{"id":89095,"date":"2021-05-26T05:23:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T11:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=89095"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:38:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T17:38:43","slug":"spring-male-american-goldfinch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/26\/spring-male-american-goldfinch\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Male American Goldfinch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SpringSpring male American Goldfinch \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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. A few weeks ago I photographed another male American Goldfinch high in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> but he wasn’t quite in his full breeding plumage like this male is. Yesterday I could hear American Goldfinches practically everywhere I went plus I saw the males chasing each other around in the thickets.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Dandelion close up \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that people who love their lawns don’t care for Common Dandelions. I love them and I’ve always related to to these bright and sunny flowers because I was an Army Brat and like the dandelions I grew and bloomed where I landed. I still do that.<\/p>\n

The Common Dandelions are blooming beautiful in the high country and will soon set seed. American Goldfinches are just one bird species that eat the seeds of these abundant wildflowers.<\/p>\n

\"BloomingBlooming Dandelions in East Canyon \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve seen Common Dandelions bloom all over the U.S. and overseas too. My mom used to make Dandelion wine from the flower heads.<\/p>\n

North America does have native and introduced Common Dandelions, for more information please click here<\/span><\/a>. I don’t know if these dandelions that I photographed are native or nonnative.<\/p>\n

\"ClumpClump of blooming Common Dandelions \u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth be told I don’t really care what their status is. I simply love seeing their bright yellow flowers and adore knowing that they are blooming bird food.<\/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. Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128988,"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":[2715,27,4594,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,2716,6098,6557,6577,4053,3940,11806,3818,6519,3504,3495,4062,4069,4104,2717,11804,4307,902,5063],"class_list":["post-89095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-goldfinches","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-american-goldfinch","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-branches","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-canyon","tag-common-dandelion","tag-dandelion","tag-dandelions","tag-finch","tag-finches","tag-male","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-spinus-tristis","tag-taraxacum-officinale","tag-wildflowers","tag-willows","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/american-goldfinch-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0680.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-nb1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52275,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/05\/26\/focusing-on-american-goldfinches-feeding-on-dandelion-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":89095,"position":0},"title":"Focusing On American Goldfinches Feeding On Dandelion Seeds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Female American Goldfinch eating dandelion seeds, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/american-goldfinch-female-dandelion-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/american-goldfinch-female-dandelion-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/american-goldfinch-female-dandelion-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/american-goldfinch-female-dandelion-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113374,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/11\/male-american-goldfinch-in-his-finest-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":89095,"position":1},"title":"Male American Goldfinch In His Finest Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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 in spring, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-goldfinch-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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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 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I still am.","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":"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":[]},{"id":59176,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/07\/23\/american-goldfinch-male-in-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":89095,"position":4},"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 "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 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":52072,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/05\/11\/male-american-goldfinch-in-breeding-plumage-small-in-the-frame\/","url_meta":{"origin":89095,"position":5},"title":"Male American Goldfinch in Breeding Plumage – 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. 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