• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Greenfinch

Wheezing in the wind

27 Monday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Greenfinch, Greenfinch wheezing, male Greenfinch singing

Trichomonosis, a disease that spreads through the birds’ contact with contaminated surfaces (like bird feeders – please clean them weekly!), has decimated the Greenfinch population in Britain, leading to a huge decline in numbers and to the bird being red-listed.

230325 greenfinch (1)

As I’ve only been in my current location for just over seven years, I don’t know how badly the local birds were hit, though birding friends say it got to the stage where they rarely saw a Greenfinch. Fortunately, that dire situation does seem to be improving hereabouts, and I can now be fairly confident that I’ll see or hear a Greenfinch during my daily walks.

230327 greenfinch (2)

At this time of year, I usually hear them before I see them, particularly males like the two pictured here, sitting in prominent spots atop a bush or in a tree, making their odd wheezing sound. They make other sounds too, of course, but it’s that odd buzzy wheeze that catches my attention – and, hopefully, also the attention of potential mates. If you haven’t heard the sound, I made a short video of one of these chaps giving it their all.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Red-listed Greenfinches

05 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chloris chloris, Greenfinch

The current conservation status of the Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) in the UK is RED (meaning the species has been accorded the highest conservation priority and requires urgent action) because of its ‘recent severe breeding population decline’. So, I was very gratified during yesterday’s walk to see at least six birds, including 3 males sitting in treetops, wheezing their strange call, and females nearby taking notice. Let’s hope this attraction translates to fledgling success this breeding season.

220305 greenfinch

Like this:

Like Loading...

Juvenile Greenfinch

09 Saturday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Greenfinch, Greenfinch eating seeds, juvenile Greenfinch

Risk assessment: food or flee?

211009 greenfinch (1)

Food, of course, and these seeds are just so tasty!

211009 greenfinch (2)

One eye on the sky – or perhaps the tall human – just in case there’s a threat.

211009 greenfinch (3)

But these seeds are just so tasty!

211009 greenfinch (4)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Wheezing from the tree tops

23 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Greenfinch

The British Trust for Ornithology describes it as a ‘nasal “dzwee”’; my description would be something like: stuttered twittering interspersed with long nasal wheezing. It’s an odd sound to make to attract a member of the opposite sex but it seems to work perfectly for the male Greenfinch. So, if you’re out walking and happen to hear a loud nasal wheezing from above, do look up. The Greenfinch is such a fabulous-looking bird and it has suffered a dramatic national decline in population since about 2005, so don’t miss any opportunity to see one.

210323 greenfinch

Like this:

Like Loading...

22/365 What’s green and yellow?

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greenfinch

Today I went looking for the Siskin that were seen at Cosmeston on Sunday (and had been heard by another birder earlier in the month). They’re not birds I’m familiar with as they’re not common locally and I’ve only seen them a couple of times when I’ve been on bird club trips (oh, and once very high in the trees at Forest Farm). My heart skipped a beat when I heard a flock of Goldfinches in the trees ahead of me (the Siskin were associating with Goldfinches on Sunday) and saw a few flashes of yellow and green in the birds with them. Unfortunately, they weren’t Siskin but Greenfinches – I’m not complaining though, as Greenfinches are also birds I don’t see very often.

190122 greenfinch

Like this:

Like Loading...

Birding at Ogmore and Kenfig

10 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, seaside, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Glamorgan Bird Club, Goldeneye, Greenfinch, Kenfig National Nature Reserve, Kenfig Pool, Ogmore, Slavonian grebe, Stonechat

Wednesday dawned clear and frosty so on went the layers of clothing, scarf, hat, gloves and boots, in the backpack went the camera, binoculars, a spot of lunch and rain jacket (this is Wales and I was once a Girl Guide so I was prepared!). I’d scanned tweets, posts and blogs so knew vaguely what to expect and left the house hopeful.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (10)

And I did not despair, nor was I disappointed. On my first Glamorgan Bird Club trip of the year, to Ogmore – both the river and the beach – and then on to Kenfig National Nature Reserve, I added ten new birds to my 2018 list, including two lifetime firsts in the Slavonian grebe and Short-eared owls.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (3)

At Ogmore, the weather was glorious – blue skies, and heat in the sun, if you managed to shelter from the chilly breeze. There were gulls galore, mostly Herring and Black-headed, a sprinkling of Common and a single Med, as well as, further down river, a Great black-backed gull – what beasts they are!

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (2)

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (1)

A Kingfisher added its flash of turquoise, to the mostly white, grey and brown colours of the other birds (Little egret, Cormorant, Mallard, Redshank, Canada goose, Mute swan). But I don’t mean to imply the other avian species were boring – just look at these dazzling Goldeneyes!

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (4)

As we wandered further towards the river mouth, a Stonechat popped up to survey the humans adorned with bins, scopes and cameras, all staring in the opposite direction, to peep briefly, ‘Look at me!’. So I did.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (9)

At Ogmore beach, we were hoping for Purple sandpipers but, even with 21 pairs of eyes surveying every nook and rock cranny, we lucked out. Turns out the birds were spending the day across the bay at Newton and Porthcawl. But hey, the scenery was glorious, with glimpses of the recent dumps of snow across the water on Exmoor.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (5)180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (6)

Sandwiches devoured, we headed to Kenfig and stomped down to the pool, where I almost immediately got on to my first lifer of the day, the little black-and-white Slavonian grebe that’s been overwintering there. It’s small, a frequent diver, and was distant but was plainly see-able through bins and scopes, if not such a great subject for my camera.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (7)

By this time, the sun had clouded over, and even a stroll through boggy fields, over wonky stiles, around the lake’s edge in search of White-fronted geese failed to keep the chill from my bones – and we didn’t see those geese. But, a small stalwart seven of us – the others peeling off to heated cars and homes – decided to head for a high point to survey the dunes for the Short-eared owls that have recently been sighted hunting at dawn and dusk. Another lifer! Two birds were seen, one flying low, back and forth amongst the dunes, the other gliding high, with a Kestrel for company.

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (11)

And to finish off a wonderful day’s birding, we got the call that tea, coffee and cake awaited us at the Kenfig office, and spotted these two Greenfinch amongst trees along the way. Just perfect!

180211 Birding at Ogmore & Kenfig (8)

We saw 62 species in total: the full list can be seen on the Glamorgan Bird Club’s website here.

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Young’uns at Forest Farm

10 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, dunnock, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Greenfinch, Grey heron, juvenile birds, robin

I hadn’t been to Forest Farm for a while but, when I heard some rather nice fungi had been found, I was there like a shot (more on that tomorrow). And, of course, whilst there I had to spend some quality time with the lovely birds that can be seen in this beautiful nature reserve at any time of the year. Now, in early autumn, there are a lot of young birds, and they’re always fun, and hungry, and often quite confiding.

170910 Dunnock170910 Greenfinches170910 Robin
170910 Grey heron (1)170910 Grey heron (2)170910 Grey heron (3)

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Tadpoles March 28, 2023
  • Wheezing in the wind March 27, 2023
  • The Baccy plant March 26, 2023
  • Shieldbugs are go! March 25, 2023
  • First winter Little gull March 24, 2023

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • earthstar
    • Join 582 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • earthstar
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: