Friday, April 24, 2009

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.

15 comments:

bobbie said...

What a very beautiful bird!

We had a thrill last night too. Lisa called to tell me she had a hummingbird at her feeder. A few minutes later, it flew up to my house and my feeder! It was about 8:30, just as it was getting dark. THEY'RE HERE!

Kathie Brown said...

Bobbie, I am so happy for you! It's always a thrill when they return!

Rossel said...

Awesome! I haven't seen 1 in my life. Thanks for sharing this.

Aunt "B's" Backyard said...

Your heart had to be really pounding to get to your camera, Kathy, I know mine would have been!
It's beautiful and you are soooo lucky!! Wow, that was incredible!!

kesslerdee said...

How very cool! I am trying to catch up on blogs- you always have something I enjoy!

Celeste said...

Kathie you always have such neat avian visitors. I love the fact that animals don't read the guide books about where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do! It makes life much more exciting for those of us who enjoy watching them :)

Deborah Godin said...

They always look so much better in person than on the page. Great great shot!!

Amanda said...

I have never seen one of those, he is gorgeous!! Congrats!

Diane AZ said...

That is so cool to see a rare bird right in your own backyard! I've never seen the Lawrence's before. Beautiful shots.

Margaret Cloud said...

What pretty birds, I have never seen a Lawrence's Goldfinch, I hope some day I may. Thank you for stopping by, have a nice weekend.

Anonymous said...

I had never seen this bird before today coming here. I have had two thistle sacks and both are swamped with American Gold Finch and House Finches. No Purple Finches and No Lawrence Gold Finches. I wish.

Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blue jay.

Kathleen said...

What a blessing! I've never see a Lawrence Gold Finch. Beautiful!

I'm looking forward to meeting you at New River!

Unknown said...

What a great moment :D
I love that the white balance in these photos tend to bluish, "joining" the colors of the birds - Skillfully done!

Heather said...

Wow, very cool! Love that tell-tale goldfinch "mask" just behind his beak. I'm sure you'll be seeing many more way cool birds when you get to good 'ol West Virginny!

Amy said...

Beautiful, just beautiful!