Editor’s note:  The following is an old article written by Helen Andrews for the Millbrook Roundtable in the 1980s. We hope you will enjoy it and get a few tips from one of the many articles Helen wrote over the years.

The bright yellow bird with the black cap, wings and tail seems to bear little resemblance to the drab little bird that spent a lot of time at the feeder during the winter.  But as spring approached the male goldfinch began to molt and replace the olive-green feathers with bright yellow.  Even in the winter they retain the black wings and tail.  The male usually has a yellow spot near the wing but the drab little female stays the same color all year around.

During the spring and early summer, we hear and see them as they fly about the country in small, loose flocks.  We see them feeding on weed seeds and hear the cheery, bright song.

By the third week in July the female begins to select a nest site.  She chooses a spot in a thick hedge or a small tree.  Here she builds a durable deep cup with thick walls and lines it with thistle and cattail down.  The nest is so well built that it will hold water, and if the young are left unprotected during a heavy rain, they could drown.

The pale bluish eggs are incubated by the female alone, but her male feeds her during the 12-14 days before the eggs hatch.  The young are fed on seeds, which are partly digested by the parents and fed by regurgitation.  They are raised entirely on seeds.  This is the reason for the lateness in their nesting.  They have to wait until there is a good seed supply.  In the fall we see many goldfinches feeding in the woods along the roadsides and many of these are young of the year.

The nest is so durable that we often find them during the winter and into the next spring, but they are not used again.  A new nest is built for each brood.