A Goldfinch at the Bird Bath
We have a constant parade of visitors to the bird baths we have in our garden. I haven’t done a statistical analysis, but I would say with confidence that the most frequent visitors would have to be the many New Holland Honeyeaters. They would be closely followed by the Pardalotes, both the Striated and the Spotted. The list of species seen drinking from the bird baths is growing. This has been particularly so during recent months. The summer has been very hot and very dry.
European Goldfinch
One recent addition to this list was the European Goldfinch. This introduced species is widespread in south eastern Australia, including Tasmania. I understand that while is it widespread and can be locally common, its numbers are not great anywhere. Here in my home town Murray Bridge in South Australia there are several colonies around town, including one large group living near the Post Office and Railway Station.
We live about 5km from the Post Office and the Goldfinch is only an occasional visitor to our garden. It is therefore an interesting addition to the list of birds that have visited our bird baths.
Related articles:
- European Goldfinch – another article about this species.
- Birds in the heat – more about birds at our bird baths.
- Time for a bath – visitors to our bird baths (including a complete list).
European Goldfinch
They are rather pretty little birds. I haven’t seen them here although friends of mine tell me they’re occasional visitors to their garden in Werribee.
I agree with you Snail, the Goldfinch is an attractive bird but I far prefer our native finches. Few birds anywhere in the world can compare with the Gouldian Finch. Unfortunately I have yet to see one in its natural habitat. I’ve only ever seen it in aviaries.
Even the humble Zebra Finch is beautiful – and we do occasionally have them in our garden. The Diamond Firetail is another favourite and an occasional visitor to the bird bath.
Here in the UK I too rarely saw goldfinches in the garden.
I recently hung up a feeder of thistle seeds however, and within days was getting as many as six at a time.
Hi there Henry. I’ve left a comment on your blog about Goldfinches and their introduction to Australia and New Zealand.
Today, 14/12/2008, we had two baby Goldfinches resting and sunning themselves in our peach tree.About 30 minutes later the mother hen came and fed them,then flew off leaving them on the branch in the sun. They would have stayed in the tree for over an hour and took no notice of our going in and out the door.
Hi there Peter – welcome to my blog about birds, and thanks for leaving a comment.
Sometimes you can get quite close to baby birds when they have just emerged from the nest. I guess that they haven’t yet learned to be afraid of those monsters on two legs!!