Goldfinches dissapeared for the summer but are back now

snaps

I had loads of Goldfinches in the garden winter and spring, but they went for the summer, but the last few days they seem to have returned in their droves, is this normal?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Totally normal. They will break from the flocks into pairs, go and nest through the Summer and come together again in Autumn. They tend not to frequent gardens as much through the Summer as ample feeding and shelter are available elsewhere. You should see decent flocks of juvenile Goldfinches around this time of year. As the Winter approaches Adults and Juveniles will form bigger flocks, some females will migrate to southern Europe but generally the flocks will increase when joined by some birds from Europe.

BrianD3

I noticed the same, had loads of Goldfinches visiting and they disappeared quite suddenly around the end of June or start of July. During this time the Chaffinch and Greenfinch numbers stayed about the same and Tit numbers increased.

The amount of Nyjer being consumed at the feeders dwindled to a trickle while I got through around 15 kg of black sunflower seeds

But in the last week the Goldfinches are back with a vengence!

snaps

BrianD3 wrote: »

I noticed the same, had loads of Goldfinches visiting and they disappeared quite suddenly around the end of June or start of July. During this time the Chaffinch and Greenfinch numbers stayed about the same and Tit numbers increased.

The amount of Nyjer being consumed at the feeders dwindled to a trickle while I got through around 15 kg of black sunflower seeds

But in the last week the Goldfinches are back with a vengence!

Thank god, thought something was wrong, like I said, In the winter & spring my garden was full of them, but the Greenfinches, tits all stayed but the Goldfinches vanished towards the end of June.

They really are the most beautiful birds i have in the garden and the most songfull.

This morning around 2am i was awoken by 2 mating foxes, they really screeched and screamed while they where at it, Drove the cats crazy!

BrianD3

I'm glad to get the goldfinches back but in their absence I was enjoying the Tits. Do the boisterous goldfinches put the tits off? Since the goldfinches returned, I haven't seen a Coal Tit and there are fewer Great and Blue Tits.

I haven't got "my" Redpoll back, they didn't go fully but their numbers have dwindled a lot. From July - early Septermber the main consumers of nyjer in my garden were Siskins.

snaps

Im making my own fat balls now: Porridge oats, breadcrumbs, mixed wild bird feed (seeds), chopped peanuts and lard. They love it, they are going mad for the fat balls im putting out for them. Im a bit worried about the lard though, but im sure its ok?

Alun

Yes, "my" goldfinches have returned as well There are quite a few young'uns amonst them too with their not-quite-there-completely red caps a bit like our friend Bob..

The greenfinches never really went away, but I suspect that there were a few nests around locally as we had loads of juveniles swarming over the feeders all through the summer.

Have just seen our first bullfinch for a while too.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

snaps wrote: »

Im making my own fat balls now: Porridge oats, breadcrumbs, mixed wild bird feed (seeds), chopped peanuts and lard. They love it, they are going mad for the fat balls im putting out for them. Im a bit worried about the lard though, but im sure its ok?

Hold off on the fat balls until the really harsh Winter weather sets in. The countryside, and gardens, are full of fruits and seeds right now. Garden birds do no need fat yet.

littlebug

Mariam Gigantic Utensil wrote: »

Hold off on the fat balls until the really harsh Winter weather sets in. The countryside, and gardens, are full of fruits and seeds right now. Garden birds do no need fat yet.

(not goldfinch specific) when do you think it is appropriate to start feeding the birds again? Much as I love to see all sorts of birds in my garden I don't put out nuts etc through the summer due to the numerous visiting cats. I only want to start feeding again when the benefits of my feeding them outweigh the cat-risk.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

littlebug wrote: »

(not goldfinch specific) when do you think it is appropriate to start feeding the birds again? Much as I love to see all sorts of birds in my garden I don't put out nuts etc through the summer due to the numerous visiting cats. I only want to start feeding again when the benefits of my feeding them outweigh the cat-risk.

To be honest I'd personally never attract birds to an area with a serious cat risk. But that's for another thread.

Feed birds all year round. In Summer you can drastically reduce the amounts left out. Only feed fats in harsh Winter weather. (Apologies Mods for the drift off topic)