Month: April 2020

Goldfinch

Saltlane

A small distinctive finch with a red face, white cheeks, a black crown, sandy brown body, and a white belly. The black wings have broad yellow bands (which makes them easy to identify even when flying). The tail is deeply notched. The bill is more pointed than other finches. The male generally has more red on his face than a female, being a man about farmland.

Usually seen in small groups (called ‘charms’) marauding along the fields and hedgerows. Their call is a liquid tinkling and sounds a bit like “Tickle-it” or “Bubbly-bubbly-bubbly-bubbly” - as champagne fits in with their swanky style. They often sing together when having a rowdy party.

The Goldfinch feeds on tall seed heads and, like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, is very partial to thistles. Teasels, dandelions, burdocks, groundsels, and ragworts come a close second. They only eat insects as a summer treat.

They build their tidy nests towards the end of a branch and lay about 6 eggs which hatch after 11 days. The young fly after 13 days. The young are fed for 1 more week before being booted out. These guys love child rearing, having 2 and often 3 broods (the advantage of a short time to hatch and the quicker child eviction rate compared to a tit).

The Goldfinch is widespread in the British Isles though absent from mountain areas and moorland - as these are rubbish for throwing a party. There are about 300 thousand in the summer, but this number drops in winter as many nip over to live it up with their continental mates.

In the bad old Victorian days, Goldfinches were a popular caged bird because they were so pretty and made lots of noise.

They started with the Latin name ‘fringilla carduelis’ which is ‘finch thistle’ but this later got changed to ‘carduelis carduelis’ (‘thistle thistle’) as they like thistles so much.

Dunnock

Saltlane

Often called a 'hedge sparrow', the Dunnock is not in the sparrow family at all. They have a blue-grey head and breast, rich brown upper parts and a streaky back, wings, and sides. Their Latin name 'prunella modularis' roughly translates as 'singing little plum' which is quite sweet but nowhere near what these little fellows are actually like. The Dunnock creeps, mouse-like, on the ground, giving a nervous flick of its wings. The wing flicking is what it is all about, like the flicking of the fringe by a male super model. Dunnocks are mad for sex, and multiple infidelities and deceptions mark their steamy lives. Some males have two females, some females two males, and even groups of males share several females. The hedges of Britain are a hotbed of Dunnock passion!

The Dunnock's song is a squeaky ditty with a series of trills and warbles ending with a phrase that often sounds like "Who are you looking at?" which is what they would say, being so vain. They tend to sing in the morning, having a good vocal stretch before the serious business of chasing the ladies.

Dunnocks eat insects, seeds and berries, mainly from the ground, while creeping around under the hedges. This is why you will often see them picking up seeds from beneath the garden feeder rather than on it.

They build a cup-shaped nest out of roots, leaves, and grasses. Up to 6 eggs are laid which hatch after 12 days. Despite all the different free-love arrangements, they all stay together to help raise the young (as nobody is quite sure which chick is whose). The young can fly after 11 days. There are often three broods as it is easy with all that help.

The Dunnock is pretty sedentary with about 2 million birds in the British Isles. They are not too fussy where they live and will happily occupy a bramble patch if nothing else is going. Who cares where you live providing there is 'lurve'?