Wednesday, 6 May 2020

Bullfinches

It is often possible to spend a whole day out in the field without seeing a bullfinch, but at this time of year they regularly visit road verges to feed out in the open, and you suddenly notice how many there must be tucked away somewhere the rest of the year. Yesterday, at least 5 males, two with females, were seen from the car on road verges between Maenclochog and Withibush, with the male below feeding on dandelion seeds. He avoided the open 'clocks' and instead systematically searched for the seed heads that were just about to open, and this appeared to be so that he could maximise the number of seeds that he could strip the fluffy bits off in one go. So if anyone wants an excuse not to mow the lawn they can claim conservation interests of a red-listed species as their justification.