Finches in Merseyside
10 species matching this filter.
Merseyside is home to 10 recorded finch species, ranging from familiar garden visitors like the Chaffinch and European Goldfinch to scarcer species such as the Twite and Red Crossbill. The county's diverse habitats — from coastal dunes at Formby and the Sefton Coast to urban parks and woodland — support finches year-round, with winter months bringing additional visitors like Bramblings and Eurasian Siskins. For help telling these colourful birds apart, see our Types of Finches in the UK: Identification Guide.
Brambling
Fringilla montifringillaLC
A rare winter visitor from Scandinavia, occasionally found among Chaffinch flocks in beech woodland and farmland edges from October to April.
Oct–Apr
Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhulaLC
A shy resident of hedgerows and woodland edges, rarely seen but sometimes visits garden feeders. Numbers have declined significantly across the region.
Year-round
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebsLC
A common year-round resident of woodlands, parks and gardens. Its cheerful song is one of the first heard in spring across Merseyside.
Year-round
Common Redpoll
Acanthis flammeaLC
A rare resident found in birch and alder woodland. Numbers fluctuate year to year, with small flocks sometimes visiting garden feeders in winter.
Sep–May
Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinusLC
An uncommon resident, most visible in winter when flocks visit alder trees and garden nyjer feeders. Scarcer during midsummer.
Sep–Jul
European Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelisLC
A colourful year-round resident, often seen in chattering flocks feeding on teasel and thistle heads in parks and brownfield sites.
Year-round
Greenfinch
Chloris chlorisLC
Present year-round in gardens and hedgerows, though numbers have declined sharply due to trichomonosis disease in recent years.
Year-round
Linnet
Linaria cannabinaLC
A common resident of farmland, scrub and coastal gorse. Flocks gather on weedy fields and saltmarsh edges outside the breeding season.
Year-round
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Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostraLC
A rare passage visitor, occasionally noted in October during irruptive movements, favouring conifer stands in parks and woodlands.
Oct
Twite
Linaria flavirostrisLC
A rare winter visitor, occasionally found on saltmarshes and coastal stubble fields around the Mersey estuary from November to February.
Nov–Feb