Finches
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Despite being one of the most common and widespread birds in Britain, the Chaffinch is not especially numerous in the Hull area and probably lags behind the Greenfinch in terms of numbers and distribution. That is not to say the Chaffinch is rare or scarce in and around Hull, however. The species is probably best described as being a widespread breeding bird in small to moderate numbers wherever there is a good stand of trees or bushes. The Chaffinch is, perhaps, most common in the Hull area during the autumn when passage migrants and the year's youngsters bolster the local population, though it is often relatively scarce in midwinter. The Chaffinch was an occasional visitor to the suburban gardens of Hull at the beginning of the 20th Century, with numbers probably being kept in check by the bird catchers who supplied the numerous cagebird shops in Hull at that time. Chaffinches were popular as cagebirds on account of their general abundance, pretty colouring and strident song, with owners often pitting their cock Chaffinches against each other and betting on which bird had the better vocal repertoire. Chaffinches were increasing in the gardens, villages and suburbs of Hull by the 1920s, however, but, even though Chislett (1952) suggested that it may be the most numerous of all Yorkshire birds, Boylan (1967) could only describe it as a regular yet uncommon breeding bird in Hull during the 1960s. Small numbers were breeding in the parks, suburbs and cemeteries at that time, with just one pair in Northern Cemetery giving some idea of their abundance in the city, but Boylan also regarded the Chaffinch as a common passage migrant. A pair or two were breeding around Saltend in the mid 1980s and up to five migrants were observed heading westwards up the Humber on most days in October 1985. Just two or three pairs breed in the hedgerows between North Bransholme and the Holderness Drain, on the northern outskirts of the city, but small flocks of up to 10 or so birds are frequently met with here between August and November. Bonavia (1990) considered that a lack of woodland was limiting the species' breeding opportunities around Cottingham during the 1980s. Milsom (1997), however, recorded up to four pairs breeding around Priory Road in the mid 1990s, mainly in Priory Wood, Snuff Mill Lane and Wood Lane, with autumn/winter gatherings peaking at seven birds. Following the railway line into Hull, Helen Crowther's 1996 survey of birds in the Avenues found "good numbers" in the embankment hedges. Chaffinches even penetrate right into the heart of the city centre and singing was heard in Queen's Gardens in April 1999, with a female in the Trinity burial ground (at the top of Ferensway). Five males were singing in Hedon Road Cemetery the following spring and Chaffinches have increased here since the 1970s, when they were rare.
The cheery 'spink' call and bright song of the Chaffinch can therefore be heard throughout leafy districts of the Hull area, from the Humber Bridge Country Park and western villages to the city centre and urban parks. They will readily visit garden bird tables for seeds or a drink from a bird bath, when the males add a welcome splash of colour during the grey days of early spring.
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla
The Brambling is a winter visitor to Britain from breeding grounds in Scandinavia and the flocks are largely nomadic in search of their favourite winter food, beech mast. Beech trees are not exactly abundant in the Hull area and there are no extensive stands that produce large crops of mast, so the Brambling tends to be an uncommon and irregular winter visitor in our part of the world. Most Bramblings drop into the Hull area between late October and April, with the earliest autumn arrival being one in East Park on 7th October and the latest spring bird being seen at Saltend on 13th May the same year. Boylan (1967) regarded the Brambling as a scarce winter visitor in 1960s Hull, but a rubbish tip on the West Hull foreshore attracted large flocks in 1962 and 1963. Up to 300 were feeding on seed heads at the tip in March and April 1962, with a staggering 700 on 20th January 1963 decreasing to 200 a week later before they all left after a fall of snow. Four were in Northern Cemetery around the same time. Since the 1970s single Bramblings or small flocks of up to a dozen birds were noted at many sites around the Hull area, including Kirk Ella (Kerry Woods and nearby gardens), Cottingham (including Newgate Street and South Street), the Saltend area, Hedon Road Cemetery, North Bransholme, Humber Bridge Country Park, East Park and Castle Hill Farm (between Sutton and Swine). A flock of 50 Bramblings was in the company of 20 Chaffinches in Cottingham's South Street on 18th January 1981, this being the largest flock recorded in the Hull area since the 1960s.
