Goldfinches flock to British gardens
ONE of Britain’s most beautiful songbirds has had a golden year, a UK-wide study revealed yesterday.
Goldfinches are being seen in record numbers in gardens after a healthy breeding season, said the British Trust for Ornithology’s Garden BirdWatch survey.
The birds, whose adults have crimson faces and gold wing bars, are being reported in twice as many gardens as normal. Last month goldfinches were reported in 61 per cent of the weekly submissions sent in by the 15,000 GBW volunteers who monitor their gardens compared with a 20-year average for the same month of 30 per cent.
The average maximum number seen in a garden at any one time last month was four birds compared with the average of two.
But some gardens have had flocks of up to 20 birds at any one time.
The BTO said that in the autumn goldfinches, whose young still lack the red faces of the adults, form feeding flocks. A spokesman said: “Our preliminary results show an average maximum count of four with some seeing over 20 at a time.
“Some of you might see goldfinches in the garden all year round but they aren’t necessarily the same individuals.
“Wintering goldfinches move around in search of food. Goldfinches are a partial migrant and while many will stay in the UK some will migrate to France and Spain.”
To take part in Garden BirdWatch visit: www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw