Bullfinches

Are bullfinch numbers improving? I haven't seen any for years but I saw several near Bamburgh in December 2021, a group at Rainton Meadows (Durham Wildlife Trust) near Sunderland a couple of weeks ago and now a pair on the coast at Seaham (also Co. Durham) .Pleasing if they are.

  • Hi Alyson, I have also seen more bullfinches lately - alone, in pairs, in small groups and in larger groups with chaffinches. This is on the south east coast of Scotland. I don't know whether their numbers are increasing or they have moved more into the open for some reason.
  • We are lucky in thst we have had at least 3 pair nesting in the grounds around our little estate but we do seem to be seeing and hearing them more when round and about. We did wonder if this was because recently we have been birding more local sreas rather than the nearby moorland we normally visit. It seems others are seeing more Bullfinch so maybe they have had a couple of good breeding years, good news if this is so