Most visiting Bramblings do not hang around for very long and the majority are just passing through. October to November are the best time to catch up with the species as they refuel after their North Sea crossing before pressing on inland in search of their beloved beech mast. April also appears to be a peak month for finding a Brambling in the Hull area, however, as birds pass through again on their way back to Scandinavia. A single bird has visited the Hedon Road Cemetery most springs since 1987, but one fine male nearly didn't make it back to Scandinavia after flying into a window that April. After being picked up dazed it eventually flew off, apparently unharmed, once its photograph had been taken for posterity.
Green Singing Finch (Yellow-fronted Canary) Serinus mozambicus
Superficially similar to a Serin or even a Siskin, the Green Singing Finch breeds in sub-Saharan Africa and many wild-caught birds are imported into Britain each year for the cage bird trade. Some of these birds inevitably escape from their cages or aviaries and in the spring of 1989 a male set up territory in the thick hawthorn hedge near the now Kingswood High School on Wawne Road, Bransholme. The species is quite capable of surviving for some time in the British climate, although predators or a frost probably finish them off eventually, and the Linnet-like song of the Bransholme bird could be heard for several weeks during May.
Canary (Atlantic Canary) Serinus canaria
Native to Madeira and the western Canary Islands, the Canary is a very popular cagebird in Britain and Hull is no exception. Kept for over 200 years on account of their song, wild-type Canaries are similar to a Serin in appearance. As with many domesticated cagebirds, however, a variety of colour and even structural forms have been bred from the wild type, and most escapees will have a varying amount of unnatural yellow or white in their plumage. The long history of the Canary in Britain means that birds have been escaping and turning up around Hull for many years. Several writers noted how Hull boys delighted in the novelty of catching Canaries when they appeared in their neighbourhood in the early 20th Century. Although possibly less popular as pets today, the occasional Canary can still be found at large in the Hull area every so often, although they probably don't last long.
Greenfinch (European Greenfinch) Carduelis chloris
The Greenfinch is probably the most common and widely distributed finch in the Hull area, breeding in scrub, hedgerows, parks and gardens. They frequently come to bird tables for sunflower seeds, peanuts and grain in winter and spring.
John Nicholson made no mention of the Greenfinch when he listed the birds visiting the garden of his Hull town house in 1901, but in 1967 Boylan wrote that it was a common breeding bird in Hull and small parties could sometimes be found around the docks in winter. Bonavia (1990) classed the Greenfinch as an abundant breeding species around Cottingham and northwest Hull in the 1980s and went on to mention that they bred in Cottingham gardens. Breeding was recorded at Saltend in the mid 1980s and I usually counted four or five pairs breeding on the eastern margin of North Bransholme between the late 1980s and late 1990s. Milsom (1997) noted breeding around Priory Road in 1996, with a possible five pairs, and Michael Flowers considers them to be very common in Hedon Road Cemetery where they breed in Leylandii trees. A flock of 28 were at Paull in May 1998, indicating the size of the breeding population in that part of the Hull area, and birds were present all year round at the Hull Ice Arena in 1999 where they were considered to have bred. Breeding is also suspected in Queen's Gardens, so Greenfinches may be found nesting right into the city centre. Crowther's 1996 wildlife survey in Hull's Avenues area noted a great decline in the local Greenfinch population, with small flocks now being replaced by just occasional visits by one or two birds. I noted a less dramatic decline at North Bransholme towards the end of the 1990s and this is broadly in line with national trends, where many once abundant farmland birds are becoming scarcer due to intensive farming methods and loss of habitat. Greenfinches still breed rather commonly throughout the Hull area, however, especially in the more leafy suburbs and outlying villages as well as in the parks, cemeteries and wilder parts of the surrounding farmland.
Late summer and autumn sees the largest gatherings of Greenfinches around the Hull area as the local population, already swollen with the year's youngsters, is further bolstered by incoming migrants. Up to 180 Greenfinches were counted at Saltend in October 1984, with 120 in December. A flock of 60 were among over 100 House Sparrows in a ripening field of rape at High Bransholme Farm, northeast Hull, in June and July 1993, with 40 again in October. A flock of 15 were at Thwaite Hall Lake, Cottingham, in December 1984 and 26 were feeding on ash keys just south of the village in November 1995. A flock of 25 were feeding on rosehips near the Makro store at St. Andrew's Quay in early October 1999 and a "large flock" was roosting in bushes near the Birds Eye factory on Hessle Road in early 1997, with lesser numbers again in 1998.
