Nature Notes with Graham Workman: Spring is sprung...ish

And one of them is the chaffinch Fringilla coelebs.

It is one of our most common and widespread birds so as usual you hear "oh, it’s just a Chaffinch" from birders.

Well on our usual woodland wander this morning (with my best pal Magnus a German short-haired pointer) a male chaffinch was singing his little heart out and he was doing a fine job: loud and long.

A singing male will utter his song an unbelievable five or six times a minute, and up to 3,000 times a day.

It was a real "spring is on its way" moment when he was pumping away notes everywhere.

To me chaffinch are superb smallish birds; not too showy and really a bird that fits in all habitats.

They were originally woodland birds but are now just as characteristic of farmland, wetland areas if bushes and trees are in the reeds and suburban gardens; hence its being a "common bird."

The male is noticeable.It doesn’t have a brash or harsh plumage but an easily appreciated subtlety and the female is just as good-looking in a similar way.

Its patterned plumage helps it to blend in when feeding on the ground and it becomes most obvious when it flies, revealing a flash of white on the wings and white outer tail feathers.

Here are some factoids that you may find interesting

An old country name for the chaffinch is Batchelor Bird because in winter all-male chaffinch flocks are quite common: The Boys' Club!

Our native birds get a boost in winter when chaffinch visitors from Scandinavia drop in for a while.

Chaffinches were first introduced into New Zealand in 1862, initially becoming established in the Canterbury area and now are the most common bird in New Zealand.

Chaffinches have been found to have regional accents, with slight differences in the typical song depending on where in the country the bird lives.

Up here in North West England it would be the bird version of "ey up lad, ther’s trouble in’t mill."

The chaffinch's song is a symphony that fills the air with melodic notes.

Described as cheerful and lively, the male's song is a combination of trills, chirps, and whistles. The song serves both as a territorial declaration to rival males and an alluring serenade to attract females.

Though the male’s song is a short and simple repetition of notes ending in a flourish, the Victorians greatly valued its ability as a songster, and huge numbers were trapped annually for the cage bird trade.

Singing matches between male chaffinches were regularly held with the winner being the bird considered to have sung the most phrases in a 15-minute period.

Money was put on the table for the best singer, and the cash prize could be as much as £25 – a small fortune then.

Trapping chaffinches for the cage-bird trade was finally outlawed in 1896.