Goldfinch Feeding Its Baby Sunflower Seeds

I have so been enjoying the sunflower patch at the local Arboretum, and I have tried to visit several times a week to keep an eye on developments there. On this morning, I finally made my first visit of this week to the sunflowers.

It was good to be back. It was quite foggy out, and the fog transformed everything into a land full of great magic. I wandered around with my camera, snapping away, just happy to be home. (For as the little pig-tailed gal who gets to wear those sparkly red shoes in the famous movie says, there's no place like home . . . )

I saw several enchanting sights during my morning visit. First, let me tell you, though, that as it grows later in the season, the sunflowers are starting to go to seed. And you know what that means. They are attracting all kinds of insects and birds who are anxious to help themselves to a snack! (And the birds also feed on the insects that come to visit the sunflowers - so if you're a bird, it's a double win!)

And so the air was a-flitter with movement on this day. Bees were everywhere. Birds were everywhere. Especially the goldfinches that I have observed before at the Arboretum - I could hear them first, then I'd see movement on a flower, and then finally I would spot a little yellow head. They are just going crazy for the sunflower seeds!

During my morning visit, I spotted one of the biggest hummingbirds I've ever seen, visiting a sunflower. While this is a sight I've seen on only a handful of occasions, I've never been fast enough to nab a picture of it. And this day was no exception. Considering the size of the hummingbird, I wondered if it was a passer-through, maybe a rufous rather than one of our usual (smaller) ruby throats.

A small, fuzzy, yellow goldfinch perched on a sunflower, smiling at me, while a huge grasshopper sat atop the sunflower next to it. (That was a shot that I did get, and I thought it might be today's blip, but it turns out something even better was in store for me on this day.)

And as I left the sunflower beds, happy, my camera memory card just full of pictures, I snapped a few last pictures of the fog drifting through the fragrance garden. I was photographing the shadows of some benches in the morning sun that came and went through the fog, when I finally looked up and saw - wonder of wonders - a huge red-tailed hawk, perched on a trellis about 12 feet in front of me! It was just sitting there silently, almost like it was waiting for me. And it stayed and let me snap about a dozen photos before it flew away. Wow! What a gift!

So I had decided my blip for the day was bagged: it was down to either the goldfinch and grasshopper having breakfast on a sunflower, or the hawk in the mist. And I was quite content, thinking either would make a fine blip. And I was thinking up a song for each, just in case. (Yes, one picture, one story, one song - each and every day!)

I had been planning to go back to the Arboretum and the sunflower beds in the afternoon, looking for the shot I have truly been wanting, which is a monarch butterfly perched among the blooms. And the butterflies are much more likely to be out in the afternoon sun than in the morning fog. But considering what I'd seen already on my morning visit, I almost didn't go back, because I figured I had my blip in the can.

But the day was beautiful, and the sky was blue, and the sunlight was golden, and in the end, I gave in to the whims of my camera and I went back to the Arboretum at the conclusion of my work day. And I took lots of pictures of the sunflowers in the beautiful afternoon light. The goldfinches were there, and they were very active. But they can be rather difficult to see among the blooms. I've sometimes had to resort to the strategy of "shoot first, and look to see whether you got anything decent later."

On several occasions recently, I've observed young goldfinches in the sunflower garden, begging their parents to feed them sunflower seeds. Now, you might expect that a juvenile goldfinch, especially one of this size, would be able to gather its OWN sunflower seeds and eat them. But apparently sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. (Baby robins can be quite the same way, or so I hear.)

And so when I saw a flutter of wings amid the sunflowers, and a shaking of the blooms, I couldn't really see what was going on, but I suspected what it might be. And so I pointed my camera in the general direction, and zoomed in a bit, and tried to hold it steady, and snapped away, thinking I would check later to see what was happening and what I got.

I finally had a chance to download and take a look at my photos just before bedtime on this day, and so that was when I sorted through the pictures and found this scene. The photos reveal a young goldfinch flittering and dancing about atop a sunflower, trying to catch the attention of its parent, who eventually does give in. In this photo, a parent (most likely the mother, though I admit its yellows are a bit brighter than most females I've seen, as female goldfinches tend to be a rather drab gray/pale/yellow) feeds its baby sunflower seeds. It almost looks like a kiss!

The song to accompany this happy moment of baby goldfinch sunflower bliss is Crosby, Stills, and Nash, singing Teach Your Children. For I think that is what the parent finch was trying to do. To teach the baby to fend for itself. And perhaps the baby was indeed learning its own sunflower snacking skills as well. But at this particular moment, the baby was enjoying a free meal, courtesy of its loving parent.

P.S. I've fallen a bit behind on blip, so I am posting several blips in one day to catch up. Please be sure to check out the Tuesday and Wednesday photos as well!