# ID help please RSPB Birdwatch



## zim (Jan 29, 2017)

Hi,
Just done the UK RSPB Birdwatch and I have a couple of birds I need help with, nothing exotic I just don't know birds!
Unfortunately the RSPB web site bird identifier seems a bit rubbish.

The pics were taken for ID purposes only and through glass at an angle so no image critiques please! ;D

I think they are a Bullfinch and some kind of Crow

Thanks in advance!


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## Steve Dmark2 (Jan 29, 2017)

1. Bull finch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
2. I don't if this is the correct english word: Jackdaw, but it is a Corvus monedula

Cheers


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## zim (Jan 29, 2017)

Cheers Steve,

A Jackdaw!! cool, checking images on google there are lots of them around here with more pronounced dark heads (like a wig ;D ) and slightly lighter bodies, cheeky buggers. Only saw one this morning though.

Thanks again
Regards


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## DominoDude (Jan 29, 2017)

I haven't seen Bullfinches in many many years, but they are quite unique in their appearance. You spotted a good male one, Zim!
And the Jackdaw is also correctly ID:ed by Steve.

It's one of my favourite birds, you see them on a daily basis around here. If you get close to them they look like this ->


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## zim (Jan 29, 2017)

Ha DominoDude your avi is one! thanks for the confirmation

Funny thing abut the Bullfinch, don't think I've ever seen on until three years ago (a bit later into spring) when a whole flock of them appeared on street lighting cables outside my house then they proceeded to raid a berry tree in the garden it was a lovely sight never saw them again though, then last year I saw a pair in next doors apple tree eating up all the young buds. This year the one photographed popped early and just as I was doing the bird watch thing, sheer luck.

Makes me want to have a bash at getting a good image, I'm off to google what their fav food is ;D

Thanks again
Regards


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## DominoDude (Jan 29, 2017)

zim said:


> Ha DominoDude your avi is one! thanks for the confirmation
> 
> Funny thing abut the Bullfinch, don't think I've ever seen on until three years ago (a bit later into spring) when a whole flock of them appeared on street lighting cables outside my house then they proceeded to raid a berry tree in the garden it was a lovely sight never saw them again though, then last year I saw a pair in next doors apple tree eating up all the young buds. This year the one photographed popped early and just as I was doing the bird watch thing, sheer luck.
> 
> ...



Yupp, the avatar is even the same bird, but I walked around it to shoot from the other direction and closer.

The Bullfinches love Rowan-berries and Hawthorns. We used to toss out apples that had started to turn bad, that went down well with them. As they are finches with a typical beak suitable for seeds, those are also good. But they are not interested in oats or barley.
Typically I saw Bullfinches and Waxwings when winters were really harsh and cold - like we had in my part of Sweden in the late 60's and during a few winters in the 70's.


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## scyrene (Jan 29, 2017)

DominoDude said:


> zim said:
> 
> 
> > Ha DominoDude your avi is one! thanks for the confirmation
> ...



Bullfinches also love weed seeds, so brambles, wild raspberries, nettles, and so on are good (they're after the fat-rich seeds, not the flesh, so all the dried uneaten fruits in winter are ideal). They also famously eat tree buds into the spring, for which they used to be persecuted, as they damaged fruit crops. They are generally quiet and don't draw attention to themselves, despite being large and the males especially brightly coloured. Always great to see 

The jackdaw's key feature here is its pale eye, usually visible in photographs. The only other British crow that has a pale iris is the jay, and that is a totally different-looking bird (not black, for a start!). They are also the smallest of the black crows here (again the jay is smaller), and make a distinctive laughing, yelping call, rather than cawing. They tend to flock, and are found widely, even in quite urban locations.


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## AlanF (Jan 29, 2017)

In five years, I have only twice seen a bullfinch. You are very lucky to have one in your garden.


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## zim (Jan 29, 2017)

Cool, thanks for all the reply's and food info guys
Really going to make an effort to photograph that bullfinch properly now. Not sure if I'll see it again though but given it's a bit early this year and I'd be surprised given the last two years that there is only one I think I have a decent chance, fingers crossed! 

Regards all


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