Bullfinches

I live in what is known as the Garden of England. This emanates from the number of fruit farms in this area. For the most part, these are orchards, though increasingly, with the use of poly tunnels, the range of fruits extends to strawberries, raspberries, etc..
As you might imagine, the Bullfinch is seen to be an enemy of the fruit farmer. They do feed on fruit buds and it is still possible for farmers to acquire licenses to shoot these beautiful birds. Although quite plentiful, I have yet to see  bullfinches in a flock. Small parties of family groups, can be come across in the summer months, but by now, they have invariably separated into pairs as such, I cannot believe that they can do much damage to the acres of orchards that cover much of this part of the county.
The way in which these pairs maintain contact is through a repetition of a short whistle. In recent weeks, I have frequently heard this call, though it is much more difficult to actually spot the birds. In days gone by, the male bird, sporting its beautiful pink breast, was a popular cage bird, noted also for its ability to mimic the whistles of its owner. This is strange, as I have never heard Bullfinch song that displayed the ability to mimic other birds. In fact, the male's song is very quiet and rarely heard. A mixture of notes and warbles, it is quite attractive but you need to be very close by to hear it.
This is a good year for the Bullfinch and, the main reason for this I believe, is because of the very heavy harvest of blackberries.I am sure that the birds consume some of the blackberries whilst the fruit is ripe, but, the main attraction of this fruit for the birds, comes when the berries are dried but remain on the stalk, for it is the seeds of the fruit that the Bullfinch really relishes and at this stage, these become more readily available to the birds.