Which Birds Are They?

[horseshoes]

In the field next to my house is an enormous tree, and in the mornings when I wake up, I lie and watch all the comings and goings of the birds. The other day there was LOTS of chirping, much more than usual, then there was a HUGE flock of small birds all leaving the tree together. They came back later but I couldn't see them clearly. Anyway, today I got my binoculars ready in case the same thing happened, and it did. I thought yesterday they were sparrows, but they have yellow on their wings. Are they greenfinches perhaps? What do you think?

T.I.A.

[goodgoalie]

If there's a lot of yellow, they could be yellowhammers, which are similar in size to sparrows:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/y/yellowhammer/

[Sam1960]

might be worth a quick look in here ...
http://www.uksafari.com/

[horseshoes]

Thanks both. Looking at the birds on the RSPB site, I'd say definitely greenfinches.

[Chipchopper]

I often see large flocks of siskins feeding in a row of alder trees near me.

[dannyk13]

Any of these?
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/s/siskin/

[horseshoes]

Now I'm torn! Could be siskins I suppose, rather than greenfinches, especially as I'm in North Wales. Thanks all.

[dannyk13]

This might help you decide:-

[Prudie]

I'd have thought far more likely they were goldfinches. They do flock and are far more common than other suggestions.

[dannyk13]

Unlikely to be goldfinches Prudie,They have a distinctive black and red head which I am sure horseshoes would have noticed.

[Prudie]

The red head is quite small and hard to see unless you are close or use binoculars, it's much duller than depicted in painted images. They flock together, make a lot of noise and when they all fly you only see the flash of yellow wing so I'm sticking to my suggestion :-)