I am getting a little better at bird identification and can identify the birds in these photos as probably American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis). However, just went I thought I could differentiate between a male and a female, I found out that non-breeding males look a lot like females. Wow! This is getting more complicated. Here’s some of my favorite goldfinch shots from this past weekend, when there seemed to be quite a few goldfinchs feeding on the bushes at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.
American Goldfinch looking back at me
American Goldfinch in a tree
American Goldfinch perched at the top
American Goldfinch feeding
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
goldfinches are so pretty! I love the bright yellow.
I couldn’t find any of the really bright yellow ones (the breeding males), but I am pretty happy with the pretty ones that I did encounter.
Great shots! The males and females look roughly the same in the winter. Then in the spring as the males’ feathers wear down, the bright yellow’s “uncovered.”
That’s good news….I can probably get away with identifying just the type of bird and not worry so much about the gender. 🙂
Right. Besides the birds don’t know what kind they are either.