Bowness-on-Windermere and wider Cumbria - 18th-21st Nov 2006.

A return to the rented house named 'Cannon Close' on the outskirts of Bowness-on-Windermere, for a long weekend (scene of the March 2006 blog post 'Hawfinch fest') had me wondering beforehand as what the Hawfinch situation would be at this different time of year to my previous visit. I was not to be disappointed.

4+ Hawfinches were seen with relative ease from the Bedroom window on all three mornings, though only one of the three mornings was calm enough to give hope of perching birds on the tree tops.

This was the only photo i took of a Hawfinch during my stay. Taken with 300mm lens from bedroom window.

Unlike my previous visit, a walk around the grounds of 'Cannon Close' revealed that the Hawfinches were not as obvious during the daytime as they were in March, bringing me to the conclusion that although they obviously feed in the nearby vicinity during the day, they are probably using the relatively well-wooded garden of the neighbouring property, which contains a fair number of coniferous trees, as a roost site. This was reinforced by 40+ Siskin, similar numbers of Chaffinch, and 4+ Hawfinch seen leaving the adjacent grounds early on the first morning, as well as my observations in March.

This is clearly a good site for Hawfinch, with numerous sightings of 9 birds in March and 4+ in November. I'll certainly give the grounds a look from the road whenever in the vicinity in the future.

Above: Bedroom action!! - Watching Hawfinches!

Above: Spectacular views of Windermere and distant fells from the bedroom window.

'Offshore' from the property were numbers of Tufted Duck (60+), 3 Goldeneye, 1 Wigeon, 10 Goosander, a pair of Red-breasted Merganser, Coot, Cormorant and Grey Heron. A Roe Deer was stood on the lawn early one morning and a juv Peregrine performed a low flyover of the property on the final morning, which even my Mum managed to see!

A drive along the Cumbrian coast on Sunday 19th saw Pam and I call in at most of the towns and villages, one of the reasons being that I had not spent much time along this stretch of coast at all over the years (save a twitch for a Ross's Gull in Workington harbour in the early 1990's).

This 1stw Shag was photographed in Whithaven Harbour.

This hybird Carrion x Hooded Crow was on the beach at Ravensglass.