Linnet

Linnet  Carduelis cannabina

In winter this small finch has a dark pointed bill, long wings and a forked tail.  The upperparts are uniform warm brown, and the underparts are buff with dark streaks.  The head is a grey colour, with pale areas above and below the eye.  Perhaps the most distinctive feature, though, is the white flashes on the primaries and tail, more so in flight.

Flight is undulating and flitting.  When not feeding on the ground, birds perch on low bushes and fences.  In winter, flocks of linnets can be large and it is at this time of the year that they associate with other finch flocks making comparisons interesting for the birdwatcher.

Calls are 'tsooeet', and flight call is 'chichichichit'. Also the musical fluty twittering song can sometimes be heard in winter.

Birds can be found on stubble and set aside fields.

Goldcest

Wintertime is always a good time to see small woodland birds as the trees are now denuded of leaves and, as in the case of the tits, form mixed flocks. The goldcrest, our smallest bird (8.5-9cm), is one bird that attaches itself to these flocks of great, long-tailed, blue, coal, marsh and willow ( the later now very rare) tits.

 It has a small black pointed bill, black eye, whitish underparts, green upperparts and a short tail. The most distinguishing feature, though, is the yellow/orange crest on the male bird, and yellow on the female, which is black-edged - from this the goldcrest  gets its name. Other features are two white wing bars and a dark band on the wings and dark legs.

The call is a persistent high 'zi-zi-zi' which is uttered while birds flit through the trees in search of food - which can be heard in winter, and a good way to locate them. The song, which again can be heard in winter months, is a 'cedar-cedar-cedar-sissi-pee and is likened to the coal tit's and even tree creeper songs,

Goldcrests can be found in association with tit flocks in woods, gardens and any wooded area especially where there are conifers.

It is the acrobatic behaviour of goldcrests that delights the birdwatcher as it flits from twig to twig and tree to tree looking for its diet of spiders and insects.