You have to love goldfinch season.

American goldfinches are year-round residents of New England, of course, but they are most visible and vocal during their breeding season. For goldfinches, breeding season is August and into September, much later than most New England songbirds. In fact, most songbirds are done with their breeding season, even those that have multiple broods, by the time the goldfinches even start.

Thistle is an important component of the goldfinch breeding season as it provides both food and nesting material for the birds. The pink or purple blooms of thistle are also popular among butterflies and other insects. The rest of the plant looks menacing with its thorny stalk and leaves. It can also grow to intimidating heights for a “weed.” I put weeds in quotes because that is what many people consider thistle to be. It is actually an extremely important native plant for New England birds and insects. Despite its prickly appearance, thistle is also edible for humans, although I have never tried it and cannot vouch for its flavor.

Thistle is particularly valuable to goldfinches. Its down is used as nesting material, and its tiny seeds are eaten by the birds. Seeing a goldfinch or two on a towering thistle plant is a reliable sighting in August and September.

A sprawling wildflower garden was planted to replace a grass lawn a few years ago at my place of work. Hundreds of native wildflowers were planted, and thousands of wildflower seeds were scattered when the conversion took place. Now, a few years after the initial planting, it is not surprising that weeds have also thrived there and live among the desired wildflowers. Thistle plants pop up in random places throughout the garden, but they are not overbearing whatsoever. In fact, the pink and purple flowers add a wild beauty to the project. 

Mugwort, on the other hand, is indeed a weed and has become the garden’s main problem. The invasive plant grows in thick patches and outcompetes the desirable flowers in those areas. They do not produce beautiful flowers and do not seem to add value of any sort to local wildlife. It grows taller than the wildflowers, and large patches of dull green overshadow the desirable red, pink, yellow and white flowers. 

Over the past few weeks, every time I walk past this wildflower garden on my way to the cafeteria, I am treated to the sights and sounds of dozens of American goldfinches. I hear the goldfinches’ soft but recognizable flight calls long before I reach the garden. Because goldfinches are so small, I often flush them out from the edges of the garden before I see them, as they often feed on the shorter flowers hidden by the taller plants. The thistle plants, however, tower over the rest of the flowers and mugwort, and if a goldfinch happens to be picking seeds or down from the top of a thistle, I could spot them and watch them for a while before continuing on my way. 

The goldfinches are usually far enough away from the edge of the garden that they feel safe enough to know that I am not a threat, and they simply go about their day. What happens fairly often, however, is that one skittish goldfinch will fly off towards the middle of the garden, and a dozen or more previously unseen goldfinches will pop up from flowers and follow the leader to the middle. 

The new wildflower garden is an excellent reminder that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to support native wildlife. While this particular garden is several acres, even modestly sized gardens in a yard with native flowers such as coneflower and black-eyed Susans can go a long way toward supporting animals and insects. And don’t forget to leave the beneficial “weeds” such as thistle, milkweed and goldenrod alone.