It was windy yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but that did not deter some American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) from foraging for seeds in the spiky seedpods still hanging from the leafless Sweetgum Trees (Liquidambar styraciflua). The goldfinches were amazing daring and acrobatic in their efforts high in the trees to extract the seeds.
It is a testament to the strength of the stems of the seedpods and the light weight of the goldfinches that the birds were able to place all of their weight on hanging seedpods and poke into their perches with their pointed beaks, as you can see in the first image. The final image shows that the finches knew that there were seeds throughout the seedpods and were willing to turn upside down to reach some additional seeds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
I like seeing them work upside down.
They have to be really skilled when they do that so they don’t loose their hard-won seeds to gravity.
Very nice series of Goldfinch images Mike! In our community we have Sweetgum Trees all over the place. Must have gotten them at a great price!
Thanks, Reed. I don’t think that I would be walking around barefoot much if you have lots of these trees–those spiky balls look they would hurt. 🙂
This is a wonderful series, Mike, and a most unusual find. Usually goldfinches are on sunflowers and other seedy ground plants. To find these in the sweet gum tree with those spiky pods, and making such a devoted effort to get the seeds…makes this espec. unique. Bright blue sky background is wonderful. Really lovely photos.
Thanks, Jet. I guess that this late in the season it is kind of slim pickings for birds that like seeds. The goldfinches certainly have to work a lot harder getting seeds from the gumballs than they do from most flowers.
What a great series of images, Mike. The goldfinch certainly trust the stem and appear very keen on those seeds!
Thanks, Chris. The intensity of these goldfinches reminded me a bit of the little Downy Woodpeckers that I enjoy watching.
What a beautiful bird. Great shot!
Thanks, Patricia.
That’s a fine set of catches, especially the first. Squiddy (who lives next door to us) has a neighbor on her other side who has a huge sweet gum that leans over her yard and leaves these spiky balls all over her lawn. The grands have to be very careful when they’re running around barefoot back there.
Thanks, Gary. Even with shoes on, those ball can be uncomfortable and I can image they would hurt with bare feet. The only good news is that they are not as sharp as thorns, so probably would not pierce the skin.
Nice captures, Mike. Those seed pods always make me think of spiked medieval weapons!
Great shots, Mike.
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Thanks, Mitzy.
Nice series of feeding behavior images, Mike.
So many of the little birds bury themselves in the vegetation that it is hard to get decent shots of them. Even though this goldfinch was high up in the tree, he was isolated enough that I could get unobstructed shots of his feeding.
Beautiful snaps
Thanks, Athira.
Amazing! I have never wanted a sweet gum tree in my yard, but this would make for some mighty entertainment!
The little goldfinches were a lot of fun to watch, though they were so high up in the trees that it was a bit of a challenge to photograph them.
[…] Smaller birds seem to enjoy foraging for Sweet Gum seeds while the seed pods are still hanging on the trees, like this Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Many of you may recall a somewhat similar posting last month featuring goldfinches. If you have not yet seen it, check it out at Goldfinch and Sweetgum. […]
[…] seedpods of the sweetgum tree. In the past month I have done postings featuring chickadees and goldfinches. Today I am spotlighting a beautiful House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) that I spotted on Tuesday […]