Thursday 23 November 2017

Hawfinches at Bencroft Wood

14th November 2017

Following the massive influx of Hawfinches this year, many of which have possibly passed straight through to countries like Spain, a number of sites are gradually being identified where they can be seen feeding and roosting. One such site is Bencroft Wood, part of the Broxbourne Woods complex.

Armed with directions provided by my ol' mate Graham White, I made my way down there and waited for some birds to hopefully appear at the tops of the trees. After half an hour with no luck I moved position and walked down a hedgerow to get a better vantage point to view another stand of trees. At that point I flushed four birds from the Blackthorn which flew out at a height of no more than six feet, which turned out to be three Redwings and a Hawfinch. I later saw two more single Hawfinches flying over, each associated loosely with small numbers of Redwings.

After two hours I was about to leave but noticed that two birds had appeared at the top of the trees to my left. I assumed they were more Redwings but a quick scan with the bins showed that they were in fact Hawfinches. One flew almost immediately, but the second bird stayed for at least 10 minutes allowing me to move progressively along the tree-line taking shots as I went. Shame the light was so poor, but at least I got some record shots.









I think I need a second attempt in better light.




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