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Fall brings many changes to our surroundings. Obvious is the splendor of color among the trees. But color can be a danger to some of our feathered friends. So it is with this Goldfinch I captured in the Adirondacks. In Summer it sported the brightest of yellow plumage but now it molts to a drab olive gray. Barely a wisp of yellow still to be seen beneath its beak. I'm told this offers protection from predators by blending in more with Winters dull bare branches. Sounds reasonable to me ... until I see a beautiful bright red Cardinal in the dead of winter. What's up with that ?