For some reason, birds seem to really like my driveway. I see more birds out there than I do in the back garden where there are more trees and plants. 
I happened to glance out the kitchen window on Saturday afternoon and to my surprise, a flock of birds were hopping around in the drive. I dropped what I was doing and hurried to get the camera and fit the long lens.
I didn’t want to open the window and scare them away so I just shot through the glass. I took a lot of photos hoping that I’d get some good ones.
They are European Goldfinches, described in my bird book as a feral species found around towns, farms and settlements in Australia. They gather in large flocks in autumn and winter and feed on seeds. They are quite common, I’ve seen them in the garden before but never a whole flock.
Some of them even hopped closer and started to search for seeds right in front of the window.
They stayed quite a while before something startled them and they all took off.
Further Reading:
http://www.australianbushbirds.info/infc/carduelis_carduelis.html
https://www.animalwised.com/how-to-tell-a-male-from-a-female-goldfinch-195.html
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Their wing markings are similar to our American Goldfinch and they look like the same size, more or less.
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Same species I think. Apparently there are several sub species of goldfinch in Europe and the USA but Australia just has the one. probably introduced by early settlers.
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I’ve never actually seen them, Vanda. My husband has seen them in Victoria when he took the kids on a road trip. They look like a nice little bird even if they are pesky.
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I think so. I think they are more prevalent in the south eastern states, can’t recall if I ever saw any in SA.
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