Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Visitation of Goldfinches! So I Thought!
Sorry to do another bird post so soon – it was only yesterday I shared with you the nesting house finches in my garden – but I couldn’t wait.
Because even though the Goldfinch is the Washington State Bird, I rarely see them, especially in my yard, and when I first published this story, I thought they were indeed goldfinches.
A little flock of bright yellow birds visited me yesterday. After several days of record-breaking heat in the Seattle area, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, they were no doubt seeking water.
I had just put the sprinkler on and sat down to rest and see who might show up.
I soon caught flashes of bright yellow – what a treat! They stood out among the regulars who blend in more easily with their surroundings – chickadees, house finches, juncos, and nuthatches. I thought surely, they were Goldfinches.
But when I later, posted the same photos on my Facebook PNW Birders group, I learned they’re actually Wilson’s Warblers, which according to the group is even better, as they’re only here for breeding season and hard to capture. So, there you have it. You learn something new every day! 🙂
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
These goldfinches are so pretty, Susanne! And we have seen a pair here recently! I’m so excited to know these are the state bird! You just reminded me we need to get a bird bath (will be 90 this weekend here)! What a gorgeous garden you have.
Thanks so much, Terri! It was such a treat to see them yesterday in my garden! 🙂
I’ll be on the lookout for them with the camera the ready!
Yes! I love to pull up a chair in the backyard, with my camera ready and see who shows up! 🙂
Update! Just learned in my PNW Birders FB group, these are Wilson’s Warblers! Learn something new everyday! 😁
Super birds Susanne, delightfully captured.
Thank you so much! It was such a treat to have them drop by! 🙂
I can imagine. We had goldfinches descend on our cornflowers last autumn, although they were the European goldfinches which look totally different from yours.
Turns out they’re Wilson’s Warblers! Learn something new everyday!
They are beautiful birds, so bright and happy!
Yes indeed! Brilliant yellow! 🙂
❤️😊 Have a happy Wednesday, Susanne.
Thank you. You too! 🙂
We have Greenfinches in the front hedge, but Goldfinches close to houses are rare here. Lovely photos, Susanne.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. I never heard of Greenfinches so I just looked them up. They definitely look like cousins. Cute birds!
They are the same family. We also have Goldfinches here.
I just learned from my Facebook bird group, these are actually called Wilson’s Warblers. Fooled me, so I’ll be updating this post later today!
Great photos, Susanne. How nice to have them stop by, but 90° in May. Yikes!
Thanks, Graham. We had crazy hot for the last few days with record temps. Don’t know what that means for our summer! But I loved having these bright little birds drop by.
They are so sweet. I love the black patch. I get fire finches. The males are dark pink with faint white spots on the crest. The females are gray with light pink crests with the same spots as the males. I adore them!
I’d never seen these little birds before and just learned they are WIson’s Warblers, and need to update my post! 😄
Your images are breathtaking! Absolutely stunning. Thank you. Hugs, C
Thank you so much!! And I will never forget they are Wilson’s Warblers! 😊
They are cute little birds.We never see them anymore because we stopped putting the thistle feeder out.
These are sweet birds indeed! They’re actually Wilson’s Warblers, not Goldfinches as I originally thought. they only visit the PNW during breeding season, so it’s an extra treat to have them visit. 🙂 Goldfinches are beautiful too, but I still don’t know whether I’ve seen them in my garden!
In my humble opinion, you can never post too many birds here. 😍
Good to know!! I LOVE birds!
That’s funny. I thought that goldfinches in Washington sure are different from ours! And of course they weren’t goldfinches at all. Lovely photos. We have many goldfinches. They especially love to eat the sunflower seed at the end of the growing season.
Even though it’s the Washington State Bird, I rarely see Goldfinches in my garden. The Wilson’s Warblers are definitely new to me and welcome!
I would love to see them too.