dragon49

Taken earlier this this morning, in East Hampton, N.Y. I think I'm getting good at this now. Also, do only breeding pairs feed each other in this matter, or could these two just be close friends? Is the feeder a male and the recipient female, or are these roles not always defined? https://imgur.com/kyF29Yf

Why? Don't you like them?

Great news! The American Goldfinches are back. Looks like the ones in my area hatched late this season. Tiny, tiny ones (not sure if appropriate to call them "hatchlings," as they can fly, buy they are the smallest American Goldfinches I've ever seen) have been all over the main grain feeder for the last three days or so.

Taken from a beach in East Hampton, N.Y. this afternoon.

Taken a few minutes ago in East Hampton, N.Y. I think the feather patterns indicate that it's a juvenile, but the bird is quite large.

Taken this afternoon, in East Hampton, N.Y. Also, any way to sex this? Ty

Taken a few minutes ago:

Sounds about right, and not a new ID for me. I just checked my journal and it looks like a Gray Catbird that I Identified in the same area back in 2017.

Sorry for the crappy pictures. I have to get rid of the window screen. Hoping to get a good ID, as I think this will be a new one for me. If it helps, with the ID, there is definitely some orange or red marking on the back tail or underbelly area. Are these any more helpful?

Taken this morning.

Thanks.

We've had the bird feeders since 2015, and this season isn't following any of the normal patterns. I was at the house from June 25th, through July 5th. It was very unusual that no American Goldfinches were seen at all. I had to replace the suet (the feeder holds two packets) every two days, because huge Blue Jays (bigger than I’ve ever seen) were attacking it all day. The normal seed bird feeder was also emptying at a raid pace as the normal cast of characters (Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove) were very busy. I’ve been back at the house since Sunday, July 12th and things have died down considerably. I finally saw two (but only two) juvenile American Goldfinches, but not much else is consistently feeding. I filled both the main bird feeder and Suet feeder on Monday morning. I’ve seen some birds at the main feeder, but it’s still filled almost to the top. There is much less Blue Jay traffic at the suet feeder. The main consumers are Downy Woodpeckers. After the fourth full day, I’d estimate that the suet is around 70% full. Quite a contrast to the depletion rate of a few weeks ago. There are more birds around. I noticed a ton a Grackles (not sure if common or boat-tailed) on top of a tree on our property. Presumably, there is a nest up there. The problem is that unlike previous years, none of them are visiting our feeders. Why are we seeing so much less traffic at our feeders? Is it possible that some of our neighbors put up a lot of feeders and many of the birds have gone elsewhere?

Thanks guys!

Taken a few minutes ago in East Hampton, N.Y.