Topic: Great excitement!

[grannyjanny]

I looked through the kitchen window this morning & lo & behold the male bullfinch was back in all glory. It was a site to behold. Just moved the feeders round. He likes to sit on the tray of the black sunflower feeder. I am a sucker for a handsome chap ;).

[Flighty]

Lucky you, it's a bird I've never seen!

[Digeroo]

We often get them very handsome they are too.  Female rather plain in comparison.  But I had an idea that they damage buds on things.  They seem to like my forsythia.  But it is quite big so I do not mind loosing a bit of it.

[Flighty]

Digeroo you're right they do like the buds of some fruit trees such as Morello cherries, James Grieve apples, Conference and Williams pears and greengages but not Bramley apples or Comice pears.
They were officially culled in the 1950's and 60's and it was legal to trap and destroy them until the mid 1990's.  >:(

[Digeroo]

Cull them?  What a travesty they are so beautiful. 

Not noticed any problems with James Grieve  The silly tree produced far to many apples and it is a real chore to thin off 3/4 of them or all the apples are tiny.  So a little activity by bull finch would be quite welcome. 

We had eight (half of them males) at one point last year, pecking away at the forsythia like mad.

Luckily they have not found the cherry.

[antipodes]

Just googled - aren't they beautiful? I can't say I have seen any in France, or maybe I just didn't realise what it was :-)
I get quite a lot of tits where I am (OK stop laughing in the back, there!). as well as the usual magpies, robins, sparrows etc. As we are near the sea and marshy areas we are often treated to cranes and herons too, which I adore. I am a bit of a bird lover, when we go on hols, my favourite activity is to spot the hawks and falcons on the fence posts and in the trees.

[pumkinlover]

Just googled - aren't they beautiful? I can't say I have seen any in France, or maybe I just didn't realise what it was :-)
I get quite a lot of tits where I am (OK stop laughing in the back, there!). as well as the usual magpies, robins, sparrows etc. As we are near the sea and marshy areas we are often treated to cranes and herons too, which I adore. I am a bit of a bird lover, when we go on hols, my favourite activity is to spot the hawks and falcons on the fence posts and in the trees.

Is it true Antipodes that the robins on the continent are no where near as "friendly" as ours in Britain- or may be you have never lived here?

[grannyjanny]

Two male reed buntings this morning. They are lovely too.

[Bugloss2009]

Just googled - aren't they beautiful? I can't say I have seen any in France, or maybe I just didn't realise what it was :-)
I get quite a lot of tits where I am (OK stop laughing in the back, there!). as well as the usual magpies, robins, sparrows etc. As we are near the sea and marshy areas we are often treated to cranes and herons too, which I adore. I am a bit of a bird lover, when we go on hols, my favourite activity is to spot the hawks and falcons on the fence posts and in the trees.

Is it true Antipodes that the robins on the continent are no where near as "friendly" as ours in Britain- or may be you have never lived here?

the french composer Olivier Messiaen who was nuts about birds, apparently used to marvel at how approachable robins were in britain. In france they're a very shy woodland bird, which considering what the French do to little ortolans, isn't much of a surprise.

[shirlton]

How lovely. I have never seen one in the flesh