Returned Finches This week little -flocks of . goldfmches—almost the loveliest
-Of all our birds—have been Singularly busy- among some' thistles, many of them the fine hiennial thistle, growing at the roadside and near to it. These weeds are as good a lure as the cornflower, of which. I have known them extremely fond. One bit of dump-land where -thistks "have been wickedly allowed to grow without check is the one 'lialint where the goldfinch is sure to be found in autumn and indeed into winter. Gold- finches, thought to be disappearing a few years ago, are now legion- roaming the commons in flocks—ought one to say charms?—and nesting in our gardens. Another finch, whose diminution was lamented the other day, is also common enough, the hawfinch, and its habit of giving tongue even in winter helps to draw attention to its numbers. It is, I believe. most abundant where the hornbeam, a curiously local tree, grows in abundance, as in Epping Forest and Hertfordshire.
Previous page