That a large number of the Hull area's Greenfinches are not permanent residents is proven by the recovery of many dead birds in and around the city that were ringed as migrants at Spurn Point earlier in their lives. The majority were caught and ringed as immature or first-winter birds in autumn and many were found in the Hull area the following spring, although one bird was found in Cottingham just eight days after having being handled at Spurn.
Goldfinch (European Goldfinch) Carduelis carduelis
The Goldfinch has had its up and downs in the Hull area. Probably quite common in the mid 1800s, by 1907 all Nelson could say of it in our area was that it had "nested sparingly near Hedon". Nelson attributed the scarcity of Goldfinches to a decrease in the cultivation of flax and linseed and, in no small part, to the professional bird catchers that operated in the area back then. Nelson tells us that the Goldfinch was once exceedingly numerous in these parts but as soon as it made an appearance it was eagerly sought out by the bird-catchers. In early autumn the men would target the family parties that gathered on weedy commons and waysides, easily capturing the youngsters, known as Grey Kates or Grey Pates, early on while the warier adult birds, the so-called King Harry Redcaps, would usually fall victim later. In just a few days a noted bird-catcher named Greenhough caught over 400 Goldfinches at Beverley and, as there were many of his ilk scouring the whole region at that time, there is little wonder that these delightful birds quickly disappeared. The trapped Goldfinches eventually ended up as cagebirds in Victorian sitting rooms. There were at least 11 bird-dealer shops in Hull in 1892, some trading solely in British birds, that acted as outlets for the bird-catchers' harvest. In 1901 John Nicholson's Hull garden was attracting such birds as the Linnet, Yellowhammer and Chaffinch, but he made no mention of the Goldfinch as even a rare visitor. Between the old farmers and the bird-catchers, they must have virtually wiped them out. The pressure on Goldfinches for the cagebird trade slowly subsided throughout the first half of the 20of the 20th Century and by the 1940s the species was noted to be increasing steadily as a breeding bird around Hull. By the 1960s the Goldfinch was an irregular breeder within the old Hull boundary, most frequently in West Hull, and small parties occasionally visited Northern Cemetery. Numbers continued to rise throughout the 1970s but by the 1980s they were falling again around Cottingham and northwest Hull, with breeding described as uncommon and irregular. This decline was a national one, thought to be linked to a decrease in food supply and increase in trapping and shooting pressure in France and Spain where many of our British birds spend the winter. Wild-caught Goldfinches are still extremely popular cagebirds around the Mediterranean. continued to rise throughout the 1970s but by the 1980s they were falling again around Cottingham and northwest Hull, with breeding described as uncommon and irregular. This decline was a national one, thought to be linked to a decrease in food supply and increase in trapping and shooting pressure in France and Spain where many of our British birds spend the winter. Wild-caught Goldfinches are still extremely popular cagebirds around the Mediterranean.
In 1984 breeding was reported at Saltend, with an influx being apparent between late August and late October. This autumn flock averaged around 30 birds but 67 were counted on 15th September. On 28th September 1986 a 100-strong flock was twittering around nearby Alexandra Dock. In the late 1980s and early 1990s a pair or two bred most years at North Bransholme; flocks of 50 birds or more could occasionally be found on the ripening rape fields or teasel heads around High Bransholme Farm and Foredyke Stream between August and October. At least 55 were counted here in September 1993 and 33 were nearby in November 1998, indicating that good numbers can still be found in those parts during autumn. By the mid 1990s numbers had picked up again around Cottingham and northwest Hull, with up to 20 on thistles and autumn hawkbit near Willerby Carr Farm, north of Wold Road/Carr Lane, in the autumns of 1995 and 1996. Breeding probably occurred in this area in 1996 at least, with a handful of birds present throughout the summer from May and family parties seen from August onwards. This period, from August to November, is the best time to look out for flocking Goldfinches anywhere around Hull and the villages wherever thistles, teasel or other weed seeds are available. The birds gather at such good feeding sites to fatten up before most of them move out to winter on the Continent by mid November. They are often uncommon again until the spring, when returning birds arrive back at the nesting sites.
