Hawfinches in the Snow | Discover Wildlife | Robert E Fuller

A rare invasion of hawfinches from Eastern Europe to Yorkshire in 2017 had bird watchers like me all of a ‘twitter’ this winter.

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Rare hawfinch sighting

The colony of more than 100 of these rare finches were spotted feeding on the seeds of hornbeam trees at The Yorkshire Arboretum, near Castle Howard in North Yorkshire.
Hawfinches enjoy a near-mythical status among birdwatchers, since they are the hardest of all British birds to spot. Registered on the RSPB’s red list, there are estimated to be just 1,500 resident in the UK. The hawfinch invasion in Yorkshire was part of a UK influx. There were said to have been 50,000 sightings of hawfinches across the UK in late 2017. It is believed these birds migrated to our shores following a harvest failure in Europe’s Eastern Bloc, where hawfinches are more prevalent.

Hawfinches in York

To begin with most of the hawfinch sightings were in the south of England, where hornbeam trees are more likely to grow. But when hawfinch sightings were reported at Castle Howard, I began to get very interested. At the Castle Howard Estate is The Yorkshire Arboretum, a botanical tree garden affiliated to Kew Gardens, where a stand of hornbeams is believed to have attracted these hawfinches up North.

I headed to the arboretum in November to see these unusual finches and was instantly hooked. So much so that I approached the arboretum to ask if I could build a hide to watch these birds more closely. I was granted exclusive access whilst the garden was closed to the public for winter.

Building a hide

I set about building a hide at the site so that I could watch these shy birds without disturbing them. I also built a bird table and piled it high with the hawfinches favourite seeds to entice them to feed outside. Then I holed myself in for most of Christmas, watching and photographing these birds up close.

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I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

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© Robert E Fuller

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