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.
Hi Mark,
There were a pair of Bullfinches in our garden today. The last time I saw a Bullfinch here was in 2004. For your info we live in Meopham Kent, almost on the top of the North Downs.
Hi there, We have bullfinches every year in the garden. I have only seen one pair this year, but some years, we have had 3 different males. I live Just north of Manchester.
Hi, Ref david lindo bullfinches. I have had a pair visiting my garden daily for the last 2 years. I find they perfer to eat sunflower hearts & peanut granuals (new in to our feed center), and they prefer to eat from the ground under a large honeysuckle bush for safety from the daily visit from a sparrow hawk.
I live on the edge of a large woodland and get lots of varieties of birds, I spend £20 a week on bird food, I love to watch the long tail tits hanging from a branch by one foot upside down while eating a sunflower heart out of their other foot. I just spend hours looking out of my kitchen window. Good bird spotting!
In response to Birds article "Bullfinches". There was a male in the hawthorn bush in my front garden on 3rd Feb. & a pair eating the buds on our Almond Blossom tree the following day. We live in Treffgarne in Pembrokeshire
Hi Evie-bullfinch. Your 19 bullfinches is the most I've ever heard of in a garden!
I was wondering, over the weekend, whether the snow might bring even more bullfinches into gardens. It certainly brought one into mine, but only brioefly sadly.
Amanda, glad you got your first one and thanks for getting involved.
Clarebear, it's great to be able to provide natural food (like buds) as well for birds - hope they didn't take all the buds though!
Mattydog, it does seem from all the comments as if many gardens act as an occasional refuge for bullfinches when food is a bit scarcer. I think they play a really important role as 'backup'. I had lots more birds in my garden once the snow arrived on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I hadn't seen some of them in weeks!
Hi Margaret. Interesting to hear about the violet seeds. I stand to be corrected, but I reckon there's a very good chance they will take advantage of the pods. You might not know this, but bramblings (along with bullfinches) are one of my favourite birds, so you've made me very jealous now before I head for home!
PS. Joel, the Birds designer, was just reminding me (and laughing) that I said "I'll be really pleased if we get three comments on the new bullfinch blog post" before the magazine mailed. It looks like we'll break the three alright - three hundred! I wonder if that's a record on the RSPB Community..
Thanks everyone - you are great and make my job even more enjoyable!