Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
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Distribution Britain 2,602 (+0.7%) Ireland 950 (-0.9%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 5,400,000 Ireland 2,100,000 European status: 85,000,000 (9% in Britain and Ireland =3) British population trend: slow but steady increase (+25% CBC){+30%} How likely are you to record it? 3,971 squares (88.4%) Ranked 2 [5=] |
The Chaffinch was a very common and widely distributed species at the end of the 19th century with range and numbers extending and increasing in the far north-west of Scotland and on the Hebrides. Some bred on Orkney but none on Shetland or on Scilly — then not as wooded as now. In upland areas there were increases associated with new plantations and substantial numbers may settle in new areas. Breeding on Shetland is very sporadic. Widespread reports of declines in the late 1950s have been attributed to deaths caused by agro-chemicals but the population seems to have been recovering steadily over the 30 years 1960-90 and the BBS five-year index (1994-98) still shows a significant increase of 4%. The birds are most at home in woodland, but they do not appear to be affected on farmland by the extensive agricultural change that has happened over the last few decades. The birds use beech mast extensively in the winter when it is available and are amongst the most frequent of birds feeding in gardens. No worries about range or numbers for a familiar species.
The following Bird On! picture is available:
Chaffinch (35mm Colour Slide by Roger Tidman)
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead