THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604130147
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Every day, the feathers of the male goldfinches that surround my thistle feeder are changing, transforming bit by bit from the dull olive green of winter to the brilliant yellow of summer.
Soon the birds will be more dazzling than any bird, flower or butterfly in the garden. I hope when they have reached the full peak of their mating colors, that they will decide to stay and nest here, too.
For sure, they have enjoyed spending the winter with me this year. Since early January, males and females alike have been stair-stepped up around the thistle feeder every morning and afternoon eating seed to their heart's content.
In past years, I may not have had but one or two goldfinches visit my feeder and they, not with much gusto. I could go a whole winter without replacing seed. This year, I have been adding seed at least twice a week.
Wild Birds Unlimited at Hilltop, one of my sources for thistle seed, has had an unusual goldfinch year, too. This past quarter, the store sold five times the amount of thistle seed than was sold during the same quarter last year, said Karen Beatty who works there.
``Folks can't get over how many goldfinches they have this year,'' Beatty said. ``In my yard it's the same thing. I never had this many last year.''
Although Virginia Beach Audubon Society member Betsy Nugent said the goldfinches haven't been in her yard in any great abundance, she's been hearing from other folks like me who have had lots of the sparrow-sized birds this winter.
But, Nugent warned, we shouldn't be fooled into thinking that lots of goldfinches now mean we'll have lots of goldfinch nests later. At least not yet.
Unlike most other song birds, goldfinches are still in their winter flocking behavior, still gathering in numbers like they are doing at our feeders. The males don't have their full golden mating plumage and have not begun to pair off with the little olive-tinged-with-yellow females either.
That's because goldfinches nest much later in the year than most birds. The adults eat mostly seeds and the babies eat seeds exclusively so the adults wait until summer to produce their young when more weed seeds are available for food.
Nugent saw a nesting pair in Bay colony and one on the golf course last year. ``I usually see them nesting more in the western part of the state,'' she said. ``If here, in a more open area like a golf course.''
Last year, I know one goldfinch nested in my neighborhood, because I saw a male in late July or early August pecking seeds out of the top of a purple coneflower in my yard. It was one of those picture-perfect garden shots, the kind you would see in full color in a wildlife magazine and I didn't have my camera!
``If you have flowers like purple coneflowers that produce little seeds, don't dead head them,'' Nugent said. ``Although it's not particularly attractive looking, the goldfinches will feed on them.''
The goldfinches are such seed eaters that the Latin for thistle, ``carduelis,'' is part of the bird's scientific name. They also enjoy feeding on seeds of wildflowers like goldenrod and dandelion.
They are not picky. In addition to purple coneflowers, they will feast on garden plants, everything from zinnias to lettuces that have gone to seed.
If a pair of goldfinches does decide to stay and nest nearby, you'll never confuse the male with any other bird. Come summer he will be a brilliant lemon yellow, a vivid contrast with his black wings, tail and cap. The only other bird close is the much larger evening grosbeak. The females are duller, an olive yellow with dark wing and white wing bars.
So keep your eyes open as the season progresses. Nugent would like to think a few more will stay around and nest with us this year.
``We'll keep our fingers crossed,'' she said. ``They'll be quite an asset to the area.''
P.S. WHAT IS NESTING IN MY YARD is the topic of a mini-program by Betsy Nugent at the Virginia Beach Audubon Society meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church. The main speaker is Dr. Harry Wise, retired from the U.S. Public Health Service, who will speak on How the Environment Affects our Health. The meeting is free and open to the public.
LINDA'S GARDEN, the herb garden south of Pungo, opens for the season on Tuesday. Located at 1436 Campbells Landing Road, the garden will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until June 29. Linda Xenakis grows more than 200 varieties of herbs for sale and also sells her homemade herbal blends. To find out more, call 426-5303. . MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow@infi(AT)net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Since early January, goldfinches have been stair-stepped up around
the thistle feeder every morning and afternoon eating seed to their
heart's content.
by CNB