I've heard they're more plentiful around Autumn time, just wondered if anyone could advise where your more likely to see them.
I'm not too far from Hampstead Heath but am up for travelling a bit for a Goldcrest adventure.
I've heard Waterford Heath is potentially a good place.
Any tips gladly appreciated.
Cheers
Mark
You should be able to find Goldcrests in most parks and woodlands locally - I don't know your area very well but have seen them in the central London parks (Hyde Park/Ken Gardens, St James's Park, Regent's Park) and I'm sure they'll be in wooded parts of Hampstead Heath too. They are particularly keen on conifers but also like ivy-clad tree-trunks, and are easiest to locate by call. Note though that the call is very high-pitched and some people, especially those of more advanced years and those who've been to too many rock concerts (!) can struggle to pick it up - if that's you, take your kids/grandkids with you when Goldcrest-searching if you have them! Goldcrests will feed on their own or with other birds, especially tits - any roaming flock of little birds in the treetops through autumn and winter could include some Goldcrests.
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
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Thanks for the tips Aiki, will try those out.
Rock concerts permitting I've definitely heard them before and glimpsed that striking yellow crest for about 1/2 a second. I was just hoping someone might know somewhere where they're can be found in abundance.
Great shots on your Flickr BTW.
The reason they're more numerous in autumn is because there are influxes of migrants from the continent - but the numbers of extra birds that reach us vary enormously year on year, and where they turn up also varies. Some years there's no noticeable extra arrival at all. Last autumn was exceptional - there was a huge fall of Goldcrests along the east coast, and these gradually dispersed inland. I visited Havergate Island in Suffolk on 3 October and the gorse bushes there were absolutely crawling with them. But Goldcrest is a pretty common bird throughout Britain all year round (we have more breeding Goldcrests than we do Magpies!) and any reasonably large area of trees (esp with some conifers) will have some.