Greenfinch

Male European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)

On a typical day, our garden is full of birds. During the spring and summer, we hear them singing before it's even light enough to see. They swarm over our bird feeders in the winter, rummage through the flowerbeds in search of food, and build their nests in the shrubs and hedges. This year, some of the main players in the nesting department were the European Greenfinches (Chloris chloris). We hosted at least two (and possibly three) pairs, one of which raised at least two (and possibly three) broods right outside our office windows. That's good to see, because UK greenfinches have faced some major declines over the past few decades, with a drop in numbers of 64% since 1997. Part of the problem is a parasite called Trichomonas gallinae, which arrived on the island in 2006 and has caused havoc ever since. Trichomonas causes infected birds to be unable to swallow, leading to their deaths. It can be transmitted between hosts through contaminated food and water. Fortunately, we've seen no signs to date of that problem here.

Our greenfinches seem fat and healthy. These stocky birds are, as their name suggests, primarily olive-greenish — though with slashes of yellow in wing and tail. Their bills are stout and pink, and their tails have a noticeable fork at the tip. In the spring, males do showy display flights over the garden, zigzagging their way around big circles, singing at the top of their lungs. During the breeding season, we regularly see pairs together, nibbling dandelion seeds on the lawn or splashing in the birdbaths. Now that their young have fledged, we're seeing greenfinches in bigger flocks, often mingling with Common Chaffinches. Hopefully, our local birds will continue to buck the declining trend of the overall population.