Over the last few weeks, we’ve had 46 species of bird, including this red-listed greenfinch, arrive at the hospital.
Brought in as a tiny 11g hatchling, his red gape and strong, conical seed-eating beak were unmistakable in identifying him as a member of the finch family, as well as his constant want for food!
Finch species are notorious for asking for food continuously, and this is why it is essential, as with many of our birds, that their crop is empty before feeding them.
With currently no other finch species in care, it is still always beneficial for a young animal to be with others, so, “Finchy” as he’s nicknamed, is currently bunking with a sparrow, two blue tits and a great tit.
Sadly, greenfinches have undergone a major population decline in the UK since the mid-2000s, due to the disease Trichomonosis – a parasitic disease that infects the tissues in the bird’s mouth, throat and oesophagus, making it hard for them to eat and breathe.
Though the greenfinch only takes 18 days to fledge, they are one of the longest baby birds to wean. This entails weaning them away from their supportive feeds from us and encouraging them to feast on the range of seeds on offer.
In need of some socialising with his own kind, we were pleased to find out that another local wildlife rescue also had a lone greenfinch of the same age, thus this little guy headed over to Folly wildlife rescue to continue his journey back to the wild.
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