It's Spelt H-A-W

 My walk to work at Eurohub takes me past the Tesco Extra store and then towards Long Croft Road before ending at the Iron Mountain warehouse. Generally I don't tend to see too much of note, warblers in summer and thrushes in winter plus many of the commoner resident species but nothing too exciting. Over the last couple of mornings however Hawfinches have made the usual trudge much more interesting and have even managed to knock Crossbill into second place on my commute to work list.

One from the last influx.

Yesterday I heard a Hawfinch calling from the path that passes between two warehouses on the Eurohub site. This morning I kept my ears open in the hope of hearing it again and perhaps even catching a glimpse but failure attended my efforts. I passed on to Long Croft Road and had walked only a few yards before I heard Hawfinch calling from South Wood. One bird flew out, its front heavy and short tailed silhouette being very distinctive, while at least one more continued to call from the trees. As I approached the entrance to the warehouse two Hawfinches flew into a tree near the gate, I'm assuming that they were the same birds but can't be sure. There are cherry trees in the grounds of the site and it might be these that are attracting the Hawfinches. Incidentally its surprising how quickly non birders lose interest when they find out that Hawfinch is spelt with an H-A-W and not in a potentially more interesting way beginning W-H-O-R....I'm sure you get the picture! I'll be hoping for more sightings tomorrow.