Goldfinches Return!

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It was the 10th when I first saw two Goldfinches. I had put out the thistle feeder two weeks before and was beginning to worry that they'd not return this year. 

We subscribed to Birds and Blooms long ago and always there were ladies writing in to tell of the one or two Goldfinches showing up at their window feeders. I would laugh and enjoy the thought that we always had LOTS of the birds. 

On the 11th, I looked out the window here at my desk to spy easily a dozen Goldfinches. Later when I was out, I made a point to add a scoop of thistle to the seeds on the seed table. 

When I hung the thistle feeder in the tree, I also put out a scoop of the small seed mix. They call it Goldfinch Mix but it has no thistle. Now, I need more of everything. The seed barrel needs cleaning out. The barrel itself had moved off of the boards it sits on to keep it off the ground. When it gets wet on the bottom, the seeds inside also get wet and now I have a mess in the bottom of the barrel. Needs a good cleaning and start over for the winter. 

Along with the Goldfinches came a lot of the Crowned Sparrows and a bunch of either baby Crowned Sparrows or a variety of Crowned Finches? That is something I had never heard of, it's just what they look like. We have 3 books and they all describe wrens, sparrows, finches differently. 

I laughingly told Randy that we needed more thistle feeders for our many Goldfinches but then reminded him of the year he made 3 more out of 2 liter bottles. The birds loved it but the seeds are most expensive and we just couldn't afford to keep so many, so well fed. It was wonderful to get to watch 3 to 4 dozen swarm around the yard at one time. And oh the chatter. What beautiful music they make.