26 birdsandblooms.com SEPTEMBER EXTRA 2019
BACKYARD TALES
American goldfinches regularly passed through
my parents’ front yard in Katonah, New York, during spring
migration. My folks and their neighbors put out food that left
their favorite ornamental tree weighed down with chirping
yellow birds and the feeders themselves the scene of territorial
feuds resembling bar brawls. Dad, Mom and I had been
backyard bird-watching together since I was a boy, but when
this photo was taken, digital photography was fairly new.
Charlie Banks MOUNT KISCO, NEW YORKFLOCK TOGETHER
Groups of goldfinches
occasionally include other
small birds, too, like pine
siskins and redpolls.