{"id":59503,"date":"2019-08-14T05:10:34","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T11:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=59503"},"modified":"2024-05-21T09:39:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T14:39:23","slug":"molting-american-goldfinch-feasting-on-musk-thistle-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/14\/molting-american-goldfinch-feasting-on-musk-thistle-seeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Molting American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MoltingMolting American Goldfinch perched on a Musk Thistle – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

One year ago today I went up into the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> and for about three minutes I photographed a molting American Goldfinch feasting on Musk Thistle seeds. The goldfinch was in between breeding and nonbreeding plumage and certainly doesn’t look as spiffy as they normally do but this is part of their natural appearance during this time of the year and I wouldn’t pass up on taking photos of them just because they don’t look their best.<\/p>\n

Besides, this goldfinch looked pretty cute with that fan shaped thistle down off to its side. The background of both these photos is out of focus grasses and more blooming thistles and I thought the pop of pinkish purple added a painterly feel to both of the backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\"MoltingMolting American Goldfinch eating a Musk Thistle seed – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The American Goldfinch was so close to my Jeep that I wasn’t sure I would have enough depth of field but using f9 seemed to work well for both of these frames.<\/p>\n

I was up in the mountains two days ago for a much needed bird and nature fix and although I saw goldfinches on the wing none of them came in close enough for me to photograph or for me to see if they have started to molt this year. Maybe on my next trip up into the Wasatch I will.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Goldfinch photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128958,"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":[4004,2716,6623,4286,7555,3504,3495,6198,6199,2312,2313,4069,6622,4104,7554,2717],"class_list":["post-59503","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-carduus-nutans","tag-eating","tag-feasting","tag-finch","tag-finches","tag-goldfinch","tag-goldfinches","tag-molt","tag-molting","tag-mountains","tag-musk-thistle","tag-perched","tag-seed","tag-spinus-tristis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-molting-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-5115.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ftJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52959,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/07\/07\/male-american-goldfinch-feasting-on-musk-thistle-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":59503,"position":0},"title":"Male American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "American Goldfinches"","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Goldfinch with flying thistle fluff, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, 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McPherson","date":"July 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "American Goldfinches"","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Goldfinch feasting on aphids, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-thistle-aphids-mia-mcpherson-9139.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-thistle-aphids-mia-mcpherson-9139.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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dried Musk Thistle Blossom & Short Video Clip","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "American Goldfinches"","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, 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