Greenfinches

Today's the day ........................... for a welcome return

They may be pretty common in other parts of the country - but it's ages since I have seen a greenfinch on the feeder here.

These two looked pretty healthy and active but apparently greenfinches are very susceptible to a disease caused by a parasitic organism called Trichomonas gallinae. This lives in the throat of the infected bird and stops it digesting food properly. The organism is passed from bird to bird and can be picked up from infected feeders. So it is very important that if you do put out food for the birds, you keep your feeders clean.

There has been a huge reduction in the UK greenfinch population over the past few years. Something like half a million greenfinches have died - out of a UK population of about 4 million birds. So it was a particular treat to see these two today ............................