^A female in her dull winter plumage, October.
I have seen American goldfinches most of the year in Oasis Valley except August and September, when some sort of exodus may occur here. They might breed in our area, as I have seen bright lemon-colored males in spring and summer, but I have not seen good evidence yet. In some years they are hardly present in summer, and an influx arrives in fall. They wander seasonally.
American goldfinches are sparse breeders in Nevada and eastern California (but common in California west of the Sierra), and records exist from the Sheep Range (Clark County, NV), in the northern part of the state (Elko County), and other suspected areas such as Reno an the Ruby Mountains (Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada, Floyd et al. 2007, University of Nevada Press, Reno). Roland Wauer found a nest in Johnson Canyon one June in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, CA), in willows at 5,000 feet elevation (Birds of Death Valley National Monument, 1962, unpublished manuscript at Death Valley National Park).
^Winter female in an elm tree on a ranch.
^A female American goldfinch on the right, and a male Lesser goldfinch on he left.
^Goldfinches love thistle feeders.
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