GOLDFINCH IN MY GARDEN
I got a lovely surprise this evening when looking out of my kitchen window. I saw a little bird having a free meal from my birdfeeder. As it bobbed its head back and forth, I became aware of little flashes of red on its face. It had yellow on its wings. I know very little about birds that visit gardens in the U.K. and I only recognise things like blackbirds, magpies, thrushes, robins, and maybe a few other birds, like pigeons, that I see all the time. But I don't ever remember seeing this little visitor that came to my garden today. I checked on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Bird Identifying webpage, and the bird is a goldfinch.
The Goldfinch in my garden was about the size of a Robin. Apparently they like to eat small seeds and I have a mixed seed for birds in my garden feeder which I bought from the RHS centre in Harlow Carr, and I also have in reserve a bag of RSPB bird seed from the supermarket, Sainsburys, of all places.
Today, 12th April, two Goldfinches were in my garden, on the feeder, which I had just filled with the RSPB bird seed. Unfortunately, if I try to get closer they will fly away so I took a photo through my kitchen window. While trying to zoom in, I tapped the glass and off they went. So all I have is a rather pathetic image of them:
The feeder I have is a 'seedfeeder' made of plastic and metal, by CJ Wildlife. It hangs from my washing line, away from cats.
The downside, and there always seems to be a downside to everything, is that the birds are messy eaters and they drops seeds all over the place. I have wild grass, of some description, growing in all my tubs, in my border - it gets everywhere and it is a nuisance, but the pleasure I get from watching the birds outweighs all that.
I'm not seeing much of the squirrels lately. I see the occasional one, now and then, but that's it. I saw them so frequently in late autumn and the beginning of winter, right up until the heavy snow, and I admit I am a little worried that many of them might have died due to the severe weather.
My elderly neighbour likes to feed the squirrels and the birds. Pigeons seem to be breeding and congregating on his roof and mine, and I have to say that they are making a mess of the roof tiles with their droppings, not to mention my garden hammock/swing which is splattered white and will need cleaning before I can get out the cushions and use it. That's the thanks you get for feeding them. As long as they leave my washing alone!
 |
| Goldfinch - RSPB Bird Identifier |
The Goldfinch in my garden was about the size of a Robin. Apparently they like to eat small seeds and I have a mixed seed for birds in my garden feeder which I bought from the RHS centre in Harlow Carr, and I also have in reserve a bag of RSPB bird seed from the supermarket, Sainsburys, of all places.
Today, 12th April, two Goldfinches were in my garden, on the feeder, which I had just filled with the RSPB bird seed. Unfortunately, if I try to get closer they will fly away so I took a photo through my kitchen window. While trying to zoom in, I tapped the glass and off they went. So all I have is a rather pathetic image of them:
The feeder I have is a 'seedfeeder' made of plastic and metal, by CJ Wildlife. It hangs from my washing line, away from cats.
The downside, and there always seems to be a downside to everything, is that the birds are messy eaters and they drops seeds all over the place. I have wild grass, of some description, growing in all my tubs, in my border - it gets everywhere and it is a nuisance, but the pleasure I get from watching the birds outweighs all that.
I'm not seeing much of the squirrels lately. I see the occasional one, now and then, but that's it. I saw them so frequently in late autumn and the beginning of winter, right up until the heavy snow, and I admit I am a little worried that many of them might have died due to the severe weather.
My elderly neighbour likes to feed the squirrels and the birds. Pigeons seem to be breeding and congregating on his roof and mine, and I have to say that they are making a mess of the roof tiles with their droppings, not to mention my garden hammock/swing which is splattered white and will need cleaning before I can get out the cushions and use it. That's the thanks you get for feeding them. As long as they leave my washing alone!