KenM
Well-known member
Interesting just checked Organbi for previous years
2017 - current - 2052
2016 - 0
2015 - 737
2014-2011 Less than 5 each year
Does represent a big increase...
Some amazing stats. rosbifs! :eek!:
Interesting just checked Organbi for previous years
2017 - current - 2052
2016 - 0
2015 - 737
2014-2011 Less than 5 each year
Does represent a big increase...
My aunt, in middle Finland, has said they have had an awful autumn - lots of rain and wind.
That would be good news, except I've not heard of any up this end of the country yet :-CAn invasion could be good news for the British breeding population, as I have understood this tends to be boosted by European immigrants (of course I can't find a source for that on-line...)
Ken is referring to Grey Squirrel as carolinensis. Its Scientific name is Sciurus carolinensis. As a result, he is suggesting that the Hawfinch decline is as a result of predation by Grey Squirrel.
All the best
If it's due to a shortage of their usual food sources, I suppose it's too much to hope that these notoriously fussy eaters may get the hint and realise that they are finches with massive bills that could eat pretty much anything if they were so inclined.
Could well be. There was a strong late frost (sometimes below –10 °C) in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany (and who knows further afield). Apples suffered badly and it's a very bad year for Rowan. Hawthorn, sloe and Guelder Rose look OK. Come to think of it I haven't seen any maple seeds... a Hawfinch staple. Must look tomorrow!If I remember rightly, they're listed as eating seeds of around 90 different species of trees and shrubs :t:
It's just that some years, everything has a duff crop - it doesn't happen often but it can. One cause is an abnormal late spring frost, just one cold night can kill the flowers of most plants.
I know our usual local wintering birds one had a ring on 2 winters back and was found to have come from the forest of dean
I know our usual local wintering birds one had a ring on 2 winters back and was found to have come from the forest of dean
If I remember rightly, they're listed as eating seeds of around 90 different species of trees and shrubs :t:
That makes their particular nature even harder to understand.