WE have reached the time of year when the winter visitors have all but departed and the influx of summer migrants is in full flow.

Around Worcester, as I sit and write this article, particularly on the wetlands along the Severn, wheatear, redstart, a ‘channel’ wagtail and osprey, to name but a few, are providing local birdwatchers with plenty of excitement and pleasure.

Over on Ronkswood Meadow Nature Reserve I am spending a good amount of time scouring the meadow and hedgerows looking for any similar such visitors, so far to no avail.

Last year I produced an article in March about my hopes for the upcoming spring and the migrants I might reasonably expect to breed on the patch or pass through.

I followed this up in June with the results. Rather than repeat what I have already written about, I’m going to choose a bird that is present all year round and that has been my favourite since childhood, the bullfinch.

A large rotund finch with a sturdy black bill, the male bullfinch is a strikingly plumaged individual. The black cap, light grey back and bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks are unmistakeable.

PINKY BROWN: The female bullfinch. The birds remain bonded as a pair for many years

PINKY BROWN: The female bullfinch. The birds remain bonded as a pair for many years

The female is a pinky-brown version of her mate while the juvenile (surprisingly I’ve only seen a couple in my life), lacks the black cap and is a rich chocolate in tone.

The adults also have a white wing bar and a bright white rump, which contrasts with the black tail and is obvious in flight.

From my weekend walks as a kid across the farmland and woods on the edge of Retford, Notts, where I grew up, to my previous two later local patches in Retford and Doncaster, the addition of bullfinch to the daily list of sightings always made my day.

CHOCOLATE TONE: The juvenile

CHOCOLATE TONE: The juvenile

I began my birdwatching in the early 1970s at a time when drastic long-term declines in bird populations were only just beginning to reveal themselves. Even so, seeing a bullfinch at that time was not a given.

Despite the showy plumage of the male described above, the bullfinch’s unobtrusive habits contribute much to its elusiveness.

Unlike most songbirds, it is a particularly quiet species. The song is so indistinct and muted that it is rarely heard, in fact I don’t recall ever hearing it.

The reason for this may lie in the fact that bullfinch remain pair bonded for several years (which means if you see one, you can be almost sure its other half is nearby), thus the male doesn’t need to shout loudly to attract a mate to his territory.

Its call, a melancholy ‘phu’, certainly distinctive once learnt, is also suitably subdued.

The male has the unerring ability to spot anyone approaching at some distance and is often quick to disappear into the undergrowth, catching them at a birdfeeder is the easiest way to get a really good view.

Being so brightly plumaged, such alertness will certainly aid survivability from predators. The female, being much duller will sit longer in the open, but invariably follows wherever her mate goes.

Today, I am fortunate that on my Ronkswood patch there is a proliferation of the bullfinch’s food sources; blossom flowers, native tree buds such as oak and hawthorn, berries, and the seeds of bramble.

Thus, I can guarantee sightings of bullfinch on every visit by making sure I visit their favoured areas of the patch.