Hmm. Juvenile Blue Grosbeak?

I'm not sure of their range, but New England is most likely out of it.

I'm sticking with the winter coloring on a goldfinch.

On Nov 20, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Matt Thyer wrote:

> I'm guessing here, but if its larger than a gold-finch it might be a
> grosbeak.  There are several varieties that have similar coloration and are
> about twice as big as a finch.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Grosbeak
>
> HTH
>
> Matt Thyer
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> David Beierl
> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 1:54 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Friday bird AKICIV (All Knowledge is Contained in Vandom)
>
>
> I had several goldfinches eating niger for most of the summer, but they left
> a month or more ago.  I started feeding again this spring and I've had
> cardinals, blue jays, robins, chickadees, mockingbirds, at least one
> catbird, mourning doves, one passing ruby-throat which gives me hope for
> next spring, grackles, three downy (possibly hairy) woodpeckers that
> practically lived in the yard for several weeks, now down to one regular.
> And about fifty LBJs -- I ration them to a quart of feed every couple days
> or so.  Other than the Niger I feed an upside-down suet block and a 3:1 mix
> of the standard cheap millet-based seed mixture with some very fancy seed
> with peanuts, pumpkin seeds, cherries, safflower, sunflower hearts, all
> sorts of good stuff.  Late in the season I put up a hummer feeder.  Habitat
> is semi-urban, 30x20 yard with good cover, big squirrel-proof feeder set for
> two ounces nominal in the middle of a French lilac bush and a little one
> stuck to the window.  Suet and Niger hang from the tree but I took the Niger
> in for the season when it stopped going down.
>
> I'll check out the goldfinch idea thoroughly but I think our guy is maybe
> twice the mass of our local goldfinches.  And of course I'll keep trying to
> get a close view and/or photo of him.
>
> :)
> D