What they like

Messy edges. Hedges, wooded banks, berry-bearing shrubs, a few large trees and a patch of short grass to forage in. In the garden: leave a corner 'just a bit unfinished'. Plant hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, rowan and hazel. In parks and farmyards: choose shrub masses instead of lone ornamental balls. In the countryside: keep field margins wide and flowery, and leave pollarded trees and hedgerows standing.

Ecological importance

The chaffinch is a seed-eater with a soft side: in the breeding season it switches to insects and spiders for the young. More shrubs and rough vegetation = more insects = more chaffinch activity. Chaffinches are also prey for the sparrowhawk and goshawk, so they are part of the whole food web.

When in the Netherlands

All year round. Many breed here; in winter additional chaffinches arrive from the north.

Status

Common. But in boring, neatly mown and bare areas it quickly gets quieter.