Bullfinches in an orchard ~ Pyrrhula pyrrhula

While I'm on the subject of fruit grower's nightmare's I thought I'd just mention the Bullfinch.

This delightful to look at little bird with his pinkish-red breast and cheeks, grey back, black cap and tail, and bright white rump can strike terror into the heart of an orchard owner.

Usually found in pairs they occasionally form flocks of 50 or more birds in Springtime and that's when the trouble starts. A flock of Bullfinches can strip the fruiting buds of a fruit tree at the rate of an acre a day devastating the orchard. Once this was such a huge problem that the birds were trapped but numbers have declined in recent years and a licence would be required now before the Bullfinch could be trapped.

Image: Silversyrpher via Wikimedia Commons