Back garden Bramblings

Male Brambling with Goldfinch through the double glazing

A trip down to the coast was cut short due to the cold persistent rain this morning. While I had noted a male Gadwall and single Goosander at Figgate, I was unable to find anything unusual at Seafield so I headed home for coffee and brunch. Birding through the window turned out to be a better option and I was pleased to see that 4 Bramblings were still hanging on in amongst the other finches coming to the feeders. Great birds anywhere, but particularly pleasing just outside my back door!

Female Chaffinch (l) and Brambling (r) on the lawn

Feather weather

A lovely sunny spell on Sunday provided just the right conditions for some feather maintenance for this Blue Tit and Goldfinch.

Garden finches

The 'real birding' has yet again failed to materialise this weekend, so like the birds I have been foraging for scraps in the garden. Luckily the scraps were definitely worth feasting on – a nice healthy selection of finches at the feeders. The hide has been a very successful, if somewhat unconventional, piece of suburban garden furniture. I'm not quite sure what the neighbours think of it!...

First up, one of at least nine Bramblings that have been drawn in to the baited area. I hope that some of the males hang around for a few more weeks so that they have a chance to wear away those pale fringes to their head and mantle feathers.

After a very slow start, the niger feeder has been increasing in popularity. Only a single Goldfinch has visited as yet, but with at least three others in the area I am hoping it is only a matter of time before the whole charm descends.

Lesser Redpolls are the most frequent niger feeders. At least three have been on the feeder at any one time, with another six or so on the ground beneath. No sign this weekend of last week's Mealy Redpolls. They clearly do not realise that I set up the hide for them!

The Lesser Redpolls seem to be pretty regular now and one of the males has taken to singing from the birch tree. Not quite full song-flighting, but a good start for February. Here he sorting out his tail feathers in between bouts of singing. This undertail is at the pale end of the spectrum for this form, but Lesser Redpoll he is.

Another species that has been feeding in the garden this weekend is the Siskin. Just this individual so far, but with another dozen or so in the trees nearby, surely it is only a matter of time before there are swarms of them on the feeders.















Finally, the Chaffinch, a species that has kept a remarkably low profile this weekend. Here is male and female photographed yesterday by the youngest in the family - well done!

Goldfinch on the feeder

Happened to glance out of the window today just when this European Goldfinch was at one of the feeders. That's the first one at this feeder for at least 12 months. The photo is terrible, but I can add it to my grim gallery of goldfinch shots...

Why is it that the most beautiful birds do not always behave in front of the camera.

Whenever I see European Goldfinches I think that their plumage looks like warning colouration (aposematism). Red, black and yellow animals are often poisonous or distateful, sometimes as a result of distasteful chemicals in their own diet. Having never chomped on a goldfinch I'm not sure if that is the case here. Maybe medieval cookery books would tell us that "goldfynch maketh a vyle stewe" but having googled it I find instead that Chaucer's Cook's Tail starts with a jaunty reference to the species:"Happy he was as goldfinch in the glade". It turns out that that tale remains unfinished after a handful of lines. A plot device to draw a veil over unsavoury content... or maybe Chaucer ate something that didn't agree with him?


American and Lawrence's Goldfinches                                   

I did have some Lesser Goldfinch shots as well but I think I have deleted those - that gives an indication of just how bad they must have been...

To continue the theme here is another shot that I took today - a neat European Goldfinch nest in a roadside tree.