A beautifully coloured male chaffinch

Latin Name : Fringilla Coelebs

Resident or visitor : Both – most chaffinches are resident, but Snape Wood got its first influx of  Scandinavian migrants in September 2008 and, as yet, they show no signs of leaving.

Size : 14.5cm

Appearance : Generally quite a plump bird, males are mainly pink, with a blue grey head, a white shoulder patch and flash on the wings, black bar above the beak; females are a drab yellow-brown colour, with similar white flashes to the male.

Call : A plaintive ‘pink’ chirp, which is uttered when they are together in a group, and also on every beat of the wings when flying.

Diet : Seeds (especially sunflower hearts !), caterpillars/invertebrates – very gregarious eaters, often squabbling with and fluttering madly at each other

Nesting habitat : Neat cup-shaped nest in the fork of a tree or bush formed out of an outer layer of lichen and spiders webs and an inner layer of grass, moss, roots and feathers.

Offspring : 4/5 eggs laid from late April to early June. Female incubates eggs for 12 days, both parents feed the young; fledge within 13 days after which parents continue to feed for another 3 weeks. Sometimes have two broods per season.

General information and observations : Chaffinches are social birds, and hang around in little flocks of up to 15 or so. Snape Wood did have a small population of resident chaffinches, but in September 2008 received a considerable boost in the form of around about 30-40 Scandinavian migrants. These would normally leave the UK between February to May, but as yet they show no signs of leaving. Generally chaotic, the birds are often to be found fleeing a scene en masse when disturbed by humans, but they are incredibly loyal garden feeders, often lining up on trees at the edge of the wood overlooking a garden awaiting a kindly human to feed them.

Please add your sightings and observations below !

2 Responses to “Chaffinch”

1. clayts says:

   March 14, 2009 at 1:08 pm

   Daily sightings in and around the Reserve
2. clayts says:

   May 17, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   The flocks of chaffinches have now dispersed, with many returning to their Summer breeding grounds in Scandinavia. There are still one or two around, especially one very noisy and bold male who can often be heard screeching loudly throughout the Reserve !