I hope you enjoyed reading ‘Urban Birder’ David Lindo’s latest piece for Birds magazine on his encounters with bullfinches. If you haven’t read it yet, do turn to page 77 of the Spring 2012 issue.
We asked you to let us know about your own experiences with these chunky finches in the magazine, so I thought I’d share one of my experiences with bullfinches to help get things rolling.
It’s always nerve racking meeting your partner’s parents for the first time, but even more so when you make that first trip to go and stay at their house. Amidst desperately trying to avoid all those social faux pas and remembering my manners on that first weekend in Yorkshire, my eyes were drawn to the bird feeders hanging outside.
Remembering that it is probably quite rude to stare out of the window when I should be making that all important first impression, all hope went out the window (literally) when a rose-breasted vision of beauty dressed in a silver jacket dropped down onto one of the seed feeders: a bullfinch!
From that first encounter forth, it has always been a pleasure to go and visit my girlfriend’s parents, Sue and Graham, because up to two pairs of bullfinches are a near constant presence in both front and back gardens. I should also state that it is also a pleasure to visit Sue and Graham because they are sparkling company and excellent hosts. The finches are merely a bonus! Waking up to the finches’ soft ‘peeuh’ calls outside the window is a very pleasant experience indeed. They are often the first birds I see each day.
As David says in his feature, bullfinches are sadly so much rarer now, making sightings like these even more precious.
Does your home for nature, include a place for bullfinches?
What do your bullfinches do?I’m not lucky enough to have bullfinches coming to my feeders in my garden, but it would be great to hear from anyone who does. Please let us know by posting a comment below (you’ll need to register on the RSPB Community first), or emailing Nature's Home magazine at natureshome@rspb.org.uk and I'll add your stories to the blog.
Reg & Sandra sent this email into the Birds inbox:
We are very privileged to enjoy a wide variety of birds in our garden, although on the edge of an
estate we back on to a small woodland. We have enjoyed a grey wagtail on the edge of our small pond on her
own, for the past two winters, long tailed tits, siskins (not yet this year but usually in February), many goldfinches (as
many as 22 on our niger seed feeders) all through the year, coal tits, black caps, chaffinches, a jay quite frequently,
and gold crests for the first time last snowy winter and again this year. What a site!
The bullfinches, needless to say, give us no end of pleasure with their stunning colours, and we have enjoyed
them for many years, although up until last year they were few and far between. We have only this morning seen
two male and two female feeding from the gutter of our sun lounge. They have taken this year to feeding from the
niger seed feeder outside the kitchen window, three feet away. What a delight!
Friends often say, birds don't visit their garden, and we always stress that you have to feed them to encourage them,
and you will be rewarded. We spend lots of time now we're retired in guiltless pleasure watching them, over endless
cups of coffee!