Since we moved to Henlow in June 2002, the first week of the Beds Bird Club Summer Garden Bird survey has seen a new species added to our garden list. In 2003 it was a pair of Grey Partridge feeding on our front lawn and in 2004 it was a male Siskin visiting the peanut feeder. This year it was a male Brambling which joined the local Chaffinch flock and fed on seed that had been put out on the shed roof. It was first seen on Saturday morning (26th March) and was present regularly throughout the day, usually in the company of Chaffinches but once on its own for 10 minutes. It even fed during the heavy rain in the afternoon. At one point we had four species of finch feeding in the garden, Brambling, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinch). The Brambling also visited other nearby gardens that put out food for the birds. It was seen briefly on Sunday 27th March.
It was a male Brambling, moulting from winter to summer plumage. It was noticeably larger than accompanying Chaffinches. The bill was pale with a dark tip and its head was mostly black but heavily mottled with brown/grey. The breast was pale orange and clearly separated from the white belly. This was a very noticeable feature when the bird was perched facing you. The upper scapulars were a similar colour to the breast while the lower ones were paler but not quite white. The back was mottled like the head. The rump was a large white oblong and the most noticeable feature when the bird flew.
It seemed to favour the stripy sunflower seeds, which it picked up flat. With a flick of its head, it turned the seed until it was held on its thin edges and then cracked the husk between its mandibles. The seed was then dropped and the seed heart eaten.
It was a male Brambling, moulting from winter to summer plumage. It was noticeably larger than accompanying Chaffinches. The bill was pale with a dark tip and its head was mostly black but heavily mottled with brown/grey. The breast was pale orange and clearly separated from the white belly. This was a very noticeable feature when the bird was perched facing you. The upper scapulars were a similar colour to the breast while the lower ones were paler but not quite white. The back was mottled like the head. The rump was a large white oblong and the most noticeable feature when the bird flew.
It seemed to favour the stripy sunflower seeds, which it picked up flat. With a flick of its head, it turned the seed until it was held on its thin edges and then cracked the husk between its mandibles. The seed was then dropped and the seed heart eaten.
