5 days ago
Column: European goldfinch a nice addition to local landscape
There's a new kid on the block. It looks like a male American goldfinch that visits thistle feeders showing off its yellow plumage complemented by a black cap and black wings.
The new kid is also a goldfinch, and not only does it have black and yellow hues but also bold red and bright white colors. It's a European goldfinch, and its native home is in Europe.
The species was introduced to places outside its native range, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand and southern South America. The introductions began as early as the late 1800s, when the birds were sold as caged pets but later released outdoors, only to disappear, reappear elsewhere, and then disappear from their new homes, only to show up in yet another place.
But since 2003, the European goldfinch has successfully raised young along Lake Michigan between Chicago and Milwaukee. Now those of us who count all the bird species we've ever seen can add the European goldfinch to our Illinois life lists.
My first encounter with this colorful finch was in Waukegan along the lakefront perhaps a decade ago. However, I had never seen them elsewhere in Lake County, until recently. Although a Mundelein resident did report occasional sightings at his bird feeder over the years. Last winter, this boldly colored bird appeared as a new species in my yard feasting on thistle seed in feeders. It was more skittish than the American goldfinches, and only returned once.
This spring, while walking in my neighborhood, I heard an unfamiliar, lovely bird song, looked up and saw a European goldfinch. Weeks later, three appeared at our thistle feeders, and a fourth, an immature, arrived as well. The immature is streaked in the upper half of its body, but has its parents' bold black, yellow and white wing pattern and forked tail edged in white.
Another friend who lives in Mundelein texted me that she had them in her yard, too. She sent me photos of the birds eating safflower seeds. I have since found reports in the past five years from Lake Villa, Lake Forest, Grayslake, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills, Lake Bluff, Round Lake and Libertyville.
On Jan. 8, 2024, the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee added the European goldfinch to the official Illinois state checklist.
This is not the first time a bird from far away has been introduced purposefully or by accident into a region where it doesn't belong. European starlings were brought from Europe to North America in the late 19th century, and today they are ubiquitous, with an estimated 150 million living on our continent.
The starling easily adapted to habitats, food and nest sites here and began competing with native bird species such as purple martins, red-headed woodpecker, wood duck and eastern bluebird, all of which use cavities for nesting. The species has also caused damage to crops, and is now considered invasive and a pest.
Another introduced species, the monk parakeet, has found a home in cities like Chicago. The noisy, green-and-gray parakeets are native to South America. They were brought as pets to North America and began establishing wild populations in the 1960s. They are the only parakeets to nest communally. Dozens live together year-round in large, multifamily stick nests built in trees and on power poles.
These large group nests may be one way to survive cold winters. Monk parakeets aren't causing problems in Illinois, but they are agricultural pests and invasive species in states including California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin, where it is illegal to sell or own them.
Still, most non-native bird species have failed to develop permanent populations in their new environments, according to Julie Craves, an ornithologist who has studied the introduction and expansion of European goldfinches in the United States, especially the Great Lakes region. Relatively few introduced bird species, particularly songbirds, have had severe impacts on native species living in the mainland U.S., except for species introduced in Hawaii.
European goldfinches eat seeds from teasel, thistle and other invasive plants. I'm not sure what that means for these plants, but so far, the goldfinches have not been competing with native birds for nesting and feeding territories.
The European starling is here to stay and continues to be a pest in North America. For now, the European goldfinch seems to be a lovely addition to our northern Illinois landscape.
