Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

A common bird in the countryside and many house gardens. Their numbers have been hit in recent times (since 2005) by a disease called Trichomonosis. The trichomonad parasite lives in the upper digestive tract of the bird, and its actions progressively block the bird’s throat, making it unable to swallow food. The bird dies from starvation.

It eats seeds of all sizes including peanuts, this is due to the size of it’s bill. It is often in large flocks over agricultural land as well as in residential gardens. They nest in thick shrubs laying 4 - 6 eggs which hatch after 13 days.

These photographs were taken from a hide which enabled close up images showing the fine feather detail. For action shots use a fast shutter speed and set the capture mode on the camera to CH (continuous high). When the birds in in flight use a tripod with a movable head such as a wimberley and track the bird shooting continuously or as required.