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    Goldfinch: A Bto Garden Birdwatch Factsheet

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    Koik Koik
    The goldfinch is a small bird with a red, white, and black head and gold wing bars. Their numbers are increasing in gardens due to feeders providing small seeds like nyjer and sunflower hearts. They nest from late April to August, building neat cups to hold their eggs. Attracting goldfinches involves planting trees like silver birch and rowan, as well as teasels. They are social birds that migrate south for winter.

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    Goldfinch: A Bto Garden Birdwatch Factsheet

    Uploaded by

    Koik Koik
    245 views4 pages
    The goldfinch is a small bird with a red, white, and black head and gold wing bars. Their numbers are increasing in gardens due to feeders providing small seeds like nyjer and sunflower hearts. They nest from late April to August, building neat cups to hold their eggs. Attracting goldfinches involves planting trees like silver birch and rowan, as well as teasels. They are social birds that migrate south for winter.

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    The goldfinch is a small bird with a red, white, and black head and gold wing bars. Their numbers are increasing in gardens due to feeders providing small seeds like nyjer and sunflower hearts. They nest from late April to August, building neat cups to hold their eggs. Attracting goldfinches involves planting trees like silver birch and rowan, as well as teasels. They are social birds that migrate south for winter.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    245 views4 pages

    Goldfinch: A Bto Garden Birdwatch Factsheet

    Uploaded by

    Koik Koik
    The goldfinch is a small bird with a red, white, and black head and gold wing bars. Their numbers are increasing in gardens due to feeders providing small seeds like nyjer and sunflower hearts. They nest from late April to August, building neat cups to hold their eggs. Attracting goldfinches involves planting trees like silver birch and rowan, as well as teasels. They are social birds that migrate south for winter.

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    A BTO Garden BirdWatch factsheet

    Goldfinch
    An adult Goldfinch should be unmistakable, with its red, white and black head, gold
    wing-bars and black and white wings. Although males and females look similar,
    the red mask of the male extends back behind the eye, whereas that of the female
    doesnt. Recently fledged birds do not acquire the red face until late in the summer
    or during early autumn.

    ON THE UP DID YOU KNOW?


    Results from the year-round BTO Garden The collective noun for a group of Goldfinches is a
    BirdWatch survey show that Goldfinch charm. This rather suits these delightful little birds.
    numbers are booming in gardens. Garden
    bird foods and feeders have diversified
    markedly over recent decades, enabling
    Attracting Goldfinches into your garden
    Goldfinches to find a happy niche. In
    particular, small, oil-rich seeds, such as nyjer
    and sunflower hearts, are favoured.
    With agricultural intensification resulting in
    reduced availability of weed seeds, garden
    feeding stations have become increasingly
    important for birds like the Goldfinch.

    BRINGING UP BABY
    A GOLDFINCH NEST is a neat and
    compact structure, with a deep cup. The
    egg-laying period extends from late April
    through into August, with some young still In addition to bird feeding, other forms of
    in the nest into September. wildlife gardening can give Goldfinches a boost.
    The nestlings are fed a mixture of Here are some ideas:
    regurgitated seeds and insects, with
    those of early broods receiving a greater
    proportion of insects (presumably because
    Like other common finches, Goldfinches
    seem to favour gardens that have large
    there are more available). Late fledging trees nearby. Planting a Silver Birch or
    young can be spotted in autumn gardens, Rowan can provide some much needed
    their plain heads height and will help to attract birds.
    (pictured) being
    characteristic.
    Plant Teasels for their seeds, which are
    much favoured by Goldfinches. If you are
    worried about the invasive habits of this
    plant then why not grow them in a pot.

    Goldfinches often nest quite high in the


    fork of a tree, but they may use a suitable
    shrub or fruit tree.
    A sociable bird, often arriving at garden feeders
    in flocks, Goldfinches produce a melodic
    bubbling chatter. Once you are familiar with
    the calls, youll soon be picking out groups of
    Goldfinches as they pass overhead.

    ON THE MOVE
    Goldfinches are very mobile birds, a habit that
    enables them to exploit favoured foods as the seasons
    turn. Goldfinches are partial migrants, meaning that a
    proportion of the UK breeding population migrates each
    autumn to more favourable wintering grounds, typically
    in France or Spain.
    These travellers do not appear to have set wintering
    grounds, their opportunistic feeding behaviour
    promoting a more nomadic lifestyle.
    There is some evidence that female Goldfinches are
    more likely to depart for warmer, southerly wintering
    grounds than are males. Although this means a tougher
    winter for the males, they are closer to their breeding
    grounds when spring arrives, which could help them to
    claim a good territory.

    WHATS IN A NAME?
    The attractive plumage and voice of the Goldfinch meant that it was very popular as a caged bird
    during the 19th Century, a fashion that put great strain on their numbers. Live-trapping of Goldfinches is
    now banned in Britain & Ireland. In some parts of Europe Goldfinches are still caught in automatic traps
    known as Chardonnerets, Chardonneret also being the French word for Goldfinch.
    The Anglo Saxon name for the Goldfinch was thistle-tweaker, underlining the preference of feeding
    Goldfinches for the seeds of Teasel and thistle. The Goldfinch is the only one of our birds to be able to
    extract teasel seeds from their narrow seed heads; mind you, even female Goldfinches find this difficult
    because their bills, while narrow, are not quite long enough to do the job without a struggle.

    Images by John Harding, Amy Lewis, Jill Pakenham and Mike Toms. Map from Time to Fly by Jim Flegg, published by BTO
    Bird Facts www.bto.org/birdfacts
    Population: 300 thousand pairs
    Conservation Status: Green-listed
    Diet: small seeds (esp. daisies) often
    half-ripe, some invertebrates.
    Longevity:
    Typical lifespan 1 year
    Max recorded 8 years, 8 months
    Breeding Ecology
    Clutch size 5 eggs
    No. broods 2 (3)
    Incubation 1315 days
    Young in nest 1417 days

    Make your garden count


    The BTO is the UKs leading bird research organisation. Over 30,000 birdwatchers contribute to the BTOs
    surveys and collect information that forms the basis of conservation action in the UK. The BTO maintains a staff of
    100 at its offices in Norfolk, Stirling and Bangor, who analyse and publicise the results of project work. The BTOs
    investigations are funded by government, industry, conservation organisations and its supporters. The BTO is a
    Registered Charity No 216652 (England & Wales), No SC039193 (Scotland) and a Company Limited by Guarantee
    No 357284 (England & Wales). Registered Office: The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU.

    BTO Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year,
    providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. The project
    is funded by participants contributions and is the largest year-round survey of garden birds in the World.
    Participants receive the quarterly magazine Bird Table, have access to GBW Online and the expertise of the BTOs
    Garden Ecology Team. For more information, please visit www.bto.org/gbw

    Contact us at:
    BTO Garden BirdWatch, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU.
    Tel: 01842 750050. E-mail: gbw@bto.org
    Web: www.bto.org/gbw Follow us on Twitter: @BTO_GBW

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