Goldfinch and thistle seed

[nanila]

Some people might call this "failing to mow the lawn properly". I like to call it "ensuring the local finch population has an adequate supply of thistle seed so I can take nice photos from just inside the back door".

Comments

[cmcmck]

They are such pretty birds.

We get them coming to the feeders by the living room window. They are real sunflower seed freaks!

[nanila]

Heh, these try to get the sunflower seeds too, but the flock of pushy juvenile starlings has got total dominance over the feeding station right now

[annofowlshire]

Pish. It’s called “rewilding” and you’re doing a service to the wildlife community ^_^

[nanila]

Thanks! It certainly seems so this summer. We've even had the green finches in the garden. Usually they stay out. The dream is to tempt in a bullfinch one day.

[cesy]

Yay thistles and birds!

[nanila]

I think my days of aggressive weeding are over.

[shirebound]

Yay, I love your reasoning. What a delightful visitor.

[nanila]

We've never had so many finch visitors before. I think we'll repeat this strategy!

[kaberett]

This is my mother's tack with the teasels! (That and she does actually like the way they look.)

[nanila]

It works out well. Less work for the humans, more food for the finches. What's not to like?

[redbird]

Nice!

[nanila]

Yes! Very happy with this state of affairs.

[seleneheart]

Your description is perfect and the pic is great!

[nanila]

Thank you!

[pauraque]

Oh, how pretty! Today I learned that the bird we call the goldfinch in America is a completely different species that looks nothing alike. (It's like the robin all over again... took me ages to realize there were two different robins.)

[nanila]

Yes, I was surprised when I first saw a British robin. They're so dainty!

[fred_mouse]

I feel that lawns are a reflection of the petite bourgeois mentality and one can be an intellectual snob without one. But then, pretty much the first thing I did in moving into current abode was to kill the front lawn with malice aforethought, so I might be telling one myself with that. :)

[nanila]

Very wise of you! Many hours of deathly dull and pointless activity you have saved yourself

[angrboda]

No, it's just 'wild on purpose' for the sake of biodiversity of birds, animals and insects. We have a patch that Husband has stopped mowing and we're just seeing what's turning up there.

[nanila]

How exciting! I hope the experiment is a success.

[angrboda]

At the moment it just looks like tall grass, but if you have a closer look there are quite a few different plants in there. I might try and influence it a bit by just randomly tossing out some wildflower seeds and seeing if it works. I'm super hoping some chicory might show up. I walk past some big plants of that on the way from the bus stop to work and I think they're so pretty.

[turlough]

Wonderful photo! The goldfinch looks even more striking than usual against all that greenery.

[ranunculus]

That really is a very different bird than the American goldfinch!

[nanila]

Thank you! Its little red face stands out well.

[yourlibrarian]

Aw, and a very nice photo it is indeed (and a happy finch!)

[nanila]

Thank you! Yes, the finches seem to be delighted with this arrangement

[sparowe]

Makes absolute sense, and what a great photo! :)

[nanila]

Thank you!