Goldfinch

If you thought that all the birds had finished nesting by now and were all planning to fly south you would have forgotten about the American Goldfinch.

In late July and early August the Goldfinch is busy nesting and feeding its young. The bird waits for the maturation of the oily and nutrition packed thistle and sunflower seeds before it begins its family.

Goldfinches use the down of the thistle for a soft lining in their nest. And, what a smart bird it is, it foils the "nest pirate" cowbird. Cowbirds can't survive on the oily seed diet.