Unexpected Treat

Once again, it has been a little while since I posted anything on this blog, due mainly to the rather inclement weather we've had to endure. But this morning, it started out dry and bright but bitterly cold, so we set out for Maperley and Shipley Hill. The wind was bitingly cold as we walked along Slack Lane, but despite the chill and recent bad weather, the Hazel trees are all bursting out with catkins.

Always among the first of the year's trees to flower, the male catkins always appear before the tiny, red female flowers. These catkins were producing plenty of pollen.

The countryside is still looking very bare.

On Shipley Hill, the Nottingham Lodge is surrounded by bare branches, but the ground is covered with Snowdrops (more of them soon).

It was near the lodge, that we were treated to an unexpected surprise. I have been reading reports of recent sightings of Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) around Shipley Park, but as yet, I've never seen one. So it was fantastic to finally get a view of a couple this morning.

Sitting in the very top of a tree and at some distance, this one was very difficult to photograph - and it proved to be impossible to get a good picture at all. But even so, you can still see the unmistakable form of Britain's largest finch species. Looking bulky even at this distance and with a bill which can easily crack a cherry stone, this is a formidable bird and rather rare these days. But with an influx of individuals from continental Europe this winter, there has rarely been a better opportunity to see one. You just have to be in the right place...

... at the right time. Even then, you need a little luck!  What a fantastic new 'tick' for the life list.