American Goldfinch - California / Gordon & Goldie

[Kinderchick]

Thank you, eagle. I know that we feed our backyard Goldfinches Nyger seed, but wasn't sure what they eat naturally, in the wild.

[eagle63_1999]

Goldfinches are seed eaters and they eat seeds of thistle, dandelion, ragweed, mullein, cosmos, goatsbeard, sunflower and alder.

[Saoirse]

This is a really interesting site -- I've always enjoyed watching finches flit around the yard, but having the opportunity to watch the nest is fantastic. Sorry to learn that one of the chicks died, but it looks as though the remaining four are going to keep that nest busy! Kinderchick, I too would be interested to hear what they eat in the wild rather than the niger seed they seem to inhale from feeders.

[Kinderchick]

Boy, are those chicks ever getting big! Feeding going on right now. And what a noise they are making! Can anyone tell me what they eat in the wild?

[Kinderchick]

Apparently, the 5th chick at this site hatched on Aug. 2nd, but died that day. The remaining 4 chicks appear to be doing well.

[Kinderchick]

4 hatchlings now. Just waiting for the 5th to hatch. Sure does look squishy in that nest.

[irenekl]

Theres a message at the site saying that the guy would be away all day Saturday so if the cam went down he would not be there to re-boot it.  I think this cam goes down somewhat frequently.

[sami]

Is the cam Monday to Friday only, like the pandas?

[Kinderchick]

I wonder why the webcam isn't working? Says it's been "off air" all day. I was hoping to see 2 more hatchlings today.

[Kinderchick]

Thanks for the birth announcement, cadria! I watched the video of the 3 hatchlings. Are they ever sweet. They remind me of Phoebe's hummingbird hatchlings. I wonder how they compare in size?

[cadria]

We have three hatchlings!!   

[Saoirse]

Cadria, thank you so much! I haven't had a chance to get into the site in depth, but it looks fantastic, definitely all kinds of information. I'm looking forward to checking it out more thoroughly. 

[cadria]

Anyone know how many days from hatching to fledging? I agree, it could be a very crowded nest!

Saoirse, I looked up the info on goldfinches:

Incubation Period
12–14 days

Nestling Period
11–17 days

The smaller songbirds tend to have a shorter incubation period and nestling period.  Here is an awesome website from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189

It is a wonderful site with loads of info and as you may know, Cornell Lab of Ornithology is all about the birds!

[Saoirse]

Anyone know how many days from hatching to fledging? I agree, it could be a very crowded nest!

[Kinderchick]

How are 5 babies going to fit in that nest?? It should be interesting.

I have been wondering the same thing, bcf! LOL!