Hawfinch - Auld Haafinch up close and personal

Hawfinch - Coccothraustes Coccothraustes

As we like to say around here the "Auld Haafinch" as we just love to see them like this! What a lovely bird! A male in stunning spring plumage. What personality! He fought off the Starlings, House Sparrows & Chickens for rights to the window box. Though we get one or two in the garden and window box every year this is the first one that has freely let Henry & I photograph it in the window box and on my stick. The Hawfinch was first seen about 2pm. It fed all day until dark. We welcomed visitors to stop bye and into the house to watch the show! & what a show most people are lucky to see a part of one up top a tree at a considerable distance.

My son Henry (age 11) took these photos from the window only a few feet away.

Fair Isle Bird Observatory Staff  came in for a front row seat!

The weird thing is?

 This is the first photo of the Hawfinch rubbish I know but as you can see there is no bird feed in the window box? Has this bird been here before? Weird? Why else would such a shy bird be in a empty feeder?  but I quickly fill the feeders and covered the ground with feed and it still goes for the window box? One of the birds here last Autumn was ringed, but if any bird could chew a ring off  it's leg my money would be on a Hawfinch look at that beak! they say they can break cherry stones.