BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Goldfinch

GOLDFINCH
Carduelis carduelis

• Population
changes

• Productivity
trends

• Additional
information

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: green (species level); amber (race britannica, >20% of European breeders)

Long-term trend

England: shallow increase

UK population size

313,000 territories in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)

Status summary

Goldfinch abundance fell sharply from the mid 1970s until the mid 1980s, but the decline was both preceded and followed by significant population increases. The recent upturn has lifted the species from the amber list of conservation concern into the green category, and has been accompanied by an increase in its use of gardens for winter feeding. These population changes can be explained almost entirely by changes in annual survival rates, which may have resulted from a reduction in the availability of weed seeds, due to agricultural intensification, and subsequent increased use of other food sources such as garden bird tables. Alternatively, the effects of environmental change or increased hunting pressure in France and Iberia, where the migrant majority of the population wintered, may have temporarily reduced survival rates (Siriwardena et al. 1999). There has been some long-term reduction in productivity as measured by CES, but no change in the number of fledglings per breeding attempt. A strong increase has been recorded in the Republic of Ireland since 1998 (Crowe et al. 2010).

1967-2008: 39% (confidence interval 9% to 85%)

Population changes in detail

Table of population changes for Goldfinch

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit
CBC/BBS England	41	1967-2008	451	39	9	85
	25	1983-2008	680	85	53	118
	10	1998-2008	1277	48	42	57
	5	2003-2008	1449	23	19	29
CES adults	24	1984-2008	29	34	-32	128
	10	1998-2008	36	8	-21	43
	5	2003-2008	38	10	-15	40
CES juveniles	24	1984-2008	20	-32	-73	287
	10	1998-2008	25	34	-17	124
	5	2003-2008	25	36	-8	127
BBS UK	13	1995-2008	1396	56	46	68
	10	1998-2008	1529	52	45	63
	5	2003-2008	1751	23	18	30
BBS England	13	1995-2008	1146	46	38	57
	10	1998-2008	1247	49	42	59
	5	2003-2008	1433	24	20	31
BBS Scotland	13	1995-2008	80	97	41	157
	10	1998-2008	87	67	28	123
	5	2003-2008	99	32	6	60
BBS Wales	13	1995-2008	121	52	22	91
	10	1998-2008	137	21	3	42
	5	2003-2008	148	-11	-18	-1
BBS N.Ireland	13	1995-2008	40	674	.	.
	10	1998-2008	49	303	.	.
	5	2003-2008	61	74	.	.

Demographic trends

More on demographic trends

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G., Barimore, C., Downie, I.S., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2011). Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2010. BTO Research Report No. 565. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 14.10.2010