As I sat by our kitchen window this morning, working on a sudoku puzzle, I suddenly became aware of an American Gold Finch drinking sugar water from the hummingbird feeder. He was quite the clown as he hung upside down and performed various other stunts. I  tried to concentrate on the puzzle, but I’d no sooner put pen to paper and this little fellow would return and I’d have to pick up my camera. This past summer, when I’d first discovered that the finches were drinking our hummingbird food, I was rather annoyed by how quickly the food was disappearing. However, while watching this little fellow’s antics this morning I realized how fond I’ve grown of these little guys. I decided to learn more about them, and went on line. They were described as active and acrobatic, gregarious, and social. This is certainly true from what I’ve observed. They eat wild seed, found in meadows and grasslands, but also love sugar water, which I’d already figured out. Below you can see my little friend drinking easily from the hummingbird feeder.

I read that the way to keep finches from drinking the sugar water, is to remove the perches from the feeder. Apparently hummingbirds hover, so don’t need the perches, but finches need a foothold. Here was the answer I’d looked for during the summer, a way to keep the finches away, but now I didn’t want to keep them away. They are just so much fun to watch.  As I write this, one has returned and I’m so tempted to grab my camera. Ok, just one more photo. I really think he was posing, don’t you?