Mud and Hawfinch

My birding throughout February 2025 had more than a passing resemblance to my birding during February 2018 - both of these February's being dominated by mud and Hawfinches. For those unaware, the winter of 2017-18 - and particularly the months of February and March 2018 - was witness to an unprecedented irruption of Hawfinches from the continent (their origins being way, way eastwards most probably). I spent an unhealthy amount of time tracking them down across 'my' section of the Surrey North Downs and have written about that unforgettable period elsewhere (there is a tab somewhere up above where you can access that). I never thought that I would be able to witness its like again. I was to be proved semi-wrong...

There had been hints at it being a decent Hawfinch winter already - I had recorded 150 at Ashurst Roughs last month but subsequent searches had not replicated those numbers, although counts of 20-30 were easily made at Dorking Wood over towards Ranmore, a tidy number for most winters. But back to February - for a while Juniper Bottom became the focus of the Hawfinch action with 15 on 1st, 50 on 13th and 60 on the 15th, the latter date being a most enjoyable early afternoon where I was able to get up above them and watch them perform for a couple of hours in bright sun-light. On 18th I wanted to give the whole Box Hill area a good search for this wonderful finch and, deciding to leave the car at home, chose to walk in from home via Mickleham Downs, approaching from the north-east and crossing an area I seldom bird watch. It proved to be a good choice.

I came across a group of seven on Tyrell's Wood Golf Course, faithful to a compact group of Yews which were the main feature of a thin copse between fairways. As I walked onto the downs proper I started to see Hawfinches, in small, numbers, regularly. As the woodland became thicker and the incidence of Yew trees increased I came across my first sizeable flock, with 40+ diving in and out of cover, feeding on the Yew seeds. While I was focused on the dense green vegetation something spooked the finches, and rather than an expected 40 birds leaving the cover at least 90 did so. My estimate for the immediate area was of 110. A highlight of this encounter was being able to watch a pair perched together in a bare Ash tree, and, for the normally wary Hawfinch, fairly close to me. The male took a bud from the end of a twig, shuffled down to the female and offered it to her while stretched out almost parallel to the tree branch beneath, she bowed and accepted the gift and then they repeated this food-offering courtship display. Later on, at nearby Ashurst Roughs, I was able to hear the explosive bill-snapping that Hawfinches apparently use to warn off birds that are too close to them whilst feeding. It was loud! Two days later I was back in the drizzle at dawn, with 300+ present by 08.00hrs - numbers that I thought I would never experience again after 2018. An afternoon search during the afternoon could only conjure up 70. Where did they go?

Watching Hawfinches can become addictive. I needed to go back - two days later to be precise (23rd) - and this time up to a dozen birders were present, all hoping to get a bit of the action. None of us were disappointed. With so many eyes present and viewpoints being taken up, we were able to agree that a bare minimum of 400 birds were in the area. On 25th I could 'only' find 85, and subsequent counts have so far been lower still. I also spent some time on the downs west of the Mole Gap where further Hawfinches were located, but not in such high numbers. As the month proceeded the footpaths became not just familiar but muddier and muddier. Wellington boots became as much an important item to take out into the field as did my optics.

Apart from these magnificent finches the woods were desperately quiet - no, not desperately quiet, worryingly quiet. Hardly any Chaffinches, no Brambling, Siskin or Redpoll, tit flocks almost absent, winter thrushes missing. Apart from Marsh Tits, Firecrests and Goshawks little to write in the notebooks. I did deign to visit areas away from the hills, with a single visit to the public hides at Beddington Farmlands (ex-sewage farm) possibly the most 'birdy'.

February highlights: Little Egret, Shelduck, Goosander, Red Kite, Goshawk, Woodcock, Kingfisher, Stonechat, Cetti's Warbler, Firecrest, Marsh Tit, Raven, Hawfinch

Uberpatch totals for Jan-Feb so far (followed by annual target): Birds 87/140; Plants 112/700; Moths 2/400 (not much effort so far here); Butterflies 2/38; Odonata 0/18; distance walked 648.5/1600km