Hawfinches at Blackwater

A cloudy, but fairly calm afternoon. Highlights were Hawfinches and Treecreepers.

From the car park we saw a few Song Thrush, Blackbird and Coal Tit feeding on the ground and at least one Treecreeper on a tree trunk. We walked from the car park along the tall trees trail. The Giant sequoia and other huge trees along here are pretty impressive. We saw several Robin and Blackbird and a good view of a Goldcrest. We also saw a deer down one of the side tracks. It was a distant view, but looked most like a Roe Deer. There were a few flocks of Long-tailed Tit and a couple of Jay nearer the Arboretum.
The Arboretum itself was pretty quiet. We walked around the perimeter path, but only nothing. We walked to the spot where it is best to see the Hawfinches and waited. It wasn’t long before we saw our first Hawfinch sitting in the top of a high conifer. We had to wait a while for others to arrive and the cue seemed to be the mince pies – as soon as we started eating them, then more Hawfinch arrived! Over the next two hours we saw quite a few more Hawfinches. There were also Goldcrest and Blue Tit feeding in the trees and a Treecreeper on a birch trunk.
Simon Curson.