The American goldfinch doesn’t nest or even mate until mid to late summer when flower seeds have ripened. As a result it only raises a single brood each year. Nest building in July may take 13 days, but only requires half this time by late August. The nest is made out of grass, bark strips, and stems of milkweed, lined with thistle and cattail down. It is usually built in the upright fork of a small sapling or shrub, at a height varying from three feet to 25 feet. It is not uncommon, though, to see them nesting as high as 45 feet in large trees.
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| American Goldfinch |
The female lays four to six pale blue eggs in her nest and incubates them for 12 to 14 days. The young hatch with a downy covering and with eyes closed. After three days, their eyes open and the young continue to develop quickly. By the time the chicks are ten to 16 days old, the down changes to an olive yellow plumage they fledge, or learn to fly. Two weeks later, they are completely independent of their parents after another two weeks.
The American goldfinch has a varied diet. It’s staples are seeds, especially thistle seeds. Although goldfinch feed on the seeds of wild thistle, the thistle you put in your feeder is not actually related to wild thistle. Regardless, goldfinches can often be seen at bird feeders, even in the summer. Many native and introduced plants are important sources of food for the American goldfinch. The seeds of dandelion, speckled alder, chicory, evening primrose, mullein and a variety of other wildflowers contribute to their diet. Occasionally, they will also feed on insects, such as caterpillars and plant lice.
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| American Goldfinch |
The American goldfinch prefers open, grassy areas, such as pastures, meadows, and croplands. They can often be seen in orchards and in trees along roadsides. They prefer land in the first stages of succession, with brushy thickets and tall weeds, and also make use of nearby bushes and trees. The goldfinch is social, except during the nesting season. It is not uncommon to find the goldfinch forming a colony of sorts, with two or three pairs group their territories together. This is particularly true in areas where food and water supplies are plentiful.
The American goldfinch is common throughout Vermont, especially in areas that provide prime habitat, such as pastures and meadows. However, a four percent decline each year in the goldfinch population has been observed by the United States Breeding Bird Survey. Factors that may be contributing to this overall decline in numbers could be loss of breeding habitats resulting from changing agricultural practices as well as human expansion.
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| American Goldfinch |
American goldfinch History
Before the arrival of Europeans settlers, most of Vermont was covered with forest. Land was cleared for farming and soon, fields and pastures dominated the Vermont landscape. By the 1850s, almost 75 percent of Vermont's land had been cleared for farmland. As a result the American goldfinch flourished. Land use has changed from the 1850s. The pastures and fields that were once abundant reverted back to forests. Today, over 80 percent of Vermont is forested once again. This could be a contributing factor to the slight decline in goldfinch numbers that has been documented. However, as Vermont is still a state with many farms and fields, the goldfinch can be commonly found here throughout the year.
The American goldfinch is bright and easy to identify. A simple way to see the goldfinch is to attract it to your home by putting up a bird feeder. Feeding birds has introduced people of all ages to this absorbing hobby. Please remember that feeding birds in the wintertime includes the responsibility of keeping the feeder full. Once birds start to visit a feeder, they become dependent on it as a food source.
