Look closerBirds
Why goldfinches nest in late summer, months after other songbirds
When: July to September
While other songbirds are done for the year, goldfinches are just now raising chicks: they wait until late summer, when seed fluff for nest lining and ripe seeds for baby food arrive together.
Why this time of year
Massachusetts goldfinch egg dates run July 10 to September 18 with nestlings into late September, so an August goldfinch carrying a beakful of fluff is building or lining an active nest.
How to notice it
- Watch thistle heads, milkweed pods, and other seed fluff for goldfinches tearing off beakfuls of down.
- Follow the carrier's flight line; the nest is a tight cup of plant down, usually in a shrub fork.
- Listen for the bouncing flight call as males make their roller-coaster display flights.
- Do not approach a found nest; the show is the commuting, watchable from anywhere.
Try this with kids: Can you catch a goldfinch stealing fluff, and see which way it flies home?
goldfinches line nests with plant down and feed their chicks regurgitated seeds, not insects
Sources
- massaudubon.orgThe breeding schedule of the American goldfinch is very different from that of most of our other birds: nesting activities occur in late summer, from July into September, when an abundant supply of favorite seeds has ripened; Massachusetts egg dates run July 10 to September 18 with nestlings July 28 to September 28; nests are composed of downy fibers such as the filaments of various composite flowers, and parents feed nestlings seeds that are partially digested and regurgitated.
- audubon.orgThe goldfinch is a late nester, beginning in mid-summer with the majority of nesting activity during July and August, possibly to assure a peak supply of late-summer seeds for the young; the nest is a solid compact cup of plant fibers, spiderwebs, and plant down, especially from thistles; males perform a fluttering flight display while singing in courtship.
In the guide for July, August, September