Sunday 17th July 2011 - Common Rosefinch

News had broken out during the previous week that a Common Rosefinch had been located near Melbourn in Cambridgshire. To be honest I wasn't too bothered about seeing it but as it was a lifer and nothing else was about I gave Pete Bateup a call and after he said he was interested in seeing it we arranged to pop over on the Sunday morning. The area where the bird had been found was in the gardens of a small farmhouse next to the Melbourn Golf Course and after parking up we began to listen for the call. It was obviously keeping quiet this morning and we searched the hedgrerows of the surrounding gardens in vain for 15 minutes or so before it started singing. It then sang for about half an hour frustratingly out of view all the time. It was very mobile and every 5 minutes it had changed location before settling in the a large conifer by the side of the road - this time on view. We got some nice prolonged views of the bird singing out in the open before it finally took flight and flew over the field calling as it went. Both Pete and myself decided to call it a day at this point as we both agreed that better views of the bird were unlikely. Quite a drab little bird really but a very nice song and a new Brit Tick in the bargain too!