Goldfinch eating our Evening Primrose seeds

I was reading The Guardian at the dining table when I looked up and out through the sliding door and was delighted to see this goldfinch gingerly perching on this plant. I new immediately that it was searching for its seeds which is classic behaviour for this species.

At the same time there were several other goldfinches eating around one of the bird feeders I fill with sunflower seeds. But I've never before seen a goldfinch eating directly from seed heads of our garden plants. I do leave plants through the winter without tidying them up, mostly through laziness, but this shows that that policy works to the benefit of our visitors. The plant stems belong to an evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.) which had self-seeded in a pot beside a small olive tree.

I must admit that I was really pleased to not only see it but that the goldfinch didn't fly off when I gently slid the door open to take the picture. Quite a few of the garden birds seem much less frightened of my presence these days. The long-tailed tit on a tray feeder by the sliding door this morning just looked at me whilst it ate several seeds over the course of a couple of minutes. Yet again I feel so lucky to have such treasures just outside our home.