Wildlife sighting: American Goldfinch

There's a new bird in town and everyone's talking about him! The American Goldfinch has been spotted flying around Evanston this June and July, and the yellow feathers make this an easy bird to spot.

The image above is from the Cornell Lab of Orinthology (http://www.allaboutbirds.org) as I never seem to be quick enough to catch one of these birds with my camera.

I'm thinking about putting out a bird feeder to see if I can attract any of these to my back porch, but the robins might scare them away.

I'm off to do my homework on the migratory patterns of the American Goldfinch, also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, to see if I can officially name this bird my summer bird.

Other Wildlife sightings:

Female Downy Woodpecker

Red Fox

Wildlife Sighting #4: Mr. Fox, Dempster St., 6 p.m.

This is the FOURTH fox sighting since my move to Evanston (June 2011), all of which have occurred within 50 feet of my home. My friend Maura says it's the same fox, four times, but this fox looks much skinner than all the rest and therefore I am claiming FOUR independent sightings. I realize my wildlife photography is terrible, but I was chasing this one down with my cell phone camera while three children were trailing behind me trying to scare the fox away from me and my camera - yet another reason I should have seriously really considered having kids.

Considering there are tons of little brown bunnies hopping all over Evanston, the food supply here is perfect for foxes and I expect to see many more. I will keep you posted of any other wildlife I run into and promise to strive for better photos.

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Thank you for reading my blog "Evanston Newbie", a project that I am using to chronicle my new life in Evanston. Do you have favorite Evanston bakeries, bike shops, events that you can recommend? Send me an email at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I will post my review on this blog. -Lisa Degliantoni