American Goldfinchs in Maryland

American Goldfinchs live in Maryland all year. Mild winters in the east with regular snow in the western mountains. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward birch and alder seeds; nyjer and hulled sunflower at feeders.

Humid subtropical on the Chesapeake coastal plain, cooler in the Appalachian west.

Across Maryland, goldfinches typically nest from July–September. Nest site: tight cup in shrubs or saplings, lined with thistle or cattail down; nests late, in July–September. Females lay 2–7 eggs, incubate for 12–14 days, and young leave the nest after 11–17 days.

Hot, humid summers around the Chesapeake.

• American Goldfinchs don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as sugar maple, red maple for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after September.

Of the regional native plants we track for Maryland, these 8 provide food or cover goldfinches use:

Goldfinches travel in flocks and can empty a finch feeder quickly. Keep nyjer fresh — they abandon stale, moldy seed.

• Best foods: Nyjer (thistle), Hulled sunflower chips, Black-oil sunflower.
• In Maryland's winter: Mild winters in the east with regular snow in the western mountains.

Full diet breakdown for goldfinches · Best feeder for goldfinches