A-Z Challenge – F is for Finch

Posted on April 8, 2021 by

21 Comments

The feature image is Cassin’s Finch seen on Mount Charleston outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. This was a life bird at the time that we saw this bird perched beautifully in the tree. It was chilly that day in April several years ago. We saw only 3 birds while up on the mountain that day, but two of them were lifers. The other bird was a Mountain Bluebird which I didn’t get a photo.

House Finch

Male House Finch perched on the feeder.

The male House Finch and Purple Finch are very similar and can be hard to identify. Both can be a light to dark red in color. To help determine which finch you are viewing is to look at the belly. A dark stripe pattern on the belly will indicate that it is a House Finch. Below, you will see the finch on the right has more of a red and white belly with no distinguishable markings. The finch on the left was a House Finch. Hard to tell from the photo due to the sun hitting the bird, but I was able to identify him through my binoculars.

Purple Finch

Uncommon male Purple Finch on the left and a male House Finch on the right eating away at the feeders.

The Purple Finch is less common than the House Finch. This Spring was the first time we have seen them in our yard. They are considered a rare bird for here in Jacksonville; even during migration.

Goldfinch

Male Goldfinch getting some chow at one of the new driftwood feeders that we built.

Goldfinches are one of our favorite migratory birds. They arrive here in Florida around December and usually leave in February. This year they stuck around longer or maybe we had more stragglers this year. The above photo was taken at the beginning of March. This male’s colors were really starting to come in.

This is my first time participating in April Blogging from A-Z Challenge. As a birder and photographer, I will be sharing a new bird with you every day. I host a weekly photo challenge called Bird Weekly and would love for you to stop by anytime. Join in if that is your thing too.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge - 2021 badge

Category: birds, Birds Weekly Photo Challenge, photo challenge, photography, Uncategorized, wildlife, Writing PromptsTags: , , , ,

21 Comments on “A-Z Challenge – F is for Finch”

  3. Such pretty little birds 🙂 We get goldfinches in the UK but not these other ones. My favourites here are the chaffinches – do you get them?

    Liked by 1 person

  4. There is a funeral home here that keeps finches in the lobby. Must be something to do with dealing with grief. I believe they are well cared for but seems they should be out in the wild instead.

    Liked by 1 person

    • There are domestic finches that are born and raised in captivity, just like fish and other animals. They don’t know any different and as long as they are taken care of, the are happy birds. They don’t have the fear of dealing with predators. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Bird Weekly Challenge
Interviews by Marsha Ingrao
Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge
Becky’s Squares Challenge
Advertisements
Follow Our Eyes Open on WordPress.com
Blog Stats
  • 63,397 hits
%d bloggers like this: