This thread about Goldfinches is quite interesting at many levels. I sort of started it off I think by responding to a goldfinch comment and asking if they were a threat to any native species.
There seems to be more acceptance of goldfinches out there than of starlings and other ferals and part of this may be the tendency to favour pretty birds. What would we think if Common Mynas were blue and yellow with a pretty song? Having said that I found
it thought provoking that the goldfinches feed only(?) on thistles. If they do feed ONLY on an introduced weed, then they are a valuable control species and should be welcome. So do I understand my knowledgable colleagues to be saying that they do NOT compete
and are actually useful?
If that is the case, given the coming moist spring, there should be a lot of thistles and we should see a further increase in goldfinches. Cheers
