Goldfinches and Burnweed

American Goldfinches are common all year around in Connecticut, though their numbers are boosted in autumn and early winter by young birds and others passing through from southern Canada and northern New England. At our feeders they became quite scarce in mid-winter, probably retreating to lower elevations. Our goldfinches could also be called the "Great Procrastinators," as they defer their breeding season until composite flowers bloom and many other bird species are already moving south. 

On July 13, as I was photographing a dragonfly in the back yard, this adult male goldfinch surprised me by resting briefly on a bare branch not far away:

He picked at an errant feather:

He should have left that feather in place!

He turned to exhibit the bold markings on his wings and rump:

My  initial critter of interest was this female Widow Skimmer:

Last summer I noticed a tall weed which emerged in the area of hardwood forest that had been clearcut the previous winter. It had sprouted up very quickly and covered nearly the entire area amid the trunks of the felled trees. These photos of the clear-cut area in the rear acreage illustrate their progression from late spring into summer: 

April 25, 2023:

May 12, 2023:

June 27, 2023:

Although this plant has distinctive buds, they never open as flowers. Goldfinches have a particular affinity for the seeds and the fluffy down (pappus) which carries clouds of seeds in the wind. They use the pappus for the nest structure and their young subsist almost entirely on seeds. I took this picture on September 3, 2022:

This is a young specimen of the plant. It grows on a single stalk up to a height of 4-6 feet:

Thanks to the iPhone plant identification app, I learned that it was Ercitites hieraciifolius, American Burnweed, a member of the daisy family, a composite. (I triggered the Ring alarm while taking this photo): : 

The peak nesting season for American Goldfinch is in early August, just when the  Ercitites begins to release its seeds. This year there has been an unusually large gathering of goldfinches in the trees surrounding the clearing. Presumably, many are young from the previous season. I expect there will be a banner crop of nestlings.

A White-tailed doe found a shady spot to rest at the edge of our side yard:

When she turned her head, this revealed the ragged tips of her left ear, which identified her as "Notch." We wondered if her fawn may have been out of sight in the adjacent woods:

At the suet feeder, a male Downy Woodpecker was confronted by a hungry Gray Catbird:

A much larger female Hairy Woodpecker also appeared:

The stormy weather and several obligations kept me from getting out to photograph a street scene meme. Here is a favorite from my archives, during a visit to the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, on June 21, 2010: 

This week's header: Sunset from the back yard on July 7, 2023:

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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