Goldfinches have been increasing in suburban, and even urban, areas throughout the past decade. Despite a decline in Hull's Avenues area up to 1996, there was a general increase noted in the western suburbs, such as where the freight line crosses Chanterlands Avenue near Huntley Drive, and right into the city centre. In East Hull, meanwhile, a pair nested in clematis in Hedon Road Cemetery in 1999 and 2000. In December 2000 I saw a trio of Goldfinches flitting overhead near George Street and such a sight is not that uncommon these days. Goldfinches are now increasingly being reported from gardens throughout the Hull area, coming either for seed on bird tables (they love poppy and teasel seeds) or water in bird baths, and they have visited gardens in North Bransholme, Chamberlain Road and Kirk Ella to name but a few.
Siskin (Eurasian Siskin) Carduelis spinus
Siskins are rather uncommon winter visitors to the Hull area, with small flocks or odd birds usually being seen anytime from September to late April. Numbers are unpredictable, some years seeing a good sprinkling of birds while others are more or less barren. Siskins have a great affinity for alder and birch trees and anywhere where a few of these trees grow in close proximity to each other, providing enough cones to feed a few birds for a couple of days, will attract Siskins sooner or later. Lesser Redpolls may also associate with them but, in light of the current status of that species in the Hull area, it would be a fairly good day to find a mixed flock of Siskins and Lesser Redpolls in these parts. As with the Goldfinch and the Redpolls, the East Riding bird-catchers of the 19th and early 20th Centuries were very keen on the Siskin, calling it the Aberdevine in the olden days, and many must have passed through the hands of the dozen or so bird dealers operating in Hull in the 1890s.
There were just three reported sightings of Siskins in Hull during the 1960s, all in autumn, and a late spring bird was in a Kirk Ella garden on 14th April 1975. Another was in the nearby Kerry Woods on 23rd April 1980, with a singing bird at Kerry Drive, Kirk Ella, on 3rd May 1986 begging the question as to whether nesting ever occurred here. Breeding is very rare in the East Riding, however, and has never been recorded around Hull.
Siskins were not infrequently recorded at Saltend in the mid 1980s, with 63 on 22nd September 1985 probably being passage birds. A further 24 flew northwest on 1st January 1986 and 22 went north on 22nd. A single was at Saltend on 25th April the same year, with another late bird on 3rd May and then none until the first of the autumn, a flock of six, on 13th September. The plantation at the eastern edge of the Bransholme Sewage Works, on the east bank of the River Hull just south of the new Kingswood development, was once a good site for Siskins. The Thomas Clarkson Way, which leads from Ennerdale to Kingswood, was actually built over the eastern half of this plantation in 1993. The lost section was much more scrubby and diverse than the remaining portion, with lots of alder trees that the Siskins loved. Flocks were annual here but their visitations went virtually unrecorded. I remember seeing them there myself on several occasions between 1991 and 1993 but the only count I made was 15 on 15th March 1992. This figure was probably about right on most other occasions.
During the mid 1990s Siskins were occasionally seen in the gardens and scrub of the Avenues area of Hull and they were said to have occurred "consistently over the years", so it's fair to assume that they still do. The draw of alders was again demonstrated in 1997 when a small flock was feeding in the trees in Hessle Square in January. Seven were among a tit flock on the Priory Sidings, off Clive Sullivan Way in West Hull, on 15th September that year, while three were back in Hessle Square in January 1998. Another three were in East Park in February and four were at King George Dock on 6th October, with another at Saltend. A female that spent the day feeding on peanuts in the Hedon Road Cemetery on 20th April 2001 was another typical late spring sighting in the Hull area, but it was the first Siskin record for that well-watched site.
