SteveG
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Any ideas?? - 2006/07/30 18:10
Hi all!
New member here. Two days ago whilst birding in woodland in north london (Harrow Weald), I saw 3 birds in the canopy of a rowan tree. I had to contend with bright sunshine and the fact they were in and out of foliage, but saw one that looked finch sized, chestnutty brown with a yellow stripe on its wing. It also had a very fat beak. Looking through my bird books the closest I can come to is a hawfinch (too rare?) juvenile chaffinch (too small?) or female bullfinch (didn't see black head). The only other info was that the rowan berries had been deseeded and the flesh discarded. Sorry this is a vague and long winded description but any ideas would be much appreciated - Steve
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nrigby
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Re:Any ideas?? - 2006/07/30 21:41
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum.
It sounds very much like a Hawfinch to me, although I've never seen before, the characteristics you describe seem to fit the bill.
The RSPB description is as follows and I've underlined the pertinent points:
Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes
The UK's largest finch, it has a massive, powerful bill. Always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more enigmatic in recent years with a decline in many of its traditional breeding areas. Numbers are hard to determine, however, as hawfinches are easily overlooked, especially in summer.
Where does it live?
Breeding
Nests in wooded areas, with a mixture of trees such as beech, hornbeam, wild cherry and oak.
Wintering
Remains in mixed or broadleaved woodland but also feeds in suitable areas nearby, such as tall hedgerows with scattered trees, mature avenues of limes, beeches and other trees and even some large gardens; hornbeam is a favourite tree.
Where to see it
Hawfinches are now mostly restricted to England in the UK, and have declined in many areas. Parts of western England near the Welsh Borders, the Home Counties and the south-east from Hampshire to Kent remain the most likely places to find them. They can occasionally be seen at RSPB nature reserves such as Nagshead, Gloucestershire and Blean Woods, Kent. Hawfinches may perch high in trees, but also feed on the ground and much more inconspicuously among the foliage.
What does it eat?
Seeds, buds and shoots.
What does it sound like?
A sharp, thin ticking call; song thin and wheezy.
When to see it
All year round; usually more easily seen outside the breeding season when trees are leafless and hawfinches feed more regularly on the ground.
Similar species
Waxwing
Reserves
* Nagshead
Anyone else agree?
PS. There is a rather good photograph of a Hawfinch in the gallery
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SteveG
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Re:Any ideas?? - 2006/07/30 22:00
Thanks nrigby,
a hawfinch was my initial thought, but knowing how difficult they are to see, and being a bird I assumed I never would, I didn't want to definately say it was that. I tried to find info about the deseeded berries but drew a blank. Anyone else come across these?
For anyone interested, I have seen a lesser spotted woodpecker at the same woods last year. Just shows what's on your doorstep!
Steve
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nrigby
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Re:Any ideas?? - 2006/07/31 12:05
Hi Steve,
I've found confirmation that Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) are present in Harrow Weald.
Here is a complete list of species present, in Latin unfortunately:
Aegithalos caudatus
Alauda arvensis
Anas platyrhynchos
Anthus trivialis
Apus apus
Athene noctua
Branta canadensis
Carduelis cabaret
Carduelis cannabina
Carduelis carduelis
Carduelis chloris
Certhia familiaris
Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Columba livia
Columba oenas
Columba palumbus
Corvus corone
Corvus monedula
Cuculus canorus
Cyanistes caeruleus
Delichon urbicum
Dendrocopos major
Dendrocopos minor
Emberiza citrinella
Emberiza schoeniclus
Erithacus rubecula
Falco subbuteo
Falco tinnunculus
Fringilla coelebs
Fulica atra
Gallinula chloropus
Garrulus glandarius
Hirundo rustica
Motacilla alba
Muscicapa striata
Parus major
Passer domesticus
Passer montanus
Periparus ater
Phasianus colchicus
Phylloscopus collybita
Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Phylloscopus trochilus
Pica pica
Picus viridis
Poecile montanus
Poecile palustris
Prunella modularis
Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Regulus regulus
So, there you have it.
If you want to look up Harrow Weald, visit the National Biodiversity Network at http://www.searchnbn.net/ and look up species groups recorded in the 10km Grid Square by searching for Harrow Weald.
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SteveG
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Re:Any ideas?? - 2006/07/31 12:27
Neil, you're a star!
Translating the latin should keep me quiet for a while as well!
Steve
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HenHarrierHall
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Re:Any ideas?? - 2008/03/04 01:51
nrigby wrote:
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum.
It sounds very much like a Hawfinch to me, although I've never seen before, the characteristics you describe seem to fit the bill.
The RSPB description is as follows and I've underlined the pertinent points:
Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes
The UK's largest finch, it has a massive, powerful bill. Always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more enigmatic in recent years with a decline in many of its traditional breeding areas. Numbers are hard to determine, however, as hawfinches are easily overlooked, especially in summer.
Where does it live?
Breeding
Nests in wooded areas, with a mixture of trees such as beech, hornbeam, wild cherry and oak.
Wintering
Remains in mixed or broadleaved woodland but also feeds in suitable areas nearby, such as tall hedgerows with scattered trees, mature avenues of limes, beeches and other trees and even some large gardens; hornbeam is a favourite tree.
Where to see it
Hawfinches are now mostly restricted to England in the UK, and have declined in many areas. Parts of western England near the Welsh Borders, the Home Counties and the south-east from Hampshire to Kent remain the most likely places to find them. They can occasionally be seen at RSPB nature reserves such as Nagshead, Gloucestershire and Blean Woods, Kent. Hawfinches may perch high in trees, but also feed on the ground and much more inconspicuously among the foliage.
What does it eat?
Seeds, buds and shoots.
What does it sound like?
A sharp, thin ticking call; song thin and wheezy.
When to see it
All year round; usually more easily seen outside the breeding season when trees are leafless and hawfinches feed more regularly on the ground.
Similar species
Waxwing
Reserves
* Nagshead
Anyone else agree?
PS. There is a rather good photograph of a Hawfinch in the gallery
why do you just copy and paste stuff from the rspb website ? do you not have your own birding knowledge ?
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