Is it me or are there a lot more Bullfinches about this year?
It's not a bird I expect to see very often but this year there seem to be plenty on the Old Moor garden and roadside feeders, and I have seen a small group of them flying along the hedgerows down in Low Valley by the new school building site and we have even had one on the feeder in out back garden in Darfield - all the more strange this last one as there has been a noticable lack of other birds eg goldfinches and chaffinches on our feeders lately.
Is it a boom year this year or have I just happened to be in the right place at the right time?
For the last couple of years bullfinches have been on my window feeder, literally a few feet away from me. I wonder if there is an increase like you say.
Hi guys
We are very lucky to have such a good population in the Old Moor area. Many people visit the site from points further south and are always amazed at the views they get. We have had several meetings halted when a Bullfinch lands on a feeder outside the office window.
Overall, Bullfinches are starting to recover somewhat following a pretty severe decline. They are on the 'Amber' list of species of conservation concern (Red being of most concern and Green of least). The list was updated in 2009 when Bullfinch was moved from Red to Amber.
There are about 160,000 breeding territories in the UK and the population is swelled in the winter by birds escaping the harsh weather on the Continent. These birds tend to be larger than our resident birds.
They like nesting in scrubby areas so Old Moor suits them well.
Hope that helps.
Matthew
Thanks everyone - very interesting. Fingers crossed the birds can get to "green" and we can see more of them.