THAT'S NOT MY CHAFFINCH!
Autumn is my favourite time of the year. Not only have we got rid of the stifling heat which makes it uncomfortable for all of us big blokes during peak summer sweaty season, but we also see much more variation in the colours of the trees around us. Their summer costume of uniform green has been replaced by reds, browns and yellows yet with still a bit of green to add variety to the view. And best of all, there are far fewer leaves of any colour for birds to hide behind. The chances of seeing anything taking shelter in a tree are improved greatly at this time of year.
Not only can we see our feathered friends a little clearer in the trees but we get quite a few different kinds of birds coming into our country in Autumn too. That always makes things interesting. Winter thrushes – the collective name for Fieldfare and Redwings – migrate to us in large flocks. We get some rarer geese and swans visiting too. And if you are really lucky you might come across one of the more unusual Finches.
Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch and Greenfinch are all fairly easy to see just about all year round. They're also some of the easiest garden birds to identify and their striking colours make them a little joy whenever you spot one. Redpoll, Siskin, Linnet, Twite and Crossbill are all part of this finchy family too, and these are still delightful to see even if they are less colourfully marked. But we also get small numbers of two other finches arriving here around the same time as the clocks go back. They can both be difficult to find but they're well worth looking out for. Both can be said to resemble the Chaffinch but they're both easily identifiable in their own right. Here we go then, it's time for Volunteer Shaun's Simple Guide to Winter Finches.
Brambling
I'm going to assume that you know what a Chaffinch looks like. They are, after all, one of our most common woodland and garden birds. The males are a sort of rusty pink with a grey hood and brown back while their female counterparts are more autumnal brown with a few white streaks.
The silhouette of a Brambling is pretty much identical to that of a Chaffinch, being very similar birds in size and shape. It's only really the colouring that is different. The grey hood of the Chaffinch is nearly black on a Brambling and the latter has much more orange in its body paint. The Tartan Back is a great old descriptive name for the Brambling but the earliest name that I can find for this gorgeous little bird is the Brindled Finch, meaning a finch with brown and grey streaking. That describes it quite well but over the years the word 'brindled' has fallen into disuse. Most people don't know what it means or even that it's a valid word. So more and more of us started to say, "Brindle Finch? Did you mean Bramble Finch?", and the misinterpretation has stuck. I find the evolution of our language just as fascinating as the evolution of our birdlife. It doesn't matter that these migratory birds rarely eat brambles (also known as wild blackberries) as long as the name sounds right to us.
These pretty finches visit us in the Winter season but as they prefer colder climates – as indicated by their other alternative names, Mountain Finch or the magnificent Cock O' The North – then perhaps we'll see fewer of them here in Britain as the dreaded Global Warming increases its grip?
Hawfinch
If you replace the orange hues of the Chaffinch with warmer, toffee shades and black streaks, and draw around its beak and eye with a thick, jet-black marker pen then you have a Hawfinch. They are also very chunky, roughly double the size and weight of your average Chaffinch. And one look at them reveals their most striking feature; that massive nose. In some places, they are still known as the Gross Beak, a very fitting name for a big-beaked bird. This powerful vice can easily crush a cherry seed, one of its favourite meals. Looking through my collection of old books, I've also found it referred to as the Cherry Finch and the Berry Breaker, with its beak capable of exerting over 100 lbs of pressure.
If the Bramble Finch is supposed to find its food in brambles (even though we know that it doesn't really do so very often), then it stands to reason that a Hawfinch can sometimes be found eating haw berries from hawthorn trees. Hawthorns and hornbeams are the main dining tables for these chunky birds. 'Haw' could also be interpreted as an ancient word meaning 'hedge'. This too would be appropriate as they are quite secretive and they do appreciate the sanctuary of a good hedgerow.
Both of these birds are beautiful to see and they're in this country right now. Maybe you'd like to try and find some for yourself? Sadly neither can reliably be seen at our Old Moor reserve, but if you come and visit us at the moment you might just see the birds in the following image. See you next week.
Volunteer Shaun welcomes visitors to RSPB Old Moor. He also writes a weekly blog about life at the reserve titled, "View From the Shed". He usually wears a big hat.