Ray Collier Country Diary - Goldfinch

18th February 2008 - Goldfinch

The distinctive face pattern of crimson, white and black means that the adult goldfinch cannot be confused with any other bird in Britain. This delicate looking small finch has a sandy brown body with a white belly and black wings with a conspicuous broad yellow bar. The tail is black with white markings and the beak is quite long and thin, and is pale with a dark tip. The female is similar to the male but slightly duller and with less red on the face. The flight is undulating and is particularly bouncy and because of this the colours on the black and yellow wings are not always easy to see. Outside the breeding season they are usually seen in small groups, often a family party, but large groups often form around an abundance of food. They are frequently seen feeding with other finches in gardens, parks, cultivated land and even roadside verges wherever there is seed.
Historically goldfinches have suffered for a variety of reasons with one of the main ones being the trapping of large numbers for caging. Huge numbers were involved in this trapping with one estimate of 132,00 each year from an area in Sussex. This was one of the early fights at the door of the Society for the Protection of Birds, later to become the RSPB. "Saving the goldfinch" was one of its first tasks. Legislation against the sale of wild goldfinches came in 1933 and further legislation against trapping for personal use came in 1954. Small scale trapping still takes place today despite the fact that the only birds in captivity should be those bred in captivity and ringed as such. This and agricultural changes plus severe winters reduced the numbers and distribution and by the end of the 19th century the birds were no longer breeding in the north of Scotland. The protection laws changed this and by the 1960s the birds recovered in many areas. Some bad winters meant another decrease but the recovery came again until these days the birds are increasingly breeding in the Highlands. A series of milder winters have helped but in the last decade another factor has led to increased numbers and a wider distribution. Goldfinches and other birds, such as siskins, have taken advantage of relatively new garden feeders and feed. Nyjer seeds and special containers mean the long thin beaks of both can take this tiny food through tiny holes. The photograph was taken on such a feeder in a garden near Inverness.
Although goldfinches can be seen in Britain throughout the year about 80% of them move south in September and October to Belgium, France and Spain returning in April and May. In much of this wintering range there is food available all the year round although as supplies of nyjer seed in gardens becomes more widespread this migration may slow down. From a conservation viewpoint it seems as though the future for goldfinches is assured particularly as more and more people are feeding birds in the garden throughout the year. With such an attractive bird it is not surprising that it has a number of local Scots names such as goldie, gold pink, thistle finch and thistle warp. Its Gaelic name is Deargan-fraoioch which means "red stained one of the heather". The latest bird report for the Highlands indicates it is an "Increasingly common breeder, especially in the east; uncommon in winter". At this time of the year small roosts can sometimes be seen such as 35 roosting in an oak tree in the Dingwall Business Park. Feeding flocks around Inverness have been seen at Ardesier, Chanonry Point, Cromarty and Milton of Leys.