A Vein of Gold

Did you know that a group of goldfinches can be called a "vein"?  Neither did I until today, but I rather like that!  According to the website Whatbird, they can also be called a 'charm', a 'rush', a 'treasury' or even '007'!  (all of them make sense to me except for the last one... can someone explain? perhaps something to do with "Goldfinger"?)  Well, anyway, on rainy days like today, I think they should be called 'rays of sunshine'.   Just look at this bright fellow:

Today, a flock of them is making up for the lack of sunshine at my house.

The males have mostly finished their spring molt.  Goldfinches are the only birds in the finch family that molt twice a year (spring and fall).  In the next photo, you can see that the male on the left is a little farther along in his molt than the one behind him.

In the next photo we have a male and female.

The male on the left is even farther behind in his molt than the ones in the previous photos.  

In the next photo, there's a pair taken on April 11th.  The crabapple leaves hadn't started to leaf out as much - though it was raining that day, too!

Now, we'll go even farther back-in-time to April 2nd.... it wasn't raining but the goldfinches still mostly had their winter feathers.  

Going back a little more, this time to March 22nd... snow still in the background.  Now I don't feel as bad about all the rain!

If you didn't know, you wouldn't think those were the same birds as this bright male from today, would you?

By the way, today starts the second year for my blog!  One year ago yesterday, I posted for the first time.  Goldfinches starred in one other post, last July, when I declared them the winners in my "Most Cheerful" bird contest.  (You can read it by clicking here .)

I'll end with a video from this morning of our goldfinches having breakfast.  We have so many of them that they don't all fit on the feeders, so I spread some sunflower seeds along the deck railing for them.  Many people put out Niger seed for their finches, but ours seem happy with black-oil sunflower seeds.  Overall, they seem like happy birds, but watch out - they just might be "007" in disguise!

Nesting News

It's been awhile since I've given you an update on the nesting situation here.  If you've been reading along, you may remember the bluebirds' dilemma over which box to choose.  They have several choices close by our house.  Three in the backyard, and others nearby, too.  Even though we give the birds numerous choices, they still compete for housing.

Box # 1 has been taken by the House Sparrows (also called English Sparrows).

That's the female on top of the box, and the male clinging onto the hole on the front.
They've already built a nest inside.  Here the female has something nice and soft to add:

The male looks rather noble in the next photo-- standing guard, but they are not known for their patrician disposition. They are more thought of as nasty aliens (which they are, since they were introduced to America from Europe in 1851) who take over nesting spots from our native bluebirds. 

They have already built their nest.

Nest box # 2 seemed to be the bluebirds favorite, until the tree swallows showed up.

But even which tree swallows will succeed in using it might be in question!

"Mine!"              "No, Mine!"

One pair decided briefly to investigate house # 3:

But I'm still hoping the bluebirds will use that one, and they seem to be keeping an eye on it.

even while the tree swallows are nearby.

In other locations, I have not seen the chickadees at the box they were looking over recently.  But I do know where there is a nest of another sort....

It took a trip by kayak to take a look.  Can you see where it is?

How about now?

I waited til the goose decided I was too close for comfort and swam off before scooting in quickly to get these shots:

In other nesting news, so far this year the great-blue herons have not been using the old heron nest.  But an osprey stopped by on April 19th and sat there eating a fish.

I crept up as close as I could (on land) and he didn't seem to mind.  There was still a lot of water between him and me that day.

It's fun to see the heron nest from the kayak, too... gives it a different perspective.

Too bad the heron nest isn't going to have babies in it this year, but the old tree is still good for lots of birds to perch on. I guess getting old isn't all bad!

This old tree gets to have herons, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, kingfishers, an occasional osprey and bald eagle for company.  Sometimes even a strange lady in a blue kayak!

Hepatica

Blooming now, in a woods near you (at least, if you live near me*) -- Hepatica!

Hepatica are really the earliest woodland wildflower we have.   In my garden, Snowdrops and Crocus might be in bloom before them, and Coltsfoot is probably tied with them for early bloom along sunny roadsides, but if you are looking for delicate beauty in the woods, Hepatica are your plant.

 I love searching out Hepaticas not only because I'm longing for wildflowers after a long, cold winter, but because there is such variety of color in their flowers.  White, pink, and blue....

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I wrote about Hepaticas in my second-ever blog post last April and told about why they are called what they are.  (You can click on this link if you want to read it.)  Today, I've been thinking it's too bad they don't have a prettier-sounding name.  Although, since I've known them for years the connotation I personally have with the name "Hepatica" IS of something pretty.  Still, you wouldn't want to name your child that, I don't think.  Not like you could name a girl Violet or Fern.  

Anyway.... here are some more photos.

Taken on April 14th

Two colors side by side

This one was growing between two rocks.

On a nice, warm sunny day the flowers open up, on cooler, cloudy days they stay more like the ones in the following photos.

If you are going to go out looking for Hepatica, their favorite spot is in a damp but well-drained forest (think moist hillside).  You won't find them in every woods, but when you do, I think their beauty will be a great reward for your search!

*If you live in more southern climes, the Hepatica have probably already bloomed, but here in north-east PA, they are blooming now!

Playing around

with a new camera...

female Red-bellied Woodpecker

White-breasted Nuthatch

I've only had it for a couple of days, but I'm having fun playing around with it.  

male American Goldfinch

I love taking bird photographs, so having a better telephoto lens is wonderful.

pair of Tree Swallows

I didn't manage to center this Kestral, but with my old camera, I wouldn't even have gotten this shot.

This pair of Wood Ducks was way back in the swamp and it's not a super great photo, but again, much better than I could have achieved previously for that distance.

This Canada Goose was quite a bit closer to me, and I love how this one came out.

I've only just started studying the 285 page manual, so I still have a lot to learn.  But, as I said in my title, I'm having fun playing around with it.  As you can see...

It has some special effects - like putting the geese in a fish-eye setting!

It will shoot in "super vivid" which might come in handy with all the dreary days we have around here.

Looks more like fall, but I took this today.  Guess I'm not ready for fall yet, let's have spring and summer first!

However, I don't think I'll use the monochromatic setting much!

Now, the fish-bowl setting again.... fun!  I can change the shape of our swamp!

There's a neat setting that blurs the top and bottom of the photo.  I tried that with the next three photos and thought that setting could be useful.

Which photo is your favorite?