The villages around Cottesbrook have been invaded over the first week of the New Year by birdwatchers from the local area and even further afield. Some of these have been keen locals on their lunch break whilst others have travelled quite a distance such is the power these days of the internet to inform people of the day by day sightings of rarer species.
The species of bird which has excited such interest is the Hawfinch and a photo of this relative rarity is attached and was taken by me of a bird sitting in the top branches of the trees behind the post box. Sadly, the day was very overcast and so the beautiful colours are not seen to best advantage.
In all, we have seen up to five of these interesting and unusual birds around the village.
The hawfinch is a resident species in Great Britain but in very small and localised populations. They are also in long term decline and total resident numbers are now likely to be under 5000 birds. The only relatively local population I am aware of reside close to Rockingham but this is a cache of one or two pairs only.
More particularly, they are hard to see in the spring and summer months because they tend to dwell in the tree tops and are therefore more difficult to spot then through the dense foliage. They are also normally found in larger woods and forest areas.However, in winter months there are greater numbers in the UK with irruptions from the continent and are consequently easier to see on the bare branches.
Hawfinches are colourful birds with plumage that is like a mixture of their commoner and smaller cousins – Chaffinches and Bullfinches. They are the largest member of the Finch family in Europe and distinguished particularly by their powerful oversized bill which helps them to forage for seeds.
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