Something Downeast

House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) were initially regarded with some rancor by many New England birders; the House finch is an invasive species. As a kid in New Hampshire, we had Purple finches and Red polls as reliable feeder visitors; I saw my first House finch in Southern California, and became familiar with House finches in Puget Sound. 

A slightly better photo. 

OK; none of these is very good.

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I noticed that finches were trying out the two finch feeders, filled with Niger seed, and then rapidly abandoning them for the black oil sun flower. It may be that they just prefer the sun flower, but I suspect the Niger seed has gone bad. I’ve dumped both feeders, washed them in the dishwasher after a Clorox solution rinse and refilled them with a finch mix

The finches seem happier. Here’s a male House finch:

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