I, too, saw a female type Lesser Goldfinch feeding two fledglings regurgitated Maximillian sunflower seed mash on 11October21 at City Park in Fort Collins. It seemed a bit late but as Peter points out, goldfinches are, indeed, the latest songbird nesters of our species that are restricted to warm weather nesting. I have always thought the reason for goldfinches nesting late is their reliance on thistle seed/fluff for nesting material. The timing of when the dominant native and introduced thistle species go to seed determines the timing of goldfinch nesting. Because of some extreme weather events last spring, a lot of plants were late getting started this past spring/summer. The other complications in this attempt to determine what is "normal" is the fact lesser goldfinches have only recently become common breeders in northern CO and also they could be double-brooding more often at present than they did historically. Breeding Bird Atlas I recorded dependent fledglings as late as 25August. BBA II found them as late as October 27. A breeding season extension of two months seems significant even if sampling intensity and other factors make the true story of when fledging last occurs off by a week or two. Thanks, Peter, for your interesting observation.
Dave Leatherman Fort Collins ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Peter Ruprecht <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2021 2:06 PM To: Colorado Birds <[email protected]> Subject: [cobirds] late-nesting goldfinches - Boulder Co Cobirders, I was part of a small birding party in SE Boulder Co this morning and we were somewhat surprised to see recently fledged Lesser Goldfinches still being fed by their parents. It struck us as unusually late in the season. I'll note that both species of goldfinches seemed late to start nesting in this area. I personally did not see any nesting behavior until after July 15. Granted, goldfinches are not the earliest species to start breeding ... but to me this seems like one more little example of how songbirds' status is a bit "off" this year. Peter Ruprecht Superior -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAHPXVBZq5rXujBJZce6555b%3DxVmZbd_7toswciW_h7BsHEKJvQ%40mail.gmail.com<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAHPXVBZq5rXujBJZce6555b%3DxVmZbd_7toswciW_h7BsHEKJvQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM5PR0601MB37681039BB4CC587AE94A413C1829%40DM5PR0601MB3768.namprd06.prod.outlook.com.
