Lawrence's Goldfinch

Lawrence's Goldfinch 4-20-09 @ 5:55 PM MST

Lawrence's Goldfinch (bottom view) 4-20-09 @5:56 PM MST

Last week I was sitting in the chair in my livingroom when I heard an different bird's voice outside. I jumped up and grabbed my binoculars and was surprised to see this Lawrence's Goldfinch at the thistle seed feeder along with the Lesser Goldfinches and the House finch. Lawrence's Goldfinches are not suppose to be here but there one is. I had one stop by last year on March 30. I always say, "People make the rules and birds go where they will." Well, I am so glad this one stopped by to see me. It is only the third time I have seen one in my life with tow of those right here in my own back yard. All were here in AZ. Notice how much larger the Lawrence's is compared to the Lesser Goldfinch. The plain brown streaky bird is a female House Finch. I'm sorry the picture quality is poor. It's because the light was low, the birds were in shadow and I was shooting through double pane Low E glass! Still, you can see the bird's lovely colors and black face. I especially like the white spots you can see in its tail from the underside. Also note the white undertail coverts. A Lesser Goldfinch is yellow underneath.

I entered this count into eBird and it has since been addded to the Jack Siler's eBird Rarity Map. Anyone can view the map. Just click on the link. When the webpage loads, click on any state and you can see balloons for where rare birds have been most recently sighted. If you click on AZ, and then click on the pink balloon south of Tucson one of them should come up with my sighiting. Have fun and make sure to check out the Rare Bird sighting in your own state!

Photo taken by Kathie Brown with the Nikon D80 70-300mm lens.