This piece has bought me so much joy to make. Not only because I love goldfinches but because of their story…
In the 19th century Goldfinches were taken to the brink of extinction as they were coveted for their beauty and widely kept as a caged bird. Literally hundreds of thousands of birds were taken from the wild in Britain.
In 1889, Emily Williamson created the Society for the Protection of Birds with one core aim – to fight to protect endangered birds. She wanted to stop the fashion for feathers, exotic plumes and the keeping of wild birds in cages. One of the first battles that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB, fought was against the taking of Goldfinches from the wild. It took several years but in 1933 that the government passed an act to make the sale of wild birds illegal.
The women of the RSPB bought the goldfinch back from near extinction. The British population of goldfinches has now recovered so that this delightful, beloved finch has become a familiar, common sight once again.
🔴 *EDIT - ‘Pair of Goldfinches’ SOLD*