Linnet (Common Linnet) Carduelis cannabina
The Linnet has always been a rather frequent breeding bird in the scrubby corners tucked away in Hull's outer suburbs, tending to avoid the heavily built-up areas but becoming even more common in the hedgerows of the outlying lanes and farmland. Numbers have fallen nationally since the 1970s, as with most farmland birds, and this accelerated as the century drew to a close. Some thinning out of the population around Hull has become quite evident in recent years. The Linnet is still a fairly common breeding species in the Hull area, however, being more numerous as a passage migrant with occasional flocks staying to winter if conditions are favourable.
The earliest record of the Linnet in Hull comes from John Nicholson's description of the birds in his townhouse garden in 1901, being on the outskirts of Hull near present day Pearson Park, when he tells us that small flocks often came to feed on sunflower heads and dahlia seeds. Sadly, the Linnet was another favourite with the local bird-catchers of the time who snared them for the cagebird trade, there being at least 11 bird-dealers in Hull in 1892, although they don't seem to have suffered as much as the Goldfinch which became very rare. By the 1960s the Linnet was a regular but thinly distributed breeder on weedy and bushy ground around the docks, allotments, cemeteries and outlying fields of Hull, never far from the outskirts. At least one pair bred in Northern Cemetery around this time and it was also a winter visitor there in small numbers. Breeding birds were said to be considerably reduced in 1963, however, after the severe 1962/3 winter. Cold weather displacement brought 150 to the West Hull foreshore at the end of December 1962, this being an unusually large midwinter flock.
Breeding numbers soon recovered though, and in the early 1970s Linnets were very common in Hedon Road Cemetery where at least two pairs bred. In the 1980s Linnets were also breeding commonly around Cottingham and northwest Hull, but 35 at Snuff Mill Lane on 1st May 1984 was considered a large flock in those parts and they were scarce in winter. Several pairs were breeding at Saltend around this time, too, but by now Hedon Road Cemetery hadn't seen any Linnets for several years. Between 1989 and 1994 between five and 10 pairs bred between North Bransholme and the Holderness Drain (mainly along Old Main Drain hedgerow) up Bransholme Road and along the Holderness Drain itself, and 60 were counted on 4th June 1993. In 1996 several pairs were nesting in the hedges bordering the Priory Road fields, between Cottingham, Hull and Willerby, being present from April to September but never numbering more than 10. In June 1999 a few Linnets were still found to be breeding off Hedon Road near King George Dock. A pair was also seen on and off throughout the summer near the entrance to the Courtney Street Industrial Estate at Mount Pleasant, where they probably bred. Linnets still breed along the road that runs from Wawne up towards Routh, as they have always done.
Autumn flocks of Linnets are a common feature of many weedy areas and stubble fields around Hull from August to November. A flock of 140 was at Saltend on 27th August 1984, with up to 100 again the following autumn. At North Bransholme I counted 100 on 8th October 1989, 150 throughout September 1993 and between 100 and 120 from October to December that year. A flock of 60 were at the Holderness Drain nearby on 5th September 1998 and autumn flocks were regularly seen at Victoria Dock and the Makro store near St. Andrew's Quay throughout the late 1990s. It is often said that most British Linnets leave the country for France and Spain by December but, while it is true that the species is often much scarcer at this time of year, good-sized local flocks have often been recorded throughout the season. Aside from the aforementioned 150 at the West Hull foreshore at the end of 1962, I counted 160 on stubbles at Carlam Hill Farm, east of North Bransholme, in January 1994 and 180 in February. 60 were at Victoria Dock on 7th February 1999 and a nice little flock of 30 alighted a few yards from my feet on a clump of thistles at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 27th December 2000. I have often noted a modest build up of, presumably, spring passage birds at North Bransholme in March and April. Flocks typically number 50 or less but there are occasionally big influxes. A gathering of 100 was present there on 4th April 1993 while the large wintering flock of late 1993 and early 1994 at Carlam Hill Farm, mentioned above, swelled to 240 by 1st April and 250 on 18th. While Linnets seem to be faring tolerably well around Hull, in the spite of the national decline, it is worrying that the large flocks of just a few years ago are no longer being reported. The bushes and scrub along the railway lines as well as along the major drains, along the River Hull and around the docks, outer suburbs and foreshores are still visited by unobtrusive pairs of Linnets during the breeding season, giving themselves away only the twittering song of the male. This only goes to show the value of so-called 'waste ground'.
