Goldfinches Feeding On Thistle Seed

Images

Some thistle plants growing in front of a window provided an opportunity to capture some closeup images and video of goldfinches coming to feed on them.

Discussion

Thistle Seed

Some thistle seeds can be seen still attached to the thistledown in the upper left of the image below.  The goldfinches pull out the thistledown from the dried flowerhead with their beaks and snip off the seed at the earliest possible moment as it emerges, and they do it so quickly that it is almost impossible to ever actually see the seed before they have snatched it.  Their skill and thoroughness can be appreciated a little better in the second half of the video above where the motion is reduced to one quarter of live speed.

Windows

It is normally undesirable to shoot images like these through a closed window since dirt and reflections from within the room and from between the panes will have a negative affect on image quality, but in this case the birds were so close that the window provided some indispensable visual and audio isolation between them and the camera and photographer.  The glass was meticulously cleaned prior to shooting and dark clothing was worn to reduce reflections, but other reflections can clearly be seen in the first image below, and the final image shows a reflection captured when the camera was not positioned to avoid it.

Exposure Data for Still Images (typ)

Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: AF Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO: 1000
Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec.
Aperture: f/9.0
File Format: RAW