,2696,13951],"tags":[4897,13991,6273,13981,3504,3495,13931,2698,2697,4067,4062,2312,2313,4104,2315,8018,11722,13966,4193],"class_list":["post-134255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-avian","category-house-finches","category-sebastian-county","tag-branch","tag-carolina-chickadee","tag-chickadee","tag-feeder","tag-finch","tag-finches","tag-garden","tag-haemorhous-mexicanus","tag-house-finch","tag-immature","tag-male","tag-molt","tag-molting","tag-perched","tag-summer-3","tag-urban","tag-vine","tag-yard","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-finch-young-male-chickadee-mia-mcpherson-4401.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-yVp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":140506,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/22\/winter-male-american-goldfinch\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":0},"title":"Winter Male American Goldfinch","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This male American Goldfinch caught my eye after the recent snowstorm here in Arkansas. Why? Because he's starting to molt into his breeding plumage.","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":"Winter male American Goldfinch starting to get his breeding plumage, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-goldfinch-male-molt-mia-mcpherson-4125.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-goldfinch-male-molt-mia-mcpherson-4125.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-goldfinch-male-molt-mia-mcpherson-4125.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-goldfinch-male-molt-mia-mcpherson-4125.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140381,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/20\/winter-male-purple-finch-images-plus-a-fun-bonus-photo\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":1},"title":"Winter Male Purple Finch Images Plus A Fun Bonus Photo","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After the sleet, ice, and snow from the recent winter storm, I was thrilled to have a Purple Finch in my viewfinder for a bit\u2014even though it was bitter cold.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Purple Finch after a snowstorm, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138924,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/22\/male-house-finch-in-an-arkansas-snowstorm\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":2},"title":"Male House Finch In An Arkansas Snowstorm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month, during a snowstorm here in Arkansas, I felt fortunate to photograph a male House Finch while the snow was still falling.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male House Finch on a snowy Arkansas morning, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/house-finch-snow-male-mia-mcpherson-7392.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/house-finch-snow-male-mia-mcpherson-7392.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/house-finch-snow-male-mia-mcpherson-7392.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/house-finch-snow-male-mia-mcpherson-7392.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142914,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/16\/male-house-finch-with-an-eye-on-the-sky\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":3},"title":"Male House Finch With An Eye On The Sky","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This male House Finch caught my eye through my viewfinder two days ago because he had his eye on the sky while waiting for his turn at the seed feeder.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male House Finch with an eye on the sky, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/house-finch-male-eye-on-sky-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/house-finch-male-eye-on-sky-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/house-finch-male-eye-on-sky-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/house-finch-male-eye-on-sky-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137657,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/03\/purple-finch-finally\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":4},"title":"Purple Finch &#8211; Finally!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been waiting since the end of summer to see a Purple Finch show up, and yesterday I finally photographed a single female above the seed feeder!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Purple Finch at the feeder, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137795,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/13\/late-fall-carolina-chickadee-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":134255,"position":5},"title":"Late Fall Carolina Chickadee Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I enjoyed taking several photos of a Carolina Chickadee while it was still very cold. These late fall mornings have been brisk lately.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Late autumn Carolina Chickadee perched on driftwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/carolina-chickadee-late-autumn-mia-mcpherson-8119.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/carolina-chickadee-late-autumn-mia-mcpherson-8119.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/carolina-chickadee-late-autumn-mia-mcpherson-8119.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/carolina-chickadee-late-autumn-mia-mcpherson-8119.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\/134255","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=134255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}