Goldfinches

[frugalfred]

Today the first goldfinch of the Winter arrived to sample the niger feeder!

[gness]

Lucky you....a beautiful bird.....I do get them in this garden from time to time which is lovely...x

[frugalfred]

gness, I'm hoping its mates will be along in the next day or two!

[Tilly2]

My garden is full of gold finches. We live near a river and fields which have plenty of teasels. However, the goldfinches seem to really like the sunflower hearts which we put in our feeders. Literally, we have a dozen at a time, along with green finches, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits and coal tits. I love my birds.

[Wak]

Where abouts are you Fred? All my goldinches seem to disappear for the winter months!

[gness]

Considering how close to the country I am I don't get as many as I would like.....though the buzzards and kites overhead make up for it a bit...x

[frugalfred]

Tilly, I guess the teasels and thistles are exhausted in terms of seeds, so the goldfinches are searching further afield for food. Last Winter we managed 5 at one time. They're very wary and nervous. Today's GF flew off when several starlings arrived for the fat balls.

[Tilly2]

Buy some sunflower hearts, gness. They will come.

[gness]

I have every type of food imaginable, Tilly......just not enough birds...x

[frugalfred]

Wak - S. Worcestershire near the Severn. Haven't seen the GF's since last May.

[Tilly2]

Goldfinches are very beautiful. I think I saw a Gold crest once.

[frugalfred]

Several years ago a goldcrest collided with my conservatory glass. Knocked itself out. I was able to get a really close look at this beautiful bird as I administered a weak glucose solution with a dropper. After about four minutes it came to and flew off!

[Meg]

I agree with Tilly, they love sunflower seed hearts. I get goldfinches all year round (North West England). Find niger seed messy and not much of an attraction to the birds.

[Captain2]

Lucky you fred, we haven't had any GF but I was over the moon this morning when I saw a grey wagtail strutting about in the garden - made my day.

[frugalfred]

Meg, I agree. Most of the niger ends up on the ground below the feeder, and the GFs seem reluctant to feed on the ground.

[gness]

The daughter spotted a hoopoe the other day....I haven't seen one in the UK for years.....crazy looking bird......x

[gness]

Crazy looking bird was my description of the hoopoe.........not me signing off....though many would disagree......☺

[Tilly2]

....I forgot the lovely, long tailed tits. They have beautiful, pink breasts.

[frugalfred]

Captain - being about 1/2 mile from the R. Severn, we see wagtails regularly, and having a shallow pond in the garden helps. This year's star visitor, however, was a Reed Warbler. Never seen one before.
Greenfinches are now a rarity. I used to get lots of them.
I haven't seen any Yellowhammers in this area for about 10 years.

[Captain2]

They all give so much pleasure don't they?
About three or four times a day we have a 'family' come in comprising blue, great, coal and long tailed tits together with a lonely little robin - gets a bit like Heathrow at rush hour. We have feeders in the garden and one on the first floor lounge window and they flit between them. Just wish we could keep the squirrels and blasted magpies away.

[DaisyNonna]

Starlings and sparrows come to my window bird feeder.
Do get mini murmurations.