Not so foolish gold

Who doesn't love goldfinches? Even their swooping flight is cheerful, but when the males put on their breeding plumage in late spring, these common birds are like hyperactive bits of sunshine flitting through the yard. Luckily, they occasionally hold still long enough to be photographed.

My favorite goldfinch sightings, though, are those when the birds decide to get their seeds directly from the source. They seem to have a preference for blossoms the same color as their feathers, so I've never been able to get a decent photo of a finch dismembering a silphium or riding a clump of ratibida to the ground (and how strange for an activity not to find its way into a Facebook photo album). Those of us lucky enough to live where these golden birds are found will just need to take time to stop and watch the free show when it happens.

 Thoughts on goldfinches

  Twitching leaves reveal
goldfinch on golden daisy--
flash of wing--he's gone.

Dark day, golden bird
outshines miser's gold hidden
deep in the dark earth.