American Goldfinch

A small band of goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) were eagerly examining the Rudbeckia maxima. The plant has grown tremendously over the last weeks and has sent up shoots that are about ready to flower (see post from last July). The stems are still rather weak and not even strong enough to support the finches that were examining it. Notice how bent they are in the photo. I have seen finches ride the branches all the way to the ground. They are quite amusing to watch with all their upside down antics. However, they will have to wait a bit long for these seeds to ripen and even longer for their favored thistle seeds.