I probably had over 100 Goldfinches in my yard today. They empty out my 4 feeders every day 2 large nijer thistle and 2 black oil sun flower seeds.
Ours are not yellow and when they start showing some yellow color it means they are getting ready to leave.
Yes, the Goldfinches stay all year but their color changes in the winter. I have one feeder solely with thistle where they turn upside down to get the seeds through the hole. Rarely do other birds try that but every now and again I see a chickadee using it. It takes a few weeks for the Goldfinches to get through it right now.
I also have 7 other feeders (so far) that I keep out year-round, and will add back in 3 hummingbird feeders when the weather gets a tad warmer. The others all have different types of food, or a different style to allow for different varieties of birds. One is a cylinder feeder which I fill every day. I use a winter blend of seed right now, and have activity all day. I also have a large suet feeder, which the woodpeckers really enjoy. I’m glad I got the big size, because it’s the only feeder that the Pileateds will come to.
On any given day, I have probably 15 or so different birds that I see: cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmice, purple finches, gold finches, house sparrows, wrens, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, mourning doves, juncos, nuthatches, blue jays, red-bellied woodpeckers, Pileated woodpeckers, and a couple of male Northern flickers. We also get grackles that love to take over the feeder. Rarely do I see bluebirds, but they do come for a little bit in the spring. I think a neighbor has a better setup for them than I do because they’ve already seen them in their backyard. Occasionally I see a brown headed cowbird (I think that’s what it’s called, but I need to check that). A rose-breasted grosbeak was a little surprise visitor last summer, and only a few times did he show up.
Because we live at the edge of the woods and have a creek, we also see owls and Hawks. I’m still learning which ones, but I can tell one is a barred owl because of his call. I also see a great heron sometimes, usually after a heavy rain and the creek rises.
We get a nice variety of wildlife too. I love to see the deer especially graze through our backyard. I’m not crazy about the raccoons or the opossums. Once in a while we have a fox wander through, and wild turkeys, too. We also have coyotes, and I hate hearing them when they capture something.