Goldfinch Again

I know I don't usually post photos of the same thing--or in this case the same species of bird--so close together, but this American Goldfinch was just begging for it this morning. And perhaps it's not such an awful thing, as posting another photo of a goldfinch simply illustrates how commonly I'm seeing these thoroughly lovely little birds right now. Of course, I do like to hang out in this little thistle patch they're so fond of. It's not just the goldfinch that like this little 8-10 foot wide patch between the woods and a dirt road. Unfortunately, for me and my photos, though, the goldfinch are proving the be the easiest of the visitors to photograph.

The thistle patch this morning also hosted some tiny butterflies, a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a brownish mid-sized bird that I never got close enough to identify, a Northern cardinal and a host of small sparrows that didn't want to come out of the cover for even an instant. And that was just in 5 minutes. As soon as the weather clears--after Hanna blasts through this weekend--I will take a chair and plant myself in this spot in hopes of photographing at least a few of those other visitors.

And speaking of Hanna: I'm due to get some rain from this system. The forecast doesn't sound awful for my area, but forecasts aren't reliably accurate, so who knows what the hurricane will actually bring?

Coastal hurricanes can often produce good birding at inland areas like mine. It is pretty common for terns and gulls of various species that are never seen around here to show up in farm ponds or in fields to escape the path of a hurricane as it rides up the coast. Once I had Caspian Terns on one of the old snowmaking ponds. Actually, Caspian Terns seem to be the most common evacuee I do see, though they usually prefer to evacuate to a nearby river or large lake. So I am hoping to escape the severest of the weather, but I am hoping I just might get an interesting evacuee or two.