This Morning Outside

by Diane Porter

May Day, 2010
At Birdwatching Dot Com
Fairfield, Iowa

American goldfinches have totally got their wedding duds on now. It's hard to believe this glorious male is the same species as the olive grey version of itself that spent the winter here.

Photos copyright 2010 Michael and Diane Porter

But they were fun to watch even in winter.

Here's what they looked like a couple of months ago, when they were in transition between winter and spring plumage.

If you are intrigued by this yellow spiral feeder, see more about it here.