The Chaffinch

To continue to take a look at some of our favourite garden birds, this week, I tell the story of the popular Chaffinch.

The following images were all taken with my Nikon D500, fitted with Nikon 200-500 f5.6 lens

The Chaffinch is one of the most common breeding birds in Europe, and also one of the tamest. When fed regularly in gardens this colourful finch will come incredibly close to humans and can sometimes, be fed from the hand. The male bird has spectacular coloured plumage in comparison to the much drabber female bird, with the male’s colours becoming even more pronounced as the breeding season approaches. The species is very easy to attract to gardens and eats a wide range of foods, though tends to prefer feeding on the ground or table rather than hanging feeders.

It is the female that builds the nest, which is usually situated in the fork of a small tree or in shrubbery. The nest is made from dry grasses, spiders’ webs and then covered in moss and lichen to blend in with the area and therefore is more camouflaged. The female alone incubates the eggs, though both parents feed the young. There are one to two broods with the clutch size being 4-5.

The diet is very varied and this no doubt has a bearing on the success and widespread distribution of the species. Natural foods include seeds, fruit, buds and shoots, plus insects, spiders, earthworms and snails eggs. This adaptability also extends to foods put out for them in the garden, and they will eat everything from chopped peanuts to sunflower hearts, and any seed mixes to any of the suet products. However, they tend to be happier feeding on the ground, or on a normal bird table.

Numbers increased considerably from the 1970s to around 2005, though the population then took a fairly major hit with the outbreak of trichomonosis (which especially affects Chaffinches and Greenfinches). Overall though, the population is strong and slightly up on historic records. This positive trend is partly attributed to the species’ adaptability to different habitats relative to other species. It is worth stating at this point, that if you do have bird feeders, it is ESSENTIAL, that they are regularly cleaned, to avoid disease.

This poor female, is clearly suffering from 'Scaly Foot Mite'

Chaffinches are highly social and gregarious, and will not only flock as a single species but also with others. Interestingly though, they also have a tendency to form largely single-sex flocks. Another notable behaviour is their tameness, with this becoming a trait with regular garden feeding.

To read my other wildlife blogs, please click on the 'Previous Blogs' link at the top, left of this page.