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Post by accipiter on May 7, 2017 18:19:36 GMT
Helen I hope you do not mind but I have posted your question posed in bird of the day here has I feel any questions can be all too easily overlooked there.
It is a bit early for young green finches to be on the wing as they normally start to lay late April / early May or though your bird could well be sick or even have trichomoniasis – canker. This disease is caught at unclean feeders green finches are a common victim as are doves and pigeons that then pass it on through beak to beak contact either through courtship or when feeding their young as their food is regurgitated.
It can also be caught at bird baths through saliva so it is good practice to keep these dry for a week or two, of course any disease well have been caught elsewhere and most probably was Helen.
Birds present as fluffed up plumage and wet around the face and beak, the bird is then unable to swallow and die in the end from starvation.
It is also too early for Sparrowhawks to be feeding young who normally lay mid-May however a male could be well feeding its hen in order for it to gain weight for egg laying and her moult. Unfortunately trichomoniasis can also be passed on to raptors where it is called frounce although the lesions are still confined to the throat.
Alan
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Post by NellyDee on May 8, 2017 7:40:38 GMT
Thanks Alan for info. This is the bird in question. I first noticed it drinking from the bird bath, which does have to be filled every day (it is actually hot and sunny) it then went to the sunflower heart feeder and seemed to feed then flew up on to the stand with fat balls (usually has fat squares on it) reading your info it does look as if it has trichomoniasis. Hope by the sparrow hawk getting it, it does not get passed on to its mate. I was trying to get a photo as I had not seen a Greefinch here for ages and they did not breed well last year.  Greenfinch by Helen Skelton, on Flickr |
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Post by accipiter on May 8, 2017 20:15:02 GMT
Only too pleased to help Helen, I have quite a bit of activity at my bird bath here too at the moment which I clean and scrub every day.
It is hard to say what is wrong with your bird if anything,as your photo is a wee bit blurred it could be just off colour and nothing more, time will tell as they say but if it was something more serious such as trichomoniasis it certainly would not be still feeding unless it is still in the early stages. I have only seen dead birds with this awful disease which normally show traces of food still on and around the bill whilst the chest is soaking wet from its continuous dribbling.
Not that it matters much but your bird is not a juvenile these are even duller then females and distinctly streaked above and below, I cannot say I have even seen a greenfinch on my patch for years or bullfinches although chaffinches are extremely common here.
Alan
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