Greedy goldfinches

This winter we've been inundated by goldfinches, who all have prodigious appetites. The feeders are nearly always full of them, and since the start of the autumn we've added two more to try and reduce the competition. We're not really sure how many are visiting - our maximum count at any one time is fourteen, but we've seen a flock of at least fifty birds flying over.

Goldfinch abundance fell sharply from the mid 1970s until the mid 1980s, but the decline was both preceded and followed by significant population increases. The recent upturn has lifted the species from the amber list of conservation concern into the green category, and has been accompanied by an increase in its use of gardens for winter feeding. The population changes can be explained almost entirely by changes in annual survival rates, which may have resulted from a reduction in the availability of weed seeds, due to agricultural intensification, and subsequent increased use of other food sources such as garden bird tables. 



There has been a suggestion that goldfinches have benefited from the decline in the number of greenfinches following a widespread and severe outbreak of trichomonosis that began in 2005. Greenfinches are larger and so tend to be more successful at gaining possession of feeder ports. But in our garden we have plenty of greenfinches too, not too mention a very large number of chaffinches. They're all costing us a fortune in sunflower and niger seed, but we feel it's worth it.