Male Chaffinch

[alan45]

What's happening to all the male chaffinch's
i have not seen one this winter, there are plenty females about but no males
several people i have spoken to are saying the same they are far and few between, is it just here in the south west of scotland or is it the same all over
i miss there splash of colour in the winter garden.
...Alan.

[Ollie]

I'm in North Lincolnshire and can't say I have noticed any lack of male Chaffinch's I have a couple who frequent the garden on a regular basis and I've also seen a few males when out and about

[Dave66]

Hi Alan

I'm up in Argyll, plenty of male chaffinches up here. They slightly outnumber the females. I'll tell you what we don't have this winter, Goldfinches. I haven't had one in my garden for months now, plenty of Siskin's, I usually have 3 or 4 Blackbirds but with the weather I have 15 or 16 at the moment. Plenty of Blue,Great,Coal tits. Can't understand whats happened to the Gold finches, we usually have about 8 but not one this winter.

Dave.

[aeshna5]

Often the continental birds that winter here arrive in flocks that are male or female dominated, with the males tending not to travel so far.

The scientific name given by Linnaeus means bachelor finch.

[Jonsfotos]

Originally Posted by alan45

What's happening to all the male chaffinch's
i have not seen one this winter, there are plenty females about but no males
several people i have spoken to are saying the same they are far and few between, is it just here in the south west of scotland or is it the same all over
i miss there splash of colour in the winter garden.
...Alan.

Same here Alan, plenty of females - just the odd male.Had a Blackcap visit the feeder yesterday which is a first, hope it puts in another appearance soon.

Jon

[Dogghound]

Still plenty of both, although proportionally more females.

[Stinky Bob]

I am seeing the opposite, plenty of males and a dearth of females.

[SheffieldLass]

plenty of males and females here, about equal numbers of each. Plus one male brambling.

[Edster]

I think there's a couple of makes and 3 or 4 females in my garden at the moment. Never had ANY in my garden until I moved to this new house 3 weeks ago!

[alan45]

Thanks for the feedback guys, saw my first one today but it was gone before i could get my camera out.good luck with the black cap Jon.
...Alan