Loz - American Goldfinches stick around all year round. In the fall they start to lose their bright yellow coloring and turn a brownish, sometimes olive green color instead. That's why people sometimes think they are only here during the warmer months. They start to get their brighter yellow feathers once again in
spring. The new babies start out brown and then the males will turn yellow slowly - the females stay brownish.
They have a very distinctive call, and once you learn to recognize it, you will always know when they are around.
I love them! I try to keep a thistle feeder out for them all the time. They also really like the
seeds from purple coneflowers, so if you are
growing those you might want to leave the
flower heads on them at the end of the season so they have some food as it gets colder outside.