We usually have absolutely loads of Greenfinches in our garden but haven't seen any for quite some time. I mean NOT ANY! Not one! We've had snow on the ground here for well over a week now and haven't had any come to feed at the feeding stations which is highly unusual for us. Any theories folks? And is anyone else noticing a lack of our little green friends?
Hi Peanuts, my numbers are decreasing but I just thought it was the babies finally leaving, we had some late ones too. I am getting 6-8 at a time at the moment - had about 12 in the summer. Have you tried a mixture of safflower and sunflower hearts in a feeder, mine love them. They also have niger seed. I buy a husk free mix from Pets At Home and mix a finch mix in with it, they also love that. Maybe if you are on high ground they have gone to lower ground to get out of the icy winds for a while.
They used to be the most numerous bird in my garden, there would be about twenty to thirty of them at any one time but over the last three years or so they have greatly declined, I can usually count those I see in one week on one hand these days. It's quite sad.
I hope its not this finch disease / virus that is getting out of control :-( It's really sad all gardens should get an array of green flashes and funny little chirrups.
I could try the niger seed etc, but I don't think it the type of food I'm offering as I have had loads of greenfinches for years. It's just this last few months I haven't notice any at all. Plenty chaffinches but no green. Interesting that you've noticed a decline too AnnaBanana. Whereabouts are you?
Think we clicked the post button within seconds of each other there! I haven't heard of this finch disease? Can you tell me more?
Hi Peanuts,
The disease is called Trichomonas (not sure of the spelling) and there are several threads about it in the forums. This is a link to one of the more recent ones:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/forums/p/7458/56027.aspx#56027
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
Thank you for that Sparrow - just been for a look. I haven't had any dead or poorly finches in the garden for quite some time. Now and again in the past I have found the odd dead greenfinch or siskin and had put it down to salmonella. I haven't found anything for quite a few months now. I clean my feeders and move the site regularly. This morning I found a poorly woodpigeon huddled up on the lawn on the snow. I took it in to warm it up but it didn't recover. Do you think it's possible it had this virus? Oh and just had a thought - would this virus be capable of affecting my new chickens??
Hi Anna
I am like you and I used to have lots of Greenfinches (Goldfinches and Chaffinches) in my last garden at my former house which is about a mile away, I had one case of Greenfinch disease that I remember but it bypassed, and that was the end of it.
In my current garden, I have one Greenfinch, one male and one female Chaffinch, and Goldfinches up in the nearby trees. Where are they hiding?. Today, I have hung up a coconut today so hopefully that will attract a few more different species of birds.
In Scotland I had up to 10 or more Greenfinches on my feeders and thery where everywhere. It is only this year I have noticed the decline. Maybe it is a bad year, and there is one really bad year every so often that affects the Greenfinch numbers.
I have also read that a change in farmers have become in a 'Countryside Stewardship'. Now the corners of many arable fields have had additional planted Sunflowers, Radish and Beet Seedheads. So this has kept the birds in one place. A tempting treat for the birds.
We can only hope that next year does not have the same drop in number, and we see plenty of Finches during the breeding season in springtime.
Only time will tell now.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Unknown said: They used to be the most numerous bird in my garden, there would be about twenty to thirty of them at any one time but over the last three years or so they have greatly declined, I can usually count those I see in one week on one hand these days. It's quite sad.