We were pleased to assist with a number of rescues of goldfinches this year; they are notoriously the most difficult of the finches to rear from scratch, yet this time we seem to have beated the odds and managed to return a good number to the wild.

The photo accompanying this report shows the just-fledged chick upon admittance, having been found and saved by kindly souls outside St Ann's Church in Manchester city centre.

Fast forward some weeks and we now have a very healthy juvenile being prepared in an aviary ready for release on our Three Owls Wood nature reserve in Tarleton ... which plays host to hundreds of goldfinch every year as they come to feed on the thistle-seeds.

Many thanks as always to Kathy at Meltham Wildlife Rescue for her time and patience in rearing these birds for us to return to the wild. Pictured is just one of the four birds released on this occasion.

Nigel