It was an excellent spring for Hawfinches nesting around The Brecks, I  monitored 5 pairs with at least two of them being successful. I found the first nest on 6th May after a great deal of searching and with a lot of patience, I then watched the nest every day until 4 chicks fledged on 31st May when they were 14 days old.

Immature male

around 28 days old

baby Hawfinch in the nest

male coming into the nest

recently fledged

male feeding fledged chick

male feeding fledged chick

male feeding fledged chick

On 13th June I found a juvenile from another brood that was being fed on the ground by both of its parents, it was rather younger than the other fledglings from the earlier nest. I estimate only 10-11 days old, over the next 7 days it gradually grew stronger and made its way up into the canopy still being protected and fed by both parents. It was being fed every 3 minutes as it sat on the ground.

an early fledger, maybe only 12 days old

In all the years I have been studying Hawfinches I have never had so many sightings of immature birds, I have been able to watch the young birds from the first nest that I found for over three weeks as well as many sightings of different adults at a couple of my feeding areas.