The last time you saw a Greenfinch (1 Viewer)

Torchepot said:

A very detailed study here

http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1604/2852

From which "The index case of finch trichomonosis occurred in a chaffinch in Ayrshire, Scotland, April 2005"

Does this mean that the disease in finches originated in the UK - or are there European records which appear earlier?

Answering my own questions again - from the same study:-

"We have recently documented the apparent spread of finch trichomonosis from Great Britain to continental Europe [15], which also indicates that the initial emergence of the disease occurred on the British mainland."

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Interesting that they make this statement and yet I posted here and to the BTO, for info as to where I may report our Russian outbreak. No one seemed to know but someone must be collating records?



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If it's true that the disease jumped species in the UK it's perhaps reasonable to speculate that our national bird feeding culture (obsession?) may have brought Greenfinches and pigeon species together in close proximity and over large parts of the country to unprecedented levels, given that hygiene at bird feeding sites will vary it seems likely that this was the route of the cross-species infection.

It's impossible to know but I wondered whether the huge increase in numbers of Woodpigeon visiting gardens might have been a factor? When I was a kid we had plenty of Greenfinches and feral pigeons at our bird table but I never saw Woodpigeons in anybody's garden until much more recently. In my family's gardens in Bristol, London and Nottinghamshire they appear to have largely displaced feral pigeons - I actually struggled to find suburban feral pigeons in a couple of areas in Bristol where they used to occur (rather worryingly in both the gardens in Bristol where my family have been feeding birds for decades Greenfinches are no longer visitors).

Following this train of thought I came across this report

https://www.researchgate.net/public...richomoniasis_in_a_woodpigeon_wintering_roost

If Trichomoniasis was already widespread in Woodpigeons would such a high mortality be expected? Is it possible that the European population of Woodpigeon was subject to an epidemic which was then brought to the UK and transferred to Greenfinches?

There's a loose correlation in the timeline - 2001 for the Woodpigeon outbreak and 2005 for the first confirmed infected Greenfinches (there were suspected cases in the couple of years before).

On the BBC today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43349781

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andyadcock said:

On the BBC today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43349781

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Great that the subject is aired to the general public. The full report is interesting and well worth a read. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/1745/20170091

Mary said:

Great that the subject is aired to the general public. The full report is interesting and well worth a read. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/1745/20170091

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I've approached the BTO yet again, to ask where I should report our outbreak, still no answer?

You would like to think that as this problem has clearly spread wide and far, that there would be a reporting mechanism in place or at least, someone would be collating reports of outbreaks?


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confirmed single greenfinch today, top of sycamores

Several today, southeast Northumbs :t:

A sign of the times....this am a plague of Greenfinches atop tall birch (4!!!) then displaced by 9 Hawfinch!

Paul Chapman said:

.... I believe that they have bounced back a little this year....

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I have definitely noticed this around my area and local patch in North London. Every morning on my walk to the station I see or hear several birds when I never used to encounter them. I also counted upwards of 20 at my local patch the other week when it used to be rare to see more than one.

Is this a case of Greenfinches making a mini-comeback or could it just be an eruption of wintering birds?

MK90 said:

Is this a case of Greenfinches making a mini-comeback or could it just be an eruption of wintering birds?

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I suspect they have a bit too. Worth adding, Bullfinches have made a big come-back in the last 2-3 years, they're quite common now :t:

Nutcracker said:

I suspect they have a bit too. Worth adding, Bullfinches have made a big come-back in the last 2-3 years, they're quite common now :t:

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Not in Nottingham, I have one sighting of Bullfinch in 20 years from my garden and Greenfinches are notably absent, Goldfinches are very common now and seem to have replaced Greenfinches.

I think and as mentioned above, many of the Greenfinches around at the moment, are migrants, we lose all our Greenfinches over the Russian winter.

Collared Doves are not as numerous as they were either in my area of Nottingham, Wood Pigs are abundant.



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andyadcock said:

Not in Nottingham, I have one sighting of Bullfinch in 20 years from my garden and Greenfinches are notably absent, Goldfinches are very common now and seem to have replaced Greenfinches.

I think and as mentioned above, many of the Greenfinches around at the moment, are migrants, we lose all our Greenfinches over the Russian winter.

Collared Doves are not as numerous as they were either in my area of Nottingham, Wood Pigs are abundant.

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Odd about Bullfinches for you! Same with Goldfinch though, the commonest finch here now.

Collared Doves have all but disappeared around me - very rare now, though I don't have to go far (~2 km) to start seeing them again. Masses of Wood Pigeons of course, also good numbers of Stock Doves (I'd guess 4-5 times commoner than Collared Doves).