Nesting Birds in July?

You may think that we are well past the nesting season, but there is a bird who is just building and sitting on her nest as we speak, American Goldfinches.

These bright yellow and black birds will lay 4-6 pale blue eggs in a nest that is  4-14 feet above the ground in the fork of the tree.  The eggs will hatch after about 12-14 days of incubation.  The young will actually have feathers and be fledged from their nest 10-16 days after hatching.  Look out for an influx of Goldfinches at your feeder in the upcoming weeks!

American Goldfinches like to use the material from thistles, cat tails, and similar fibrous materials to make their nest.  This seems to be one of the reasons that they wait until this late in the year to actually build their nests. 

Keep your eyes peeled while you are out over the next few weeks, you may either find some young Goldfinches, or a nest with a female incubating her eggs.