I was looking out my kitchen window today and saw a bird feeding on one of the cattails that have become invasive in my pond. I have been too overwhelmed to tackle my cattail problem. I got my binoculars out so that I could better identify the bird. It turned out to be a female goldfinch. I had never seen one feeding on my cattails before today. Now, I feel that the cattails were a blessing for the birds.
I looked up cattails and goldfinches, and it turns out they have a close relationship. I read that not only do the goldfinches feed on the seeds of the mature cattails, they also use the white fluffy fibers to line their nests.
Since the daily visitation of a neighborhood hawk scared all the birds away, bird sightings in my garden have been very limited. The birdfeeder has been mostly avoided even though my husband keeps it filled with fresh bagged seeds. The first to return has been a female cardinal who looks to be rejoicing with her exclusive rights to the feeder and garden. Today she shared the garden with this female goldfinch who looks healthily plump. Perhaps she has been feeding on the cattails under my radar, and was not noticed until today. Her coloration does blend well with the collection of cattails that now find their home in my garden. Now I do not feel so bad about dragging my feet in cleaning up the pond. I will wait to do this until the birds have their fill of seed and fluff.
I thought about going out to get a picture but the goldfinches are notoriously hard to capture in a picture. I simply open the door to the garden and they fly away. So, I borrowed the above image from a website that sells garden print merchandise. The address is in the caption.
movingforwardslowly 