family + fun

"Where have all the goldfinches gone?" a reader asked me the other day. She went on to lament the absence of these bright, chipper little birds at her feeders now that winter is looming.

The goldfinches haven't gone anywhere. They're hiding in plain sight.

This time of year, goldfinches tend to fly under the radar. One reason is that they look completely different in fall. By now, the males have exchanged their bright yellow feathers and black head spot for the warm, taupe-colored plumage of summer females. Just about the only sign that these little brownish birds are goldfinches is the distinctive white striping on their black wings.

And while goldfinches don't leave the state entirely, they do have a shifting sort of migration. The adult goldfinches in Minnesota do head south, but they're replaced by adults from farther north that move southward. There may be short periods when a neighborhood lacks goldfinches, but it's a void quickly filled by new arrivals. In fact, there are more goldfinches around now, because the northern adults are added to the goldfinches that fledged at the end of summer. These young birds don't migrate in their first year. Instead, they act like nomads, moving from feeder to feeder and neighborhood to neighborhood, setting down where they can find food.

Birds gone wild

Goldfinches are fiends for wild seed. That's another reason they might seem to disappear in fall. They readily -- and temporarily -- abandon feeding stations to feast on wild seeds. Unlike most other songbirds, which consume large numbers of insects, goldfinches live on an unvarying diet of seeds, seeds and more seeds. And fall is nature's seediest season, offering an abundant buffet in gardens, parks and some yards.

Finches flock to nodding heads of sunflower, black-eyed Susan, monarda, liatris, aster, sedum, Joe-pye weed, coreopsis, and an apparent favorite, the many varieties of coneflower. They even visit birch and cedar trees for seeds and can be seen gathering at the gnarly heads of burdock thistle found along woodland edges and shorelines. If you listen to a small group of finches sitting in a treetop, it sounds as if they're calling "SEE-eeed."

When they eat in the wild, goldfinches will hover briefly in front of a likely looking plant, then land on a stalk or twig and slide toward the seed source. These agile birds have strong legs that allow them to cling upside down, if necessary, to extract high-energy treats.

In my neighborhood, there's a large public rain garden that serves as a goldfinch magnet. A passerby may scare up 20 to 30 chattering little birds from the large clumps of native plants at this popular feasting site. But any day now, most of the flower stalks will sport denuded seed heads. That's when these small, light-brown birds will show up at feeders once again, snapping up nyger, sunflower or safflower seed.

If you see little brownish birds at your feeders, look closely. If you see a hint of yellow, you'll know that your goldfinches have "returned."

Keep them coming

If you want to keep goldfinches coming to your feeders this winter:

• Keep feeders clean and toss any clumped seed. That means you'll have to check your feeders after heavy rains or snows to make sure the feed hasn't gotten wet. Seed in tube feeders -- the favorite goldfinch feeder -- is especially vulnerable to mold, which can make birds sick.

• Add a heater to your birdbath so they have a reliable place to drink all winter.

• Provide a perch where these gregarious birds can gather in groups. A tree, shrub or a structure like an arbor will do.

• All birds need protection from the winter winds. A dense evergreen tree or shrub or a thick pile of brush stacked on the ground will give them shelter.

Val Cunningham, a St. Paul nature writer, bird surveyor and field trip leader, can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.