Today in Nature: An American Goldfinch

September 19th: It took me a while to figure out who this was - I am pretty sure it is an adult female American Goldfinch. Their male mates are a bright yellow. This one was with a flock that was happily harvesting the seeds from these late flowering plants. Goldfinches rely on seeds, so they breed late in the summer, unlike most other birds. Once the breeding is over and the young are ready to fly, they will head south to the U.S. for the winter. I hope they have health insurance....

Today in Nature: The American Goldfinch

An American Goldfinch

August 17th: This glorious little bird is an American Goldfinch. About the size of a sparrow, but much flashier, they survive mainly on seeds. Since most seeds only appear after July, they start breeding later in the summer. This saves them the headache of having other birds steal their nests earlier in the year. Since seeds are a dry diet, they can be seen drinking from puddles and streams.

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June 19th: Baby Redwinged Blackbirds and some Red-necked Grebes

June 19th: This is the time of year when baby birds get big enough to leave the nest, but aren't big enough to feed themselves. The bird hanging precariously here is a young redwing blackbird. They are born in nests in marshes, but this little fellow was big enough to hop up some reeds - and then get stuck. He held on awkwardly to two reeds for a bit before figuring out how to hang into just one. He then proceeded to plead for food for the next ten minutes. No parents came to feed him, but I assume they were eon the job somewhere nearby.

Red-necked grebes

I also came across a different kind of red bird - the rednecked grebe, a kind of duck. They are notable because they create floating nests. These ones were nesting on a platform built to keep them coming back year after year. You can see the baby next to the mother. Its siblings were out on the water, making a very loud racket as their father dove down to retrieve fish. (For a video of a father feeding his family, go to our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/naturediary).

Here's an image of an adult male.

I found these birds out a Colonel Samuel Smith park in Toronto, at the bottom of Kipling. It is a lovely place, great for birding, and for a nice stroll.