On A Bare Branch

June 18, 2025

Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), are here in the mountains of central Virginia year round. They’re strictly seed eaters and I love seeing them coming to the seed heads of flowers in my gardens.

The Goldfinches molt twice a year. As summer moves on they change their bright spring and summer feathers for duller ones to blend in with the dull colors of winter. Fresh feathers come in one by one giving them the look of a worn out quilt. By the end of winter they will be growing in a new set of feathers to start the spring season.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.