Tuesday 20 March 2012

Common or Garden




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.

54 comments:

  1. Common maybe, but beautiful all the same!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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    1. Hi Gary,
      Yes, beauty does not diminish by how common they are.
      J

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  2. 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.

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    1. Hi Andrew,
      It`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

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  3. Its also quite common here in Newtown Powys,
    but 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.

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    1. 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! ;)
      J

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  4. Nice pictures!
    Perfect for WBW!

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  5. Hi John. The expressions you captured are delightful!

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    1. Hi Mary,
      Thank you, they are a little comical, aren`t they!
      J

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  6. Beautiful photos of this little lovely bird! /Susanne

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  7. I would be drooling to see one of these "common" birds John! Being over the pond, I have never seen one.

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    1. Hi Larry,
      You 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

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  8. He sure is a chubby little fella, but cute!

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    1. He is `puffed` up showing what he is made of to the female!
      J

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  9. Lovely bird to be able to see frequently!

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    1. Hi Tammy,
      Yes, a bird we are lucky to see every day.
      J

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  10. Hi John...Your photo are wonderful..they look like glass...!!
    Beautiful bird..the colors are lovely!!
    Grace

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    1. Hi Grace,
      Thank you very much. The colours are a lovely sight on tired eyes.
      J

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  11. Great photos of beautiful little birds.

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  12. Your Chaffinch is a beautiful bird. Great photos.

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    1. Hi Eileen,
      Thank you, yes, a beautiful bird.
      J

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  13. Beautiful shots, John! Gorgeous bird.

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  14. Dear John,
    though there might be a lot of these beautiful birds, they are by no means 'common'. Beautiful photographs, thank you!

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  15. What a beautiful little bird! You have captured him with a great attitude! Beautiful photos!

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    1. Hi Linda,
      Thank you, such kind words.
      J

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  16. 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.
    Your 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’

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    1. Hi Bazza,
      I 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

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  17. 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.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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    1. Hi Stewart,
      I 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

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  18. 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.

    As you so rightly say, if it were scarcer it would be far more valued, let us hope that never becomes the case!

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    1. Hi Jan,
      Thank 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

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  19. Excellent photos of this beautiful little bird.

    Regards and best wishes

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  20. Maybe its common, but still is so beautiful! Lovely collection!

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    1. Hi joo,
      Thank you, yes, common and beautiful.
      J

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  21. Beautiful captures! A garden full of these birds would be wonderful.

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    1. Hi Pat,
      Thank you. We are lucky in having good numbers visit our garden and they do brighten the place up!
      J

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  22. Lovely little birds John.
    If they were rare, more people would appreciate their beauty.

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  23. Hi Keith,
    How true! We seem to sometimes take birds like this for granted, hopefully, we won`t live to regret that.
    J

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  24. Nicely done! What a pretty bird indeed!

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    1. Hi Kathy,
      Thank you, yes, a lovely bird.
      J

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  25. 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.

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    1. Hi Roy,
      Thank you. Overlooked at our peril I think. I never was one for subtlety Roy! ;)
      J

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  26. Replies
    1. Hi Wolfsrosebud,
      Thanks for the visit and the comment.
      J

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  27. 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!

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    1. Hi Springman,
      You 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

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my humble blog.