Only the goldies

Usually this time of year, mid-January, we have other finches too, notably the purple ones, But only the goldfinches have been around here yet. And we've seen no pine siskins nor evening grosbeaks yet. I hear their migration is making its way and may show up any day.

We do have lots of juncos, crows and bluejays. But no other finches.

But we may by then have stopped feeding the birds. A local outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) among wild birds at some ponds and at a couple of small poultry farms has got the city and the provincial veterinary officials alarmed. There's a great controversy locally about which birds to stop feeding. We bird feeders are told that the small birds are okay to continue feeding, but not the pigeons. (Pigeons tend to mix with the ducks and geese etc at the ponds around town.) To my knowledge, once the pigeons find your feeder (and they've found ours), there's no way to dissuade them.

So I'll let the feed run out. Too bad.

This American goldfinch was outside our kitchen door this morning.