All that glitters

Be charmed by one of our most exotic-looking garden birds...

I was talking to our chief exec this week and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a movement outside his window. We both took a moment to watch the lonesome goldfinch feasting on the seeds buried within the teasel heads in the garden outside his office. Just for a moment or two, we did that beautiful thing...paused to watch the natural world.

I imagine that this is something we share with you. If not, I recommend it. It doesn't have to be for long but just pausing and taking notice of what's going on - whether a shrew squeaking from the undergrowth, a skylark singing from on high or a bee buzzing away in a flower - helps to ground you and bring you back to the here and now, away from whatever cares and worries you may have. It becomes that bit easier if you're able to take a few steps to help nature where you live or work.

Goldfinches are a great example. With their striking plumage, you'd be forgiven for thinking that they're just here on their hols from places far more exotic than the UK. First recorded in England in the Anglo-Saxon period, numbers more recently (1995-2023) have increased by 152%. According to the British Trust for Ornithology this has been accompanied by an increase in the use of gardens by goldfinches during winter. Whilst many people put out food, even more are planting the right kind of shrubs and leaving the seedheads uncut during winter, providing lovely sculptural features and helping wildlife at the same time.

A goldfinch sitting on a teaselhead. The bird has a red face, with a cream curve behind the eye, a mainly gold-beige body/feathers and a flash of bright yellow amongst black on the edges of the wings

We often don't take the time to study individual species but taking a closer look at the bills of birds will give you a clue as to what they like to eat. Take the long, fine beak of a goldfinch, for example. This is perfect for extracting seeds from thistles, teasels, ragworts, dandelions and more. Leave your lavender uncut once its flowered and you might attract these colourful birds to your flower beds. If you wander along a public footpath or your local greenspace, you'll probably see landowners cutting back and clearing away the vegetation at this time of year? This is where your gardens (or community spaces if you have some influence) can really make a difference for our wildlife; plant the right things and don't be too tidy! If you've got space, perhaps you can even persuade them to stay and breed by adding a hedge rather than a fence and a silver birch or rowan tree. They like nesting in areas of scattered trees and shrubs so try to provide different structures in your garden.

If you're lucky enough to attract these dazzling birds to your garden, listen for them chattering to each other in a nearby tree or bush. Their bubbling and liquid-like sound gives them their collective noun of 'charm' - a fitting moniker.

Autumn is now well and truly here so keep a lookout for these charming feathered friends tucking into a seedhead near you. If you feed the birds and are delighted by your daily soap opera of action, don't forget to keep your feeders and water dishes clean to minimise the spread of disease.