A Rosefinch for the first time

I meet a Twitcher last Friday when I was taking a bike ride along Säveån. He told me there had been reports of the Common Rosefinch in the area the last couple of days.

It is not a bird commonly see in this parts of Sweden so his aim for the day was to find it. We spoke at lengths and about the Goosander with chicks but also about the Beaver in Säveån. He actually had some really nice picture of one that he had seen just 50 or 100 meter from where we meet. This convinced me that it must have been a Beaver that I and Maria saw the other day so now I just have to find it and take some photos.

I wished him luck and took off. I soon stopped because I heard a strange noise that I didn´t recognize and started to scan the area nearby. I had a small open field to my left and trees to my right. The sound seemed to come from the tree side but I wasn´t sure from where. So I brought out the camera just to be prepared. The first thing I saw was a Fieldfare that sat on a branch seemingly listening to the sound just like me. Soon 2 smaller bird non descriptive birds arrived. I took some photos of them when they plucked seeds from the tree. Another Fieldfare arrived and chased the smaller birds away probably to protect the seeds for the food thieves. Soon the area turned quite so it might have been these birds that made the noise.

I cycled another kilometer before I turned back home. 50 meter before I came back to the place where I took my photos I saw another biker that had stopped. I understood why because the sound that came from the bushes was so strange. The biker had tried to locate the bird that made the noise but when I stopped we had a quick chat before he left. I stayed for another 10-15 minutes just listening to the sounds. I now know that it was a Thrush Nightingale.

You can hear the song/sound here: Thrush Nightingale

Just press “Lyssna på Näktergalen” and you´ll soon hear its song/sound.

When I came home I looked at the pictures I had taken, this time I only took 20. I was interested to see what bird it was that I had seen and taken photos of. I could tell that it was a Finch and soon I understood that it was the Rosefinch that I had seen. I feel sorry for the Twitcher that missed them but I am glad I got the pictures even if they aren´t that good. I also understand that it might have been a male Rosefinch that I heard when I stopped so I will go back to see if I can find it. It is more easily recognizable with its red chest so now I just have to trust my luck.

Photo Gallery: A Rosefinch for the first time