Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

February 2024

A little birdie-watcher told me about a rare goldfinch indigenous to our area. Lawrence's Goldfinch, Spinus lawrencei, is an elusive finch found exclusively in the remote arid foothills of California and Baja. Unlike the more common finch visitors to our gardens—the vivid yellow American Goldfinch and the rosy red House Finch—male Lawrence's Goldfinches are mostly gray touched with yellow on the breast and wings. Their most distinctive feature is a black mask on chin, face, and crown.

            If you are fortunate enough to see Lawrence's Goldfinches at your bird bath, there is no guarantee they will remain or return. Because they are indigenous to areas plagued by drought, these shy little birds are nomadic, constantly searching for food and water. They may be present in large numbers one year and absent the next.

            The winter range of the Lawrence's Goldfinch varies. If the weather is mild with a good source of water they may stick around. Sometimes they travel in large flocks to southwestern deserts but these migrations are not well understood. Some years they disappear completely, perhaps flying to remote parts of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico where there are few naturalists to record their movements.

            Lawrence's Goldfinches are not attached to specific breeding grounds. In spring, flocks search for suitable nesting areas, breaking into pairs once a good site is found. Deciduous blue oak is a favored nest site. Males are very territorial and may even attack rivals in flight.

            The female incubates 3-6 eggs for around 12 days. The nest, built by the female, is a small cup, 3 inches across, 2 inches tall, constructed of grass, flower heads, plant down, feathers, and animal hair. The eggs are white to bluish-white, most often unmarked but sometimes with red spots. The male feeds the female while she is incubating. Both parents feed the nestlings, which leave the nest 11-13 days after hatching.

            Soon after the young have fledged, adults and young gather back into flocks, migrating to areas with a reliable summer water supply. Lawrence's Goldfinches forage in flocks, feeding on the seeds of shrubs, forbs (herbaceous flowering plants distinct from grasses and sedges), and annuals. They are partial to the common fiddleneck, peppergrass and chamise. You may be able to attract Lawrence's Goldfinches to feeders with nyjer, a thin black seed popular with most finch species. Don't be surprised if Lawrence's are run off by the smaller but more aggressive Lesser Goldfinches.

            Good times to sight Lawrence's Goldfinches are in the early morning and late afternoon when they are most active. They tend to congregate in blue oak groves near grassy areas and water.