What they like

Urban green spaces with a buzz. Parks, avenues, old gardens. Especially places with tall trees and cavities. Help them (and the neighbors) by cherishing large trees, not cutting off dead branches straight away and hanging nest boxes for cavity‑nesters. Also plant fruit-bearing shrubs: rowan (mountain ash), elder, hawthorn. That way there’s something to snack on in winter.

Ecological importance

Feeds on buds, seeds, nuts and fruit. In gardens they readily helps themself to bird food and ripe apples. But: he’s a competitor. He can take over nest cavities from woodpeckers, starlings and owls. Want to keep space for those species? Hang extra nest boxes (different sizes) and provide multiple cavity sites in parks, yards or woodland edges. Raptors like the goshawk and peregrine falcon sometimes keep them in check.

When in the Netherlands

Year‑round. Especially conspicuous in winter in flocks.

Status

Common, established non-native species. Locally abundant, especially in the Randstad.