Goldfinch is racing up the birdwatching charts in Scots gardens

A DISTINCTIVE red-faced bird that was once rarely seen in gardens in Scotland has become one of the most commonly spotted species, new figures show.

There have been eight times as many sightings of goldfinch in Scotland over the past year as there were 16 years ago, when the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) records began.

Whereas in 1995 the small bird, which has bright yellow flashes on its wings, was seen in just 6 per cent of gardens taking part in the conservation charity’s Garden BirdWatch survey, last year it was seen in 49 per cent, making it the 12th most commonly seen species in Scotland.

BTO experts say the change is due to a recent trend for putting out food such as nyjer seed and sunflower hearts.

These foods are luring them away from their traditional farmland habitats, where seeds are scarce at this time of year, and into gardens.

Dr Tim Harrison, Garden BirdWatch development officer, said: “What we are seeing with goldfinch is that we are attracting them into gardens with relatively new feeds and feeders that have only really become common in the last decade or so.

“At this time of year, the seeds that are produced naturally are depleted, so we see a lot of seed-eating birds coming into garden, with a peak in April.”

The increase mirrored that across the UK as a whole, where the goldfinch was seen in 58 per cent of gardens in 2011, compared with 12 per cent in 1995.

In Scotland, the blackbird remains at the top of the list as it was in 1995, seen in 89 per cent of gardens. The blue tit held on to its position in second place and the chaffinch remained in third position.

However, the robin, also attracted by the new seeds being put out by bird lovers, has risen from sixth position in 1995 to fourth position in 2011.

The house sparrow, which was in fourth position in 1995, dropped to fifth position. However, Dr Harrison pointed out that it was faring better in Scotland than in the UK as a whole.

Whereas in Scotland the house sparrow was seen in 71 per cent of gardens last year, in the UK as a whole it dropped from third position to ninth, being seen in 64 per cent of gardens.

Dr Harrison said: “The house sparrow decline has been high-profile, but they are doing better in Scotland than in England.

“They actually had a reasonably good year in 2011 compared to previous years. Yes it’s a red listed species of high conservation concern and there’s long-term decline, but at least 2011 was quite a good year for them.”

Another species that has struggled in the past 16 years is the greenfinch, dropping from fifth position in Scotland to tenth, and seen in just 56 per cent of gardens.

This is thought largely due to the disease trichomonosis, caused by a parasite that spreads through saliva.

Despite the decline, greenfinch were still seen in a higher percentage of gardens in Scotland than in England and Wales.

The data is compiled using weekly observations from 14,500 volunteers across the UK and is analysed by BTO researchers.