Re: [cobirds] A Goldfinch challenge for David Leatherman

Is it possible it was cleaning it's bill? I observe various finches clean their bill after eating some seeds, by whiping each side against a small branch, alternating sides several times almost like one would run a knife against a sharpener. Just one possibility of something it could be doing if not going after a food source.

Thanks,

Jeff Percell

Erie, CO

On Tue, Jul 4, 2023, 9:04 AM dgulb...@gmail.com <dgulbenkian@gmail.com> wrote:

Why would a Goldfinch cling to a brick wall for a minute and a half?

At 7 AM when I walked into my garden I was treated to a brilliant Amer.

Goldfinch male who flew directly from my Bachelor Button patch to the

side of my yellow-brick garage.  The brick has an extremely rough texture,

so it was easy to cling to.  Although there were lots of "gnats" in the air,

there weren't any near the wall, which is protected by a 3' overhang.  I expected

the bird to immediately move on, but he lingered and lingered, making little

pecking movements at the brick and perhaps at the mortar.  It came to mind

that Amazon parrots peck up clay, but it seems unlikely that 80-year-old mortar

would be digestible.  Maybe a small spider or spider eggs?  After the bird left,

I examined the wall but could see absolutely nothing. If it was a small spider, how

extraordinary that the bird saw it in the shade from 25 yards away.

P.S. to gardeners: Bachelor Buttons are incredibly easy to grow, and they self-sow,

so there's almost no work involved in having a patch.  Bees, including some native

bees, love it, and American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, and House Finches

will come to it from time to time for the developing seeds.

David Gulbenkian, Crown Hill area, Jeffco

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