Goldfinches among Teasel Heads

Dry teasels look rather prickly for a lunch stop, but the goldfinches seem comfortable enough. One grips a seed head while the other leans toward a neighboring stem. Red faces and yellow wing bars stand out against the brown plants and the green hedge behind them.

Small scraps of yellow are worth collecting even when they do not join immediately. They belong to compact wing sections rather than the wider background. Teasel heads have repeated spines, though each tilts a little differently. Match the stem angle beneath a head before attaching it, and use the birds' feet to work out where feathers meet the plants.