Twite Carduelis flavirostris
Twite are rather rare passage migrants and winter visitors in the Hull area, but it is likely that their status is a little clouded by their similarity to the much commoner Linnet and their love of rather windswept and barren places. The first record is of two birds at the eastern docks from 2nd to 3rd February 1962. The next were not until 1985, when the Saltend stalwarts found that Twite were not that infrequent during October passage. The first were four on 5th October, followed by eight on 8th, two on 20th and finally one on 24th. These birds were either around Saltend Channel or on the gravel at the chemical works. The next were not reported until 1997, when 12 were feeding on weed seeds on the Priory Sidings, off Clive Sullivan Way near Gipsyville, in West Hull. The same 12 were still there on 8th January 1998, while the most recent record was of two flying east at King George Dock on 29th September that year.
It appears that Twite can turn up in the Hull area anytime from late September through to late winter, with areas close to the Humber seemingly the most attractive to them. I would also not be surprised if scrutiny of autumn or winter finch flocks elsewhere revealed Twite to be more regular than the documented records suggest.
Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret)
The Lesser Redpoll was only assigned full species status in 2000, after previously being considered as a sub-species (Carduelis flammea cabaret) of the nominate Mealy Redpoll (Carduelis flammea flammea). Lesser Redpolls have always been the only type of Redpoll breeding in Britain, but their fortunes in the Hull area have been mixed over the past century. They went from being very scarce to locally common and, now, at the beginning of the 21st Century, they are all but extinct as a breeding species in these parts. In The Birds of Yorkshire (1907), Nelson described the Lesser Redpoll as "rare" in the East Riding and Nicholson made no mention of them visiting his West Hull garden a few years before, despite having Linnets and Yellowhammers occasionally. Lesser Redpolls are not at all shy of visiting leafy suburban gardens, even for nesting, so their omission is a strong indication that they weren't to be found in the neighbourhood. A significant factor in this absence was probably the depredations of the professional bird-catchers of the day, who systematically trapped finches for the cagebird trade. These chaps virtually wiped out the Goldfinch population in the southern Hull valley, so it is fair to assume that they were taking large numbers of locally breeding Lesser Redpolls too. By the 1950s, however, Chislett (1952) implied that Lesser Redpolls were by no means rare in the East Riding, though the only Hull record around that time was of six in Pickering Park on 13th April 1948. Lesser Redpolls are usually back on their breeding grounds in April, so these birds may have been nesting nearby. Numbers had definitely grown by the 1960s, with nesting recorded in Newland Park, Cottingham Road and Chanterlands Avenue. Up to six pairs were nesting in the silver birch trees in Northern Cemetery by 1965, although they were considered to be localised, irregular and generally uncommon within the old Hull boundary. Lesser Redpolls were more common outside of the city at this time, with a total of 20 being counted at Little Switzerland, Hessle, in late May 1966, this being the height of the nesting season.
Things seemed to improve into the 1970s and the Lesser Redpoll was a very common breeding bird in the birch scrub that had grown up along the Hedon Road stretch of the abandoned Hull to Withernsea railway line. When these birches were cleared around 1985, however, the Lesser Redpolls left and did not return. Despite this setback birds were probably breeding in northwest Hull and around Cottingham in the early to mid 1980s. The fluttering display flight was noted over Cottingham gardens and the grounds of Hull University, but the only confirmed breeding in this area was at Wood Lane, in the Priory Road fields near Cottingham. A remnant of the Hedon Road colony was found clinging on in the Saltend area in 1985, when two pairs bred and a post-breeding flock of up to 30 was present in August and September. Passage along the Humber was also recorded at Saltend that autumn, with 10 to 20 birds passing westwards overhead on most days in late September and 79 were grounded on 28th. Around 10 per day could still be found passing over throughout October, with up to 50 grounded on occasion. Passage petered out into November and birds were then scarce until the breeders returned the following April.
