Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis
While we are on a run of cheerful British finches (thats a rather Ango-Saxon view but never mind) I present the common or garden Goldfinch. Here on a feeder at RSPB Conway guzzling on Niger seed which is a real favourite with them.
They were associated in the Middle Ages with a lot of christian iconography, a male bird having supposedly come to Christs side during the crucifixion hence the markings on the face. I always remember the collective noun for Goldfinches - a "Charm" of Goldfinches which is delightful.
My parents turned over the bottom half of their garden to a wildflower meadow that went somewhat arry a couple of years ago- one lovely by-product of the hayfield that ensued was the great clouds of Goldfinches that would rise up into the air as you walked down their plot. The calls are this metalic ting ting ting and a trill and a flock in flight give off a cloud of noise that bounces along almost as the birds bounce in the air in the positions in the Group. Common yes but dowdy no.
RSPB Conway, North Wales
August 2012
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