The Chaffinch is one of the most widespread and abundant birds in Great Britain, I am sure that most people are familiar with the bird. It was recorded in 93% of the 10 km squares during both recent Birding Atlases and is only scarce in Shetland and the Outer Hebrides. It is, by far the most common bird to visit our garden in Peterborough.
The male ( photos 1+3 ) has a blue/grey head, pink breast and cheeks and a chestnut back, a stunning bird and if scarcer would be one to get any birder `drooling`. The female ( photo 2 ) is a paler, drabber yellowish brown, but both sexes have the same white pattern on the wings.
The above photos were `digiscoped` in our back garden, with the photos of the male showing two different birds.
Common maybe, but beautiful all the same!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteHi Gary,
DeleteYes, beauty does not diminish by how common they are.
J
You know what John... I see them every day on my commute to work but it's a little bird I have only seen a couple of times in my garden...the last time a Brambling was with them...my first in the garden and that was a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
DeleteIt`s weird isn`t it, how a bird can be common in one place, but not in another.
I haven`t had a Brambling in the garden for a few years now, they seem to be a bit low on the ground this year, haven`t seen one anywhere!?
J
Its also quite common here in Newtown Powys,
ReplyDeletebut by far the most common here is the Blue tiit followed by the blackbird , House sparrow, Dunnock, long-tailed tit,great tit ,coal tit,Robin,greenfinch, and one pair of siskin, across the river they have lots of nuthatch I have only had one sighting and shot in my garden.
It`s nice to get such a variety in your garden. We very rarely get House Sparrows, I can count the times on the fingers of one hand! As for Coal Tit, we have never had them, but never say never! ;)
DeleteJ
Nice pictures!
ReplyDeletePerfect for WBW!
Hi Hans,
DeleteThank you, too kind!
J
Hi John. The expressions you captured are delightful!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
DeleteThank you, they are a little comical, aren`t they!
J
Beautiful photos of this little lovely bird! /Susanne
ReplyDeleteThank you Susanne, too kind.
DeleteJ
I would be drooling to see one of these "common" birds John! Being over the pond, I have never seen one.
ReplyDeleteHi Larry,
DeleteYou see some stunning birds in your neck of the woods though. One day, you will have to take a trip to dear old Blighty and get some views of `our` Chaffinch.
J
great photos, well done!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, too kind.
DeleteJ
He sure is a chubby little fella, but cute!
ReplyDeleteHe is `puffed` up showing what he is made of to the female!
DeleteJ
Lovely bird to be able to see frequently!
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy,
DeleteYes, a bird we are lucky to see every day.
J
Hi John...Your photo are wonderful..they look like glass...!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird..the colors are lovely!!
Grace
Hi Grace,
DeleteThank you very much. The colours are a lovely sight on tired eyes.
J
Great photos of beautiful little birds.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mick, too kind.
DeleteJ
Your Chaffinch is a beautiful bird. Great photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen,
DeleteThank you, yes, a beautiful bird.
J
Beautiful shots, John! Gorgeous bird.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary, too kind.
DeleteJ
Dear John,
ReplyDeletethough there might be a lot of these beautiful birds, they are by no means 'common'. Beautiful photographs, thank you!
Hi Britta,
DeleteThank you, my pleasure.
J
What a beautiful little bird! You have captured him with a great attitude! Beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
DeleteThank you, such kind words.
J
Since I have been monitoring my back garden properly (about three years) I don't think I have seen one. But, of course, that could be due to my inexperience.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures seem to have an almost 3D quality with the sharp focus and soft background. I took a really long, lingering look and enjoyed them very much. Thank you.
PS: I think you were right about the bird I could not identify being a leucistic Robin. However, it definitely has a smaller head and longer legs!
Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Hi Bazza,
DeleteI am sure you would have noticed one if it had been in your garden. Thank you for your kind words about my humble photos, you are too kind.
As for the Robin, there is such a variation in the way birds look in different light, different angles, whether their feathers are all puffed up, it can sometimes lead to a bird looking different than `normal`.
J
Hi there - given some of the birds that were introduced into Australia I'm surprised that the Chaffinch was not one of them - splendid little birds.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Australia
Hi Stewart,
DeleteI don`t think that they will be introduced now ;) so you will have to wait for one to fly there on its own accord.
J
Lovely photos of a beautiful little bird which appears in my garden in good numbers every day. It surprises me how they have adapted so well to eating from seed feeders when they really prefer the ground or table.
ReplyDeleteAs you so rightly say, if it were scarcer it would be far more valued, let us hope that never becomes the case!
Hi Jan,
DeleteThank you. Yes, the Chaffinches in our garden use the feeders as well as hop around on the floor. They are constantly fighting with the Goldfinches over the nyjer seed feeder.
Hopefully, we will never become blase with the Chaffinch, although we never seem to learn, do we?!
J
Excellent photos of this beautiful little bird.
ReplyDeleteRegards and best wishes
Thank you Tatjana, too kind.
DeleteJ
Maybe its common, but still is so beautiful! Lovely collection!
ReplyDeleteHi joo,
DeleteThank you, yes, common and beautiful.
J
Beautiful captures! A garden full of these birds would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHi Pat,
DeleteThank you. We are lucky in having good numbers visit our garden and they do brighten the place up!
J
Lovely little birds John.
ReplyDeleteIf they were rare, more people would appreciate their beauty.
Hi Keith,
ReplyDeleteHow true! We seem to sometimes take birds like this for granted, hopefully, we won`t live to regret that.
J
Nicely done! What a pretty bird indeed!
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy,
DeleteThank you, yes, a lovely bird.
J
These are lovely shots John. We do tend to overlook them sometimes though, but they are colourful birds, even the female in a more subtle way.
ReplyDeleteHi Roy,
DeleteThank you. Overlooked at our peril I think. I never was one for subtlety Roy! ;)
J
curious little guy
ReplyDeleteHi Wolfsrosebud,
DeleteThanks for the visit and the comment.
J
Such is the beauty of the World Wide Web, what is common for your backyard is exotic in other realms. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous bird John!
ReplyDeleteHi Springman,
DeleteYou tend to take things for granted and just `assume` that a bird that is common where you live is known by everyone, obviously this is not the case and I am glad that you enjoyed my little photos of our most `common` of birds.
J