Bird flocks

[JRB]

Every day I have flocks of small birds, sometimes ~ 100 at a time, flying over from one line of trees to those which edge my garden. They roost briefly in these trees and then, almost as though they hear an order, fly back. This happens several times daily during daylight hours. I thought they were finches, probably goldfinches, but could find no reference to these birds flocking in this manner. Then I found a site which described goldfinches from northern climes migrating south in winter and flocking near farmland. This does describe my situation as I live in rural Jersey where our winter is usually milder than that of mainland Britain (though it is pretty cold at the moment!) Has anyone else seen this happening?

[carrust]

Last year I went to a fascinating lecture on bird migration held by my local bird study group. The speaker said that most of the British Isles gold finches migrate south. The GF's that are seen in our gardens are from Scandinavia & Russia. They prove this by the ringing reports that come in from all over Europe.

[Chaffinch]

I sometimes see this with Long Tailed Tits, much more this year than privious years.

[mummyh]

Do they make any noise when they're flying about? Goldfinches have a kind of tinkly twittering when they fly from one place to another. Does sound like finches of some sort, although like Chaffinch, I too have seen long tailed tits flying in small flocks. I have read that a lot of goldfinches that breed in UK migrate to Belgium and western France in winter, so wouldn't be suprised to see them where you are.