Lynn Barber's Birding Blog

Rumors of a possible Hawfinch in Anchorage started a couple of days ago, but there was some question whether the homeowners, where the bird was coming to feeders, would allow visitors. Yesterday I learned that some number of small groups could make reservations with the homeowner to try for the bird, so this morning I was part of a small group that had a reservation and headed over there. One car of the group went separately and got on the wrong road and found the Hawfinch in a new place about a block from where it had been reported before our car got to our destination, and they texted us. Soon thereafter we were able to see the Hawfinch from the road, where it went from the top of a spruce tree to sitting in a bush apparently eating something. The Hawfinch was in the same bush when we left about half an hour later. It was not even scared away when a big garbage truck drove by and stopped not far away before leaving again. Hopefully the many other birders who are likely to come looking for this very rare bird will find it. As far as I know there are hardly any mainland sightings on this continent of a Hawfinch and the only place it has been seen more than once in the Americas is on the western Alaskan islands.

I had never seen a Hawfinch in this continent until today, and the only place I had seen one before is where it belonged, in England.

Thank you to Enric Fernandez and Peter Scully!!!