Goldfinch - 2003-07
Friday, August 24, 2012 at 9:26PM The goldfinch is common in areas of scattered trees and hedgerows, less dense woodland and gardens. It likes to nest in evergreen trees, particularly Cypresses. Although the species has always been common, the population is somewhat cyclic, and is currently increasing.
From the 1984-88 breeding bird survey it was suggested that the population may be in the order of 4-6,000 pairs, based on a density of 15-20 pairs per tetrad. The number of occupied tetrads increased by 35% between the two survey periods. This is consistent with an increase of 39% shown by the BBS for the period 1994-2007, and there appears no reason to believe that our county population has behaved any differently than the national trend. This would suggest an increased current population, due to both an increase in density and distribution, giving a new figure of 6-8,000 pairs.
Richard Dobbins
Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 95
Orange = breeding probable = 254
Yellow = breeding possible = 48
Total tetrads in which registered = 397 (81%)
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