Finches largely spend the summer catching insects and their larvae to feed themselves and their chicks. Insects are a lot harder to come by in the winter but finches are adaptable with their diet and can utilise their large beaks to feed on seeds over the winter. This means they are able to survive our winters, particularly if we give them a helping hand by feeding them in the garden.  

There are a considerable number of finch species that have been recorded in the UK but a good number of these have never occurred in Gwent as they are just rare migrants or vagrants. In this blog we will concentrate on the species you have a good chance of seeing here in Gwent.  

There are a total of 13 finch species that have been recorded within the county. Nine of these regularly breed here, one is a regular winter visitor, and one an occasional visitor. Two have only been recorded once – the Common Rosefinch and Common Redpoll. 

The nine breeding finch species are: Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Crossbill and Hawfinch. Bramblings are regular winter visitors and Twite are seen occasionally.    

How to identify the finches? 

This blog cannot possibly deal with the identification of all these species, so reference to a good field-guide is recommended. Nevertheless, the finches have some colourful and distinctive features to look out for that will help you tell them apart.

Finch features

Finches are relatively small birds. Our smallest, the Siskin, is not much bigger than our familiar Blue Tit but finches range in size up to the Hawfinch, which is noticeably larger than the House Sparrows in the garden. If you get a good look you will see finches have stout bills, similar to sparrows and the closely related buntings. Conveniently some of them are very aptly named, for instance the Greenfinch is indeed very green (although the females are less so and Siskins also have much green in their plumage) and Goldfinches have gold (bright yellow), although it is only on their wings. Also the Crossbill’s beak is indeed crossed over, an ingenious adaption for tweezing conifer seeds out of cones. Chaffinches and Bramblings can often be confused in the winter, however if a flock takes off in front of you, look out for the distinctive white rump of the Brambling as it flies away.     

Where and when to see them?        

Most of the species are with us all year round, although for all they are quite possibly most numerous in winter and on migration as their numbers are boosted by birds moving south and west to escape the worst of the weather further north. Chaffinch and Goldfinch are perhaps the species most likely to turn up in your garden, particularly if you feed the birds. Greenfinch are now sadly not as common in gardens as they once were, as they are particularly vulnerable to Trichmoniasis disease. It is very important to keep your bird-feeding stations regularly cleaned to control the spread of this. Siskin are, however, an increasingly familiar garden bird and if we are lucky the Bullfinch or even Brambling may visit the garden. The others may necessitate a trip out into the great Gwent countryside; see our guide below for more details.