Tits Population

They’re back! ……..and looking great – the Tit population at my home in West Sussex has suddenly exploded – great numbers and great variety – I have had Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, ...

Starling Gangs

Oh No! (says David Cole, a long time Twootz customer and wildlife photographer). Towards the end of June each year the starlings arrive – parents with masses of squabbling adolescence youngsters. ...

Where Have All the Blue Tits Gone?

So where have all the Blue Tits gone? At this time of the year I often have friends asking me where all of the Blue Tits have gone. There were throngs of them just a couple of months ago, but no ...

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

A total of seven Great Spotted Woodpeckers are dominating activity on my main feeding station. They are from two families – one to the north and the other to the south of my home and they are causin ...

Pheasant

Percy’s Back !!!! Every year when the shooting season finishes a fine cock pheasant appears at my feeding station. He is certainly not he same one that I noticed and fed by hand some twelve years ...

Goldfinch Survey

Date: 2016-02-04 09:12:08 | Category: Bird Feeding | Author: David Cole
The January News Release from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has some interesting results from their Goldfinch Feeding Survey and one of them is that the Goldfinches have a fondness for Sunflower Hearts – I can certainly back up their results because I have been feeding TWOOTZ sunflower hearts since late summer and have noticed the Goldfinches tucking in!

The BTO is a great organization which does so much good for our feathered friends and I would encourage you to join their survey – you can visit their website at www.bto.org/goldfinch-survey. Below is an extract from their news release with a picture of one of my garden Goldfinches.


Goldfinch Survey


Are sunflower hearts the secret to attracting garden Goldfinches?

With record numbers of Goldfinches being seen in gardens this winter, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) wants to know what it is about our gardens that they are attracted to. The Goldfinch Feeding Survey has been running for two months, and so far sunflower hearts seem to be the most popular food type amongst Goldfinches – but is this the case in your garden?

Goldfinches are an increasingly common sight in our gardens and this winter has been no exception. The BTO’s Garden BirdWatch (GBW) has revealed that Goldfinches were seen in a record 61% of gardens towards the end of December, compared to an average of 52% over the last decade. This increase in Goldfinches is being investigated through the Goldfinch Feeding Survey, the aim of which is to determine what it is that attracts them into gardens. The results so far show that sunflower hearts are the most popular food type in gardens, with 40% more records than nyger seed.

Clare Simm, the Goldfinch Feeding Survey organiser said, "Thousands of people have taken part in our survey so far, providing us with valuable information about what might be behind the dramatic increase in the garden Goldfinch population. We’re also interested in how the feeding habits of Goldfinches changes over the winter, and with the survey running until the end of February, there’s still time for people to take part!"