The passage birds were probably immigrants from the Continent and such as these are likely to be responsible for the occasional winter records in the Hull area. These winter birds may turn up on any weedy or bushy ground, but records are usually few and far between away from the summer haunts. One was at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 6th January 1988, another visited a Kirk Ella garden on 3rd January 1990, three were at High Bransholme Farm on 1st February 1992 with another there on 20th November 1993, one was at the Holderness Drain at North Bransholme on 14th January 1999 and two were there on 28th, with seven over West Hull on 6th October. It is interesting to note that most of the scant winter records are in the depths of winter rather than spring or autumn, when one would expect birds to be passing through, suggesting that they are the result of hard weather movements.
The number of Lesser Redpolls breeding and wintering in Britain has plummeted since the 1980s, and the situation around Hull mirrored the national trend. By the mid 1990s Lesser Redpolls were very difficult to find and breeding was rarely proven. The Saltend colony died out, with just one bird present on 30th April 1998, and the displaying birds around Cottingham and northwest Hull did not return. The odd bird was very occasionally recorded in garden bushes in the Avenues area, however, and may have bred. The last breeding site in Hull was at the Priory Sidings, off Clive Sullivan Way near Gipsyville. Family parties were present there in 1997 in an area where breeding had previously occurred and in 1998 one pair reared young. This is the last breeding record I have received from anywhere in the Hull area. In 1999 single Lesser Redpolls were seen once during the breeding season at the Bransholme Sewage Works (4th May) and Hedon Road Cemetery, with another at the latter site, again just once, in summer 2000. Sad to say, it is very likely that the Lesser Redpoll is now locally extinct as a breeding bird.
Common (Mealy) Redpoll Carduelis flammea
The Common or Mealy Redpoll was previously considered to be the northern race of Redpoll that visits Britain in winter, breeding as they do in the forests of northern Scandinavia eastwards. Recently, however, the ‘Lesser Redpoll’, the form that breeds in Britain, was split from the nominate Mealy Redpoll by the British Ornithologists' Union, the guardians of the official British List, giving us two species as opposed to one.
Nelson (1907) said that the Mealy Redpoll was a very scarce winter visitant to the East Riding, giving no records nearer to Hull than Beverley. Chislett (1952) said that they had occurred at too many places to mention and Mather (1986) summed it up by saying that only a few Mealy Redpolls are seen in Yorkshire in most years while invasions occur in others, giving 1980 as a year when an invasion hit the East Riding. None of these county avifaunas give any specific records for the Hull area. The earliest local record I have is of three birds in the Kerry Woods at Kirk Ella in March 1976, seen by B. Fendley, with another "probable" there on 9th April 1983. The dedicated observation at Saltend and the eastern docks in the mid 1980s gave the best indication yet of the likely status of the Mealy Redpoll around Hull. The first of 1984 were three at Saltend Marsh on 19th November, one again from 1st to 18th December, up to five throughout January 1985 and up to eight in February, with six on 26th March and the last on 8th April. The first of autumn 1985 was back at Saltend on 24th September, with four on 25th November, six on 14th December and two on and off throughout those months. A flock of 10 were in the Old Main Drain hedgerow at North Bransholme on 6th January 1986, a good record there, while singles were at Saltend again on single dates in January and February and a flock of 11 was at St. Andrew's Dock on 22nd February. 1987 produced just one record, with a single bird at Bransholme Sewage Works on 10th March, but the next was not until 1997 when another single was at Paull on 29th September. Later that year, on Boxing Day, the weedy ground surrounding the newly built ASDA store at Kingswood attracted Hull's biggest ever flock of Mealy Redpolls, an impressive 15.
Judging by the above records, the first Mealies of the autumn are likely to turn up around the last week of September and after that they may be encountered at anytime until mid April. The biggest numbers and most frequent occurrences are in midwinter between December and February. Any scrubby or weedy ground may attract them, with a few dozen in some years and none in others.
Arctic Redpoll Cardeulis hornemanni
Nesting in the forests bordering the Arctic tundra, the Arctic Redpoll is a rare winter visitor to Britain and one, identified as an adult male of the race C. h. exilipes, at Saltend Marsh on 25th November 1985 was part of a small national influx that year. The finder was S. L. James and the record was subsequently accepted by the British Birds Rarities Committee.
