A visit from Mr. and Mrs. A. Goldfinch

Photo by Stan Rolfsrud

An  American goldfinch breeding pair. The male has attracted the female with his fine plumage. Once courtship is over, he'll molt back to ordinary wear -- t-shirt, pajama bottoms and flip flops.  Monagamous goldfinches mate in July and produce one brood a year. Usually very social, they become territorial during breeding season, which is why, we believe, we are not seeing as many goldfinches at our feeder lately.