Comments on: Chaffinch Fact Sheet

By: Trish

Trish — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:14:53 +0000

What a lovely story. It goes to show that birds take advantage of all sorts of ways to get food. But Mallards! It must have been lovely for you

By: Fred Mason

Fred Mason — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:17:00 +0000

By the way, just took a couple of photos of a white bird in my back garden in Cumbria which I believe is a chaffinch/greenfinch. How do I post a pic?

By: Fred Mason

Fred Mason — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:15:03 +0000

I had a couple mallards visiting when I lived in a remote cottage in Scotland. They would fly in for bread cubes every day which eventually they ate from my hand., but when I didn’t see them arrive the female would waddle around the cottage and jump up on the window sill to the living room where I was sitting and tap until I went around to the front door and fed them.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:45:33 +0000

I had a friend who had a similar experience. A male chaffinchwhich repeatedly flew up to and pecked at the windows as though there was something it was asking for. It performed this behaviour for weeks on end….

By: Trish

Trish — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:21:10 +0000

Hi, thanks for getting in touch. This is really interesting. I have never, ever heard of such a thing!

I’m amazed. This chaffinch is using it’s brain and realises that it can see you through windows. It is following you round the house!

I’ll never call anyone bird brain again.

Do you put bird food out. Could it be that it is trying to attract your attention because the bird feeders are empty. Maybe it is starving and wants food. That is the only explanation I can think of.

Many years ago I forgot to put bird food out for two days when it was really snowing. I was walking towards the gate and a bird was perched on top of the gate ‘spitting’ and ‘chirping’ frantically. As I walked towards it it just kept looking at me and ‘spitting and chirping’. That is the only way I can describe it.

I suddenly remembered I had forgotten the bird food. I quickly put some out and my garden was full of birds.

That is one reason I can think of.

Another reason is that for some unexplicable reason it has become attached to you and your family.

Has anyone else any ideas?

I have put this as a post and am going to ask on some bird forums that I belong to.

Will be in touch. Trisha

By: peter egan

peter egan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:55:26 +0000

For the last two years we have had a male Chaffinch coming to our windows and pecking on them as if wanting to attract our attention. Strange thing is he only pecks at a window if he can see us so if we are not in one of the downstairs rooms he flies to the upstairs windows till he finds us then starts pecking away? If we go towards the window he flies off but comes back almost immediatley. Have you heard of this before?

By: Trish

Trish — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:29:48 +0000

I don’t know! I’ve never ever heard of one, but will ask around

Can I ask what you have seen to make you ask this question. Trisha

By: Mike Jones

Mike Jones — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:59:42 +0000

Is there such a bird as a White chaffinch