Greenfinch
| Irish Name: | Glasán darach |
| Scientific name: | Chloris chloris |
| Bird Family: | Finches |
amber
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Resident. One of Ireland's top-20 most widespread garden birds.
Identification
A robust finch, with large head, massive bill and shortish tail. The plumage of both sexes is a mixture of greens and greys with splashes of bright yellow - the female being duller, browner and showing faint streaks. The tail is forked, dark at the tip and centre and yellow on the sides. Bill very thick at base, pale, with a pinkish tinge. Legs slightly fleshy pink. In spring, sings from high perch or in wavering songflight over territory. Found mainly in farmland and around towns and parks. A common garden bird, often occurring in large flocks.
Voice
Song a jumble of bubbly notes and trills, interspersed with a coarse, wheezy "raspberry" sound. Call a single "chupp", sometimes repeated.
Diet
Seeds, split grain, buds and some insects, especially when feeding young. Will use peanut feeder.
Breeding
Breeds throughout Ireland - in hedgerows, parks and gardens. Nest, of coarse dead grass and small twigs, well concealed, quite high in hedge.
Wintering
Widespread. Regularly visiting peanut feeders with other finches in suburban and rural areas. Resident birds most likely joined by wintering Greenfinches from continental Europe.
Monitored by
Common and widespread throughout Ireland
Resident throughout the year.
Blog posts about this bird
BirdWatch Ireland calls for stronger wildlife legislation and enforcement in public consultation
In recent weeks, BirdWatch Ireland welcomed the opportunity to help shape the future of wildlife legislation by making a submission to the public consultation on the review and update of Ireland’s wildlife laws.
This consultation was the first in a multi-stage process aimed at strengthening legislation to better protect biodiversity. Our submission contains many recommendations for legislative changes that support biodiversity, align with EU law and are practical and easily understood by all.
We advocated for change under 12 main headings:
- Wildlife legislation must be compliant with the Nature Directives
- Points relating to the Wildlife Act (as amended)
- Penalties for breaches of Wildlife legislation
- Birds and Habitats Regulations 2011
- Hedgerows
- The need for legislation to support a Wildlife Crime Unit
- Poison
- Open Seasons Order
- The taking of Peregrine chicks from the wild.
- Invasive and non-native species
- Technologies
- Predator control
Celebrate hedgerows and their place in our heritage and biodiversity protection this National Hedgerow Week
By Rosalind Skillen
Living walls of green, hedgerows are part of the fabric of the Irish countryside. They punctuate fields and roadsides, pulsate with life and activity, and sometimes centuries old, remind us of our rural heritage.
The role of hedgerows in biodiversity is sometimes overlooked, but essential. Hedgerows maintain and sustain wildlife diversity. They provide nesting sites, food and shelter for many bird species, including the Yellowhammer, a Red-listed Species of Conservation Concern, and Amber-listed species such as Greenfinch and Linnet.
National Hedgerow Week 2024
This week marks National Hedgerow Week in Ireland. A programme of free events is taking place across the country between Friday 30th August and Friday 6th September 2024. These events are focused on how to plant and manage hedgerows to maximise the benefits for biodiversity, climate and farmers. Speaking at the launch event for National Hedgerow Week 2024 in Birr Castle, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan T.D. highlighted the cultural and historical significance of hedgerows: "Ireland’s hedgerows are not just a feature of our landscape; they are a living link to our past. These ancient boundaries tell the stories of our ancestors and provide a unique habitat that is central to our biodiversity. Protecting them is not just an environmental imperative but a cultural one." Minister Noonan’s comments remind us that hedgerows are more than ecological assets; they mark the passage of generations, with the lives of farmers and wildlife intertwined among their branches. However, without adequate protection, hedgerows, and the species that they protect, will be nothing more than a memory of the land.The Wildlife Acts and hedge cutting
We know that hedgerow protection is something BirdWatch Ireland members care about. BirdWatch Ireland provides a public information service via our phone and email lines, and queries around hedge cutting make up the majority of those we receive. In a 2019 survey of BirdWatch Ireland branches, “the deteriorating quality of hedgerows as habitats for birds and other wildlife due to inappropriate management, illegal cutting and removal” was voted the second highest concern for nature. Cutting back hedges during the nesting season can result in the destruction and/or disturbance of nesting sites of these and many other wild bird species. Disturbance alone may lead an adult bird to abandon a nest, leaving the eggs and chicks within likely to succumb to starvation or predation. Under the Wildlife Acts, it is against the law to cut, burn or otherwise destroy vegetation including hedges between 1st March and 31st August. The reason for the hedge-cutting ban is to prevent disturbance and destruction of nesting sites of many of our wild bird species. However, there are several exemptions under this legislation which permit hedge-cutting during the closed period, for example, in the case of road safety concerns. Additionally, if such work is carried out in the “ordinary course of agriculture”, it has blanket exemption. This year, the NPWS clarified that “horticulture” falls under the definition of “agriculture”, which would mean that the cutting of garden hedges is also exempt. This recent clarification from the NPWS is cause for concern for us as it is now our understanding that hedgerows have no true legal protection whatsoever. As hedgerows do not occur naturally and all originate as deliberate agricultural or horticultural planting, it appears hedgerows have no true legal protection as any possible manner of cutting falls under an exemption. This is a major shortcoming of the Wildlife Acts and one that is in contradiction of our requirements under the EU Birds Directive. Hedgerows are protected under the EU Habitats Directive if they are breeding sites or resting places for strictly protected species (listed on Annex IV Habitats Directive) or if they are part of protected habitat types (Annex I) or habitats of protected species (Annex II) designated as Natura 2000-sites. There are also EU farm subsidy-linked standards that give hedgerows protection as landscape features that cannot be interfered with or removed. Where removal is necessary, an equivalent length of new hedgerow must be planted in advance. Support National Hedgerow Week by:- Raising your concerns about hedgerow cutting with your local councillor or TD
- Attending one of the free events as part of National Hedgerow Week 2024
- Submitting a response to the Government review of Ireland’s wildlife legislation, and its failure to effectively protect Irish hedgerows and wild birds
