Archived on 6/5/2022

Any ideas what type of garden bird this was?

Gillipops
3 May '20

Sooooo - I’ve very little knowledge when it comes to bird watching.

Yesterday, I was in the garden and this little bird flies in to drink from the water sink. It was tiny …the size of a blue tit, it had a yellow stripe down its side wings and a red oblong stripe on top of it’s head. I’ve Googled and it’s not a finch as they appear to have their whole face coloured red - and this was just a stripe…a bit like a punk woodpecker :rofl:. A flat-top red marking, not a mohican! Anyway it definitely was too small for a woodpecker…but the beak did seem a little different. It wasn’t a woodpecker tho!

Swagger
3 May '20

It sounds like a Yaffle.

marymck
3 May '20

Could it be a Goldcrest?

Or maybe a Firecrest?

Gillipops
3 May '20

it was the same shape as a gold crest and that stripe on it’s head looks the same …but the stripe on the head of the goldcrest looks…gold. This was a very red stripe.

Gillipops
3 May '20

Many thanks …Just Googled Swagger. Wrong shape tho…much smaller and rounder, it was more as marymck suggested a gold crest shape - however, with a very bright red stripe on it’s head.

marymck
3 May '20

Was it a deep dark red or orangey red? A male Firecrest can have a very orangey stripe.

Firecrest-head-1

Gillipops
3 May '20

It was oblong and post box pillar box red. Crimson red. Totally like an oblong, blood red.

Rosered
4 May '20

image

Redpoll?

hurljy
4 May '20

Could it have been a Goldfinch? I’ve seen a couple in my garden recently and your description sounds like it could be one of them.
image

Gillipops
4 May '20

It looked very similar to a goldfinch, indeed it did…but it’s whole face wasn’t red, just the top of it’s head. Maybe it was a goldfinch with different colouring from all the others…a freak of nature!

Gillipops
4 May '20

Noooo - It had a distinctive yellow streak down it’s side wings and not so speckly.

oakr
4 May '20

Possibly a juvenile goldfinch if they are hatched and out yet? I believe they don’t start with the whole face covered.

I think I saw a juvenile Robin yesterday which didn’t have the red colouring at all.

Gillipops
4 May '20

I think you could be right…!!!

Rosered
4 May '20

Fair enough! Have to say it sounds more like a goldfinch and I’ve see a lot of them around the area this year. They also chatter a lot!

reiver
5 May '20

Could be a firecrest although this would be a rare occurence

reiver
5 May '20

yes