WHERE TO WATCH?

Distribution can be very patchy. Heathland with bushes, hedgerows around pasture-land, and coastal cliffs with gorse and bracken are usually the best places to look for them, meaning that they’re still doing relatively well in western and northern Britain – in fact, in modern Welsh, their name is Melyn yr Eithin, ‘yellow bird of the gorse’. They can also be found on arable farmland in eastern and southern Britain, although this is where most declines have occurred. Nevertheless, in winter they might be seen around farmyards and stubble fields, often in mixed flocks with Tree and House Sparrows, Chaffinches, and their close relatives, Reed Buntings.