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.
I live in NorthWest Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District. I have a pair of bullfinches that come to feed in my garden and have done so for many years. They feed on the Niger seed and on various RSPB food that I scatter on the ground. Question: do they like the seeds from violets? as, in later summer, they seem to go for the pods after the petals have dropped.
We have recently had a flock of bramblings visiting recently that I haven't seen for over a year. So many birds: greenfinches, blackbirds, chaffinches, a nuthatch, dunnocks, blue- great- & long-tailed tits, sparrows, collar doves, jackdaws, rooks and other birds that I can't identify.
I love to watch them all at breakfast time and they, above all, like the large plastic water-tank that is usually used in a loft, that we have filled with large stones and then filled with water. The birds love to perch on the stones have a morning wash and brush-up. Wonderful start to the day!
I have 2 pairs but generally only see two birds at a time, sometimes 2 males but never 2 females together. They love the sunflower and the male(s) like the feeders but the females are more likely to be on the ground (under the shrubs). The first two appeared about 2 years ago and visit the garden daily at the moment but disappear when they have sufficient food 'in the wild' I am near Ipswich, Suffolk but it's very rural - even the fields still have hedges.
We rarely see a pair of Bullfinches in our garden in south Ceredigion, West Wales but love it when we do. We back on to farm and woodland and have a mature garden with Ash, Rowan and other trees. Yesterday we were delighted to have a female bullfinch eating the buds from the honeysuckle hanging over the fence for several hours.
As I'd never seen them use the feeders in the garden I'm glad to read they sometimes do. We have nyjer and sunflower hearts so fingers crossed. I would certainly love to catch them on camera!
Clare
I am so excited I felt I had to leave a comment. This morning for the first time I saw a Bullfinch in my garden. I have had Chaffinches, Greenfinches & Goldfinches but never a Bullfinch. He was around the pond & in my small garden trees. This is such a great sight as I am in the middle of a housing estate in Hethersett, Norwich. I spend a fortune on encouraging birds to the garden & have installed various methods of keeping the cats out.
Hi Mark,
We have been lucky enough to have regular visits by bullfinches to our garden. They have visited us since my parents have lived at this house, in South Wales. We feed them with black sunflower seeds. Our garden is quite small, but it backs on to an area of wood. We frequently have 8 bullfinches in the garden, but the record number is an amazing 19!! It is currently snowing with us quite heavily, and there is a pair feeding in the garden.