The Goldfinch Convention...Carnoustie 2012

Wow,30! that's some crowd you got going there!

would love to see those in my garden, how lovely!!

Great picture...they look like grass seed heads in the thumbnail.

I would have loved to have seen this Karen! :)))

What a treat for you. If that had been last weekend, the count would have come in unusually high for Carnoustie! I have about eight regulars but would love to see a flock like this. They are so beautiful.
Lucky you!

The name for a group of goldfinches is 'a charm of goldfinches'. Isn't that perfect?

I wonder what the group name for GoYers is??? would that be a charm???

Lucky you ... we rarely see a Goldfinch around here ... good photo ... :o)

What a sight Karen, I'm happy when I see one of these beauties, you lucky thing :-))

that's really nice Karen.

Thanks everyone...no sign of any yet today, but I would estimate that there were approximately 70 of them in the garden yesterday. I got quite a shock when i looked up from my reading and saw them all! :)) Then, about 10 minutes later, they were joined by a flock of Starlings that must have spotted them feeding. The starlings didn't stay long, but the finches stayed for a long time. It was like something out of Hitchcock when the finches and the starlings were all here together! :))

You did well Karen getting that photo!

fantastic karen, so many, beautifull :o))

wow, shades of Hitchcock ...

lol just seen that you beat me to it. but wow, what a sight the whole tree-full of them must have been.

I thought that's what they were, Pim, and had to come in to find what kind of plant that was!

You lucky thing - brill!!!!

Brill pic Karen...:>)

Super picture Karen...I get a few of these but not this many!

Lovely birds, we have not get many at all yet this year, think it is still too cold for them to feed. But it could be the Harris Hawk that is flying around that has put all the birds off. It has been here for weeks now and no-one seems to know where it has come from it must be frightening the little birds silly.

Yes. I think we must have had a sparrowhawk because the bird food was still here when we got back from St Lucia, and all the birds had disappeared. I managed to lure them back with sunflower hearts! :) Always does the job!

Funny you should say that Oliveoil last year we had a pair of really large birds of prey circling the trees opposite us,probably looking for somewhere to nest as it was that time of year, making a right racket,Rob had the binoculars out but couldn't make out what they were, the next day they'd gone and haven't seen them since, never did find out what they where, but never seen any as large round here before.

could be a good sign, the numbers are increasing and so they need to go to new places, and new types of places, to find a nesting site, if not a territory of their own.

We have so many Buzzards around here. I love to see them, but I am amazed at how many I see. I remember when I was little, a bird of prey would have been a really rare sight. Now they are just everywhere. I think some days I see one every two fields, just sitting on the fence posts!

shows what can happen when people are educated that taking birds' eggs is not a good thing. There can't be too many, natural selection would sort that out, so if there's so many thriving, that must be how many the local environment can support. more pics, please! *s*

Sounds like Buzzards those ones Simbad we had four two parents and two youngsters circling over the wood too. This is definitely a Harris Hawk, someone lost it or released it - not native to this country. Shame because think it will die as it has had its ability to hunt for itself taken away from it, it has jessies on its legs so it is most likely a lost bird. Rung around police stations and nothing been reported but I suppose if you can no longer afford to look after them they have taken the easy option and just released it to let it fend for itself. They never think that they just cannot look out for themselves. I have tried luring it down into a humane trap but it didn't want to know. Have a friend who tried to lure it out of the trees but it didn't want to know that either. Not seen it since we had all the snow so am wondering if it is still alive.Beautiful bird lovely to see it sat on top of my electricity pole. Very funny one day when it rained on it (well funny to see not for it) it was sat with its wings just spread out wondering what on earth all that water was descending on it. Hope it is still ok.

if you see it again, maybe the RSPB might be able to do something. It might not have been reported lost because it might not have been a legally kept bird - but if those jesses get tangled up in trees, it's got no chance

I know Fran, just what I was saying to my friend. Very concerned for its welfare. I rang a centre that flies hawks and shows birds of prey at country fairs etc. but they have not got back in touch. Hoping it is safe somewhere.

fingers crossed ...

Oh what a shame Oliveoil, why not just hand it in at a vets or somewhere no excuse these days is there,unless of course as you say its lost, poor thing, I hope its safe too.
Aaaah well mystery solved then Rob did think maybe buzzards, but didn't think we'd get them here.
We did have a bit of uproar in the garden last week, a couple of kestrels fighting, they landed on the grass right beside where I was gardening, making a right noise,obviously a territorial thing, one was smaller, a youngish one, never seen anything like it, the smaller bird ended up cowering in the hedge while the other hovered above,he circled round all afternoon waiting for it to come out of hiding, only seen one since so they must have sorted it, we've always had one here ever since we've lived here, quite like to see them even though they do take a lot of the song birds, everything has a place:-)

Wow, that was quite something Kathy! I would have been a bit upset by that I think...but also felt a privilege to have seen them so close! :)

It certainly was Karen,not something you see everyday, nature can be cruel sometimes can't it, hopefully the younger bird escaped unharmed.

might have been a younger trying to carve out its own territory by infringing a bit on those round it - or a teen who didn't want to leave home and fend for itself?

No doubt, if the younger lives long enough, it'll get its own territory by outfighting the rivals - that's the way nature has to be, to keep the strongest on top of the breeding chain