Hawfinch

King for a day

Hi

Just a quick question about hawfinches. I have spotted what i think are hawfinches around our area. I am pretty sure that is what they are going by descriptions and pictures on books and on the internet.

We live beside a wooded area and i have seen these birds over the last few days feeding on an apple tree next door to our house.

Are they rare in Ireland( I am in the Limerick area). Just curious as i am not a serious bird watcher but have a passing interest in such things.

cheers

Judgement Day

Yes they are fairly rare in Ireland - one report of a single bird in Mayo on Irishbirding.com in 2007. Here is a pic of one - they are fairly distinctive and the males and females are quite similar.

Pic of one in Co.Down (2005) here: http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news/2005/december_photos.html

King for a day

yes thats the same picture that i looked at earlier. the distincive blue stripe down their sides with a barrell chest.

I spotted four of them togeher today.

Judgement Day

King for a day wrote: »

yes thats the same picture that i looked at earlier. the distincive blue stripe down their sides with a barrell chest.

I spotted four of them togeher today.

Sure it wasn't Chaffinches? Hawfinch has a heavier bill.

King for a day

As i said earlier i'm no expert on these matters but there is a light blue stripe down along their side and maybe also on the tail i think(possibly male only).

These were very large birds and i doubt they were chafinches as i think ive seen them before.

Cheers for the pictures

Feargal as Luimneach

Hawfinchs quite rare in Ireland. There are periodic influxes into the country(usually in the autumn). There was an passage flock of Hawfinchs in Curraghchase forest park in the late 80's. I've been to curraghchase numerous times looking for any Hawfinchs but never seen any.
I did however find a Hawfinch at Tollymore forest park in December in 2005:D Howver there was a a few seen at Inch abbey in Co. Down earlier in the morning so that kind of stole my glory:mad: There was a few down in Kinsale if I remember correctly at around the same time period.

Hawfinchs are quite shy and not easily observed. If they are hopping around in front of you then there probably not hawfinches.

Feargal as Luimneach

Judgement Day wrote: »

Yes they are fairly rare in Ireland - one report of a single bird in Mayo on Irishbirding.com in 2007. Here is a pic of one - they are fairly distinctive and the males and females are quite similar.

Pic of one in Co.Down (2005) here: http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news/2005/december_photos.html

The Tollymore Bird was my bird:cool:

King for a day

they wernt right infront of me. I was about 30 ft away and they were busy stuffing their faces with chunks of apples:pac:.

Probably not hawfinches if they are that rare though.

Cheers

Feargal as Luimneach

Try a get a photo of the bird and post it up. You'll know for sure then.

Judgement Day

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Try a get a photo of the bird and post it up. You'll know for sure then.

Things were much simpler in bygone days when if you saw something you couldn't identify, you shot it and sent the carcass to the Natural History Museum.

LostCovey

King for a day wrote: »

they wernt right infront of me. I was about 30 ft away and they were busy stuffing their faces with chunks of apples:pac:.

Probably not hawfinches if they are that rare though.

Cheers

Hi King for a day,

You may be 100% correct, this is well worth following up. Hawfinches bred in Limerick about 20 years ago at a place called Curraghchase.

It is the only recent breeding record I am aware of, but they are occasionally seen in Ireland. Recent sightings apart from the one in Mayo above include birds at Tollymore Forest Park, Co. Down, Old Head of Kinsale and Longford Town.

One confusion species (although a lot bigger) is Jay, which also have blue in their wing, but they have a prominent white rump. I hope that is not an insult to your intelligence - you may be very familiar with jays!

Hawfinches are also kept in captivity in Ireland so unfortunately escapes are also possible.

If it's near Curraghchase, I would think it is quite a real possibility!

LostCovey

Alun

In my copy of "The Complete Guide to Ireland's Birds" by Eric Dempsey and Michael O'Clery, it says "In the autumn of 1988, a major influx occurred, with large numbers seen at migration points along the south-west". Would that be the same sighting he's referring to?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Rare Autumn visitor. Most reports I get turn out to be Bullfinch.

Rainbowsend

If they were large say the size of a blackbird could have been young Jays?

Harry Hussey

LostCovey wrote: »

Hi King for a day,

You may be 100% correct, this is well worth following up. Hawfinches bred in Limerick about 20 years ago at a place called Curraghchase.

It is the only recent breeding record I am aware of, but they are occasionally seen in Ireland. Recent sightings apart from the one in Mayo above include birds at Tollymore Forest Park, Co. Down, Old Head of Kinsale and Longford Town.

I have never heard of breeding Hawfinches at Curragh Chase. A large winter flock was present there in the late 80s, and, a year or two afterwards, something like an adult with two juveniles were seen somewhere odd like Ballyvaughan in late summer, possibly bred in Ireland.
Since then, a brief bird was at Curragh Chase in Feb(?) 2000, which I went for the same day and missed, then a friend and I found one there in 2002, with 3-4 seen subsequently. I am not aware of any further records at the site since, but the species can be very shy and unobtrusive.
In autumn 2005, there was another large influx, with good numbers at sites like Cape Clear and Mizen Head as well as that bird at the Old Head of Kinsale, which shared its favoured hedgerow with a Grey-cheeked Thrush (went there to see the thrush as a 'tick', and it was really nice to see the Hawfinch eating haws, only taking the stones and wiping the accumulated flesh off now and again).
Given that winter birds were formerly regular in small numbers at sites like the Phoenix Park and in 'Co. Cork', it is likely that birds are still more regular than is supposed, and are just overlooked: nevertheless, the species is rare, and is treated as an Appendix 2 rarity by the IRBC.
I cannot say whether or not the original poster's birds were Hawfinches on the available evidence: some detailed field notes, or, better still, any sort of pics could be invaluable.
Regards,
Harry

sineadom

just wondering, do we have hawfinches in Ireland? if not, how come? we certainly have haws!

stevensi

Hi,

Hawfinches are pretty rare in Ireland but sometimes we can get an influx in Ireland from time to time. The only place I have seen them in any number at all is in Curragh Chase Wood in Limerick. There were reports of up to 14 but I manages to see 6 or 7 on the day i was there last year...

I think Phoenix Park has a few individuals turn up every now and then over the years as well...

Kess73

Curraghchase still gets a decent number of them each winter, as do the woods in and around the Mount trenchard area (a few miles outside Foynes)

There is a small wooded area just beyond the marina in Foynes that had a lot of work done to make it a nice area for walking and twitching that generally gets some each winter as well.

Up near the Monteagle cross in Foynes is another good spot to see them in winter, but care would have to be taken getting up the steps in frosty weather.

Traonach

sineadom wrote: »

just wondering, do we have hawfinches in Ireland? if not, how come? we certainly have haws!

Post up a photo.......

Mothman

Hawfinch thread merged with previous thread

bogman

Yesterday in Curraghchase, not a great shot but best I could manage in fading light, visited the woods some of the Limerick Birdwatch Ireland members to see if we could spot some of these birds.


Hawfinch

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

There's a huge influx of them to Britain this Winter. Glad to see we are getting some.

b11664

Judgement Day wrote: »

Yes they are fairly rare in Ireland - one report of a single bird in Mayo on Irishbirding.com in 2007. Here is a pic of one - they are fairly distinctive and the males and females are quite similar.

Pic of one in Co.Down (2005) here:

Just saw one today in Monaghan town at feeder.