In my last blog post about bonding with the different songbirds in our neighborhood, I also wrote out a wish to earn the trust of the goldfinches. I’m grateful to share that my wish was recently granted!

Songbirds and Trust

American Goldfinches are some of the shyest songbirds, frequently flying away with their sweet “per-chic-o-ree!” call when they see people walking nearby. If I could put them on the sliding scale of introversion and extroversion, they would easily take the most introverted spot on the spectrum.

A male American goldfinch basking in evening sunlight while resting on a stem.
Male goldfinch basking in evening sunlight

My consistent goal with my bird photography adventures has been building trust with every type of bird in our neighborhood. This extends to birds of prey, such as the red-shouldered hawks sometimes seen perching on the wires over our backyard. I’ve aimed to build this trust solely through familiarity and without food offerings, which I consider to be, while good-intentioned, still unethical.

I’ve bonded with several songbirds throughout the neighborhood at the time of this writing. I’ve gotten incredibly close with a perky song sparrow whom I’ve affectionately named “Sam” in honor of Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. Sam frequently greets me on the telephone wire over our backyard, throwing back his little head and belting out the sweetest songs when he sees me walking.

Sam singing his heart out

I’d like to believe that Sam has vouched for me after our many happy meetings. It would harm my heart to know that the other birds in our neighborhood have relaxed around me after witnessing our unusual little friendship!

Shy, Sunny Sweethearts

While the goldfinches know my face like the other birds do and have also shown the same curiosity toward me that Sam has, they rarely let me approach them. It doesn’t bother me, and I understand that they have to be wary of possible threats, especially when it’s their nesting season.

Goldfinches nest later than other songbirds, towards the end of summer instead of earlier months. By this time in September, their fledglings will have left the nest, and the adults have more or less relaxed. On lucky occasions, they’ll pull some reverse birding and closely watch the people around them.

In October 2023, a female goldfinch saw me standing outside in our backyard and flew to me. She perched before me on a young tree, looking directly at me with a cutely tilted head. After a few seconds, she flew away, singing the most beautiful song.

It happened too quickly for a photo, but the memory always makes me smile.

A year later, a male goldfinch would similarly visit me while I was out for a peaceful September evening walk.

The Visit

A portrait picture of a bold male American goldfinch posed calmly on a thistle flower with goldenrod flowers in the background.
One of my favorite portrait shots of this bold male finch

At the end of my walk, I passed a patch of browning thistle flowers with fluffy bits coming from their tops. This male saw me and had no issues perching close to feast on thistle seeds.

For a few precious minutes, I watched him closely inspecting several thistle flowers, tossing aside the fluffy bits to get to the tasty seeds. He occasionally paused to look directly at me as he did his business, not making a sound. This goldfinch must’ve known my face well to have been this bold.

He was such a calm goldfinch!

I remember one or two other goldfinches singing shyly nearby, possibly asking him about me. He didn’t answer them, intently focused on dinner. After he’d had his fill, he flew away, leaving my heart full and a big smile on my face.

Goldfinch Love

I’ve felt a sense of introvert camaraderie with the goldfinches, personally understanding their nature and tendency to avoid interactions. It’s possible that they feel the same way about me after noticing how I go about my daily walks. I tend to (politely) avoid human interactions with passersby, which might come from autism.

I hope this male goldfinch passes his trust in me to his fellow finches. When winter comes, they’ll lose most of their golden plumage but will still be out and about looking for seeds and nuts to eat. The possibility of a goldfinch visiting me on a cold winter day sounds poetic!

In a way, I feel like I’ve “leveled up” with how the birds here see me after this encounter. If the shyest songbirds here see me as approachable, I must be doing something right!

Next Birding Goal

My next birding goal is to see if I can (as a result of preestablished trust) get any of the songbirds here to pose for me and my camera. Arguably, this already happened when a happy, friendly crow recognized me and willfully perched in front of me when he saw me waving at him.

A friendly crow perched on a telephone wire, looking almost like he's smiling for the camera.
An exceptionally happy crow

After this lucky moment, I daydream about the crows here getting together for a group photo when they see my camera. They continue to express curiosity about me after realizing how happy I am in their presence. Maybe they would be down for a family photo!

Only time will tell, of course. In the meantime, I look forward to the future bird portraits I can take here in our neighborhood!

A picture of a bold male American goldfinch looking directly at the camera while perched on a thistle flower.
The bold finch looking right at the camera

All Images and Video by Connor Brennan

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