It's always nice to enjoy watching bird feeders on a beautiful spring day. Conveniently my bird feeders are front in of my kitchen windows to fully enjoy the colours, sights and sounds of the feathered visitors. A few days ago I was cooking dinner enjoying the birds flying by the windows when a flash of red caught by eye among a sea of yellow American Goldfinches. I was surprised to see a European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) at my Eliminator Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder.
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| European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) |
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| European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) |
It is most likely that this unusual visitor is an escaped pet. European Goldfinches are commonly kept as pets in Ontario and every now and then some escapees make their way to bird feeders. I'm sure every once in a blue moon a genuine European visitor arrives; but we wouldn't have much luck in confirming this unless the bird has been banded and is recaptured.
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| European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) |
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| European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) with American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) |
While this bird is most likely an escapee, it made an exciting sighting and addition to my yard list!
Good birding!
- Kristen Martyn
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There's actually a breeding population of European Goldfinches in southeastern Wisconsin and Lake County, Illinois. The Illinois population is not yet ABA-countable, but there's enough European Goldfinches in the area that one might have flown off to Ontario from this population.
ReplyDeleteHi Jared!
DeleteI didn't know there were breeding populations that close. It is very possible they came from those populations. :)
~Kristen