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Did you know that our region ranks 1st nationally in major league sports appreciation? Read about it.

We now publish 3 interactive charts with hourly readings from the 4 major rivers. Read about it.

Have you seen our Economy indicators on Hotel Occupancy? Read about it.

The local economy is less dependent on Tourism than other benchmark regions. Read about it.

Farewell to a friend: remembering John G. Craig Jr. Read about it.

The Regional Indicator welcomes Doug Heuck as our new Program Director. Read about it.

Check out real-time water quality readings thanks to our friends at 3Rain.org. Read about it.

For the first time in decades, domestic in-migration in the region exceeded out-migration! Read about it.

Despite recession, the regional labor force shows continued growth, contributing to a high unemployment rate. Read about it.

Want to become involved with PittsburghTODAY?? Read about it.

Pittsburgh ranks third in the number of LEED-certified buildings. Read about it.

A reasonably effective way to evaluate overall health status is to simply ask. Read about it.

A Little Good News, At Last. Read about it.

Did you know that 45,000 jobs in SW PA are dependent upon the waterway transportation system? Read about it.

Our neighbors in Ohio and West Virginia lead the region in classical music attendance. Read about it.

Pittsburgh trails Baltimore, St. Louis and Denver in number of cultural institutions. Read about it.

Educational and Health Services is Pittsburgh’s largest job sector. Read about it.

Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate lower than all benchmark regions for a fourth month in a row. Read about it.

Registered nurses pay is low in Pittsburgh by national standards. Read about it.

Pittsburgh last among benchmark regions in startup firms. Read about it.

No benchmark region has as high a high school graduation rate as Pittsburgh. Read about it.

A bad air day in Pittsburgh is still bad. Read about it.

Local spending on schools is low by benchmark standards. Read about it.

Rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh is less congested than in most cities? Read about it.

Have you found all 100 plus charts? Read about it.

We've recently added a sitemap to quickly find content. Read about it.

section indicator.xsl indicator

page html_indicator.xsl American_Goldfinch

environment
Environment / Birds

The charismatic American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) is the state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington. They are active and acrobatic birds that cling to weeds and seed socks, sometimes milling about in large numbers at feeders or on the ground beneath. The goldfinch’s main natural habitats are weedy fields and floodplains, where plants such as thistles and asters are common. They’re also found in cultivated areas, roadsides, orchards, and backyards. American Goldfinches may be found at feeders any time of year, but are most abundant during winter.

Click here to view the Audubon Society report on American Goldfinches with regional trend charts.

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Birds per Observer Hour provides an indication of the number of Goldfinches detected by observers during the Christmas Bird Count in each city. These values can be compared to depict the frequency of birds detected during the counts and thereby serve as an indicator of American Goldfinch abundance. This indicator may be used to compare urban/suburban habitat and seed-food availability, the latter via natural or human influenced sources between cities in the comparison. Higher numbers of American Goldfinches suggest better quality and quantity of seed sources, habitat availability and even human participation in bird feeding activities in and around urban centers.

Source: The Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count Data, 1984-2008

Not all cities had data available for the full 25 year timeframe. In these cases, the available timeframe was used to plot trends. Please review the report for full city-by-city, year-to-year data.