Local Hawfinches, 19 January 2018

As I had a bit of time to spare this afternoon and the location conveniently tied in with my other activities today I popped along to a local churchyard to look for some Hawfinches that have been seen there recently. Unfortunately it has been asked that the location be kept undisclosed and I have to accept the finders wishes.

Upon arrival there was no sign but after about 10 minutes a single bird flew in and lingered for a couple of minutes. That was it for a whole hour when I finally got onto 3 more, then 4, then 6. They never entered the actual churchyard, always keeping their distance, often in treetops.

The hours they were absent wasn't wasted though - a Red Kite flew over, 2 Grey Wagtails flew low over the church roof, there was plenty of Nuthatch activity plus Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, a couple of Song Thrushes and a handful of Redwings. Snowdrops were out too.

 Hawfinches