Walking the beach Saturday at the -3.0 tide, the first bird we saw on the beach was… a pair of goldfinches. Only one in this picture. But there were two down enjoying the sun and the water and the seaweed. I don’t think of goldfinches as shore birds, but they didn’t seem to care what I thought….
beach gold

I agree, I never think of these birds as shore birds.
I happened upon a goldfinch at the water’s edge recently too. Maybe they are changing their habits?
….I don’t know. I don’t know that much about their habits except that they fly in a wave pattern and that one song sounds like “potato chip”.
I don’t know either. Never thought about the “potato chip” sound.
I took an ornithology class way back in college at the U of WI, Madison. Bird biology, flight physics, ecology, parasites, nests, habits, habitats… fascinating.
It is all so fascinating – and so much to learn.
I just read that male great blue herons build nests and then the females come by to check them out. They give gifts of sticks.
Interesting. We have herons nearby. I see them flying over every evening. Such majestic birds.