Buntings and Finches

Quick post to say about decent numbers of Yellowhammer and Reed Buntings near to Bittel. Around the side of Cofton Hacket Farm I counted 50+ Yellowhammer and good numbers of Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and Greenfinch. Also heard what sounded good for Tree Sparrow, 5 Brambling were also reported from here a couple of days ago so this area could be well worth checking out.

Finding Rosefinch

So my 3rd day on Fair Isle came about 24th August. It started like most other days waking up at 6:50am to go on the early morning trap round, wishing Jack a happy birthday we headed out to see if anything would turn up in the heligolands. Walking along the top of the Gully I noticed Jack started running and flew up the little ladder and into the back of the trap, a task that I struggled to do at a snail pace! Definitely an AW trick! Jack then pulled out a lovely Wood Warbler out of the catching box, nice little birthday treat. We took it back to the Obs for Becki to ring. Then we had breakfast, after this I went and got ready for north census and while waiting for Jack to come down I wondered into the Library and looked out the window where there was a flock of Twite and I thought, O I'll check them out for Rosefinch. First bird Twite, 2nd Bird Twite, 3rd Bird hang on that's not a Twite and there it was one Juv Rosefinch!!! Big black eye huge beak and streaky back, quick look round and theres no one around another look at the bird and it definitely is a Rosefinch so a quick jog round to the Interpretive room where Rob was but there was no sign of the bird!


Now having never seen one before, even though I was 100% sure that it was a Rosefinch I still wanted someone else to see it just to confirm it. It was playing on my mind all census and it was kind of odd being 100% confident that it was one but then at the same time worrying that it wasn't one! But my mind was put at rest when Rob saw it later on, phew. It then continued to show amazingly well from the Obs lounge window for the next several nights. And yer it was only finding a Rosefinch on Fair Isle but I loved it and couldn't wait to find my next good bird, of course this wouldn't be hard on Fair Isle another mental thing that I never quite got my head round how easily it could have been to find a BB!

Digibinning at its best!

Simon later caught it in the Plantation

Where it showed from in the following evenings feeding with Twite