Hawfinch at Mercer Way, Romsey - 25th January

I had a spare few minutes so decided to pop to Mercer Way in Romsey to have a look for the Hawfinch that winter in the park at the end of the road. I spent around one hour with these birds which were showing well on and off and eventually counted at least 27 birds when the flock took flight, but there were probably more than this. It seems strange that these birds winter in such an urban area but the reason these birds are here is that when the park was landscaped a high density of cherry trees were planted. These cherry trees bare a heavy crop of fruit which the hawfinch feed on. These  birds usually show in the trees that surround SU 3589 2175. They can often be seen feeding on the ground amongst the trees or coming to drink at puddles. The images below show two males and a female from the flock.