Willey; Hawfinch - late morning I did some more watching on the paddock feed station, thick lane hedge and church yard as this area is very attractive to feeding birds at the moment. On the feed station 2 Nuthatch were present, plus all the usuals, including up to 30 House Sparrows.
I spotted a rather stocky bird in the top of the nearby Ash Tree, thinking it was likely to be the Great-spotted Woodpecker I was surprised to see it fly towards me in a bounding undulating flight with broad wings and a warm buff colour. It landed in the hedge, almost exactly where yesterday’s Ring Ouzel was, and I could see immediately the large bill and small black bib of a female Hawfinch. My first ever record here.
Over the last couple of weeks there has been an invasion of Hawfinch from mainland Europe to the UK. Not sure why this happened, may be a seed failure somewhere, but very occasionally this does occur, so hopefully I will see more locally in the weeks to come.
Shawell Lagoons. Few Gulls here this afternoon, and Grey and Pied Wagtsil were working the shore, 7 Magpies were squabbling on the middle bank, otherwise not much action to report.
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