The New Jersey State Bird

July is the best time of year to photograph the New Jersey state bird. No, I'm not talking about THIS state bird -



Or THIS guy - who has been singing a lot lately -




I'm referring to the Eastern Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) which was adopted by the NJ Legislature as the official state bird on June 27, 1935.


They come in a female version too -


Goldfinches don't begin nesting until weed seeds are available in July and August. That's when they are the most active. You can see the thistle flying as they work to get at the seeds.


Here's a goldfinch in action, observed from the same window in my study from which I snapped all of these photos.