Crossbill (Common Crossbill) Loxia curvirostra
The scarcity of Scots pine and other conifers around Hull means that Crossbills are very rare and irregular visitors to the area. Nelson (1907) reports that Crossbills had occurred in various places near Hull in the late 19th Century, sometimes quite close to the town, although he gives no specific dates or locations. Boylan (1967) gives just three records for the period 1960 to 1966, stating that these were after continental post-breeding irruptions but giving no details as to numbers or dates. Crossbills often breed quite early in the year, as early as February, but their breeding season can be protracted so Boylan's "post-breeding" comment probably implies late summer or autumn. There were three more records during the mid 1980s, all flyovers by single birds on the eastern waterfront during a time of intensive coverage in that area. The first was a female or immature heading east over West Wharfe, near Alexandra Dock, on 27th December 1985, with another unsexed bird passing south there on 20th February 1986 and another west past Saltend on 26th July. The curious spread of dates for these records shows how unpredictable, not to mention fleeting, a visit by a Crossbill can be in the Hull area. The only other record to have reached me concerns a party of six flying west over East Park on 6th November 1997. It is notable that Crossbills do not appear to have actually alighted in Hull for over 35 years!
Bullfinch (Common Bullfinch) Pyrrhula pyrrhula
The Bullfinch is a scarce yet regular breeding bird in the Hull area, being more widespread in autumn and winter. Boylan (1967) regarded the Bullfinch as a scarce bird generally in 1960s Hull but breeding was suspected at East Park, where 10 birds were seen in January 1967, and another unspecified location. Nesting was proven at Little Switzerland, near Hessle, in 1967 and other birds were present around Kirk Ella in the mid 1970s. One pair reared four young at Saltend in 1984 and others bred nearby at the Holderness Drain and Old Fleet Drain the following year. Two to five birds was the usual count in that area. One or two birds, occasionally up to five, can still be found around Saltend in most months. Breeding also occurs along the old Hull to Withernsea railway line, near Hedon Road Cemetery. Another pair was present in allotments close to the Maternity Hospital throughout the summer of 1998, though Hedon Road Cemetery has seen a decline in numbers since the 1970s.
Breeding was noted in a conifer plantation at Risby, northwest of Cottingham, in 1985 and other Bullfinches have regularly been sighted around Cottingham and northwest Hull since the 1980s at least. Small numbers of Bullfinches were often seen in the walled orchard of the convent on the corner of Beverley Road and Cottingham Road in the 1980s, though they seem to have become much more infrequent there. Hull's Avenues area has also witnessed a decline in recent years.
Up to five birds were occasionally seen along the Old Main Drain hedgerow, North Bransholme, during the 1990s, usually in autumn, but they are not thought to nest there. Wandering pairs or small groups sometimes visit the Bransholme Sewage Works, too, but, again, breeding is unlikely. Other wandering birds can be seen almost anywhere on the fringes of Hull and around the surrounding villages, although they are clearly not averse to following bushy corridors further into the city suburbs. The most reliable location in the Hull area for Bullfinches seems to be the Humber Bridge Country Park, however, where nesting was recorded in most years throughout the 1990s.
Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
The earliest record of this sturdy finch, with its formidable-looking beak, in the Hull area is of successful breeding at Hull Bank Hall in 1893 and 1895. Hull Bank Hall, now known as Haworth Hall, sits on the west bank of the River Hull just upstream of Sutton Road Bridge and is now virtually derelict and surrounded by housing estates but, back then, Haworth Hall was a country estate several miles out of Hull. The master of the house, Colonel Benjamin Blaydes Haworth-Booth, remarked how the 1893 birds were very shy but both the adults and young remained until December of that year. In 1907 Nelson wrote that Hawfinches had also been observed near Hedon in the nesting season, probably before 1900, and that it was fairly common in certain parts of the East Riding as close as the Beverley area. The next specific record was not until 1953 when breeding occurred at West Ella. Chislett (1952) tells us that Hawfinches were "not very infrequently" met with in the Hull area. At least one was at West Ella again in March 1969, others were at nearby Kirk Ella in late May 1970 and "Hull" in June, with one or more at Hessle in October 1971. This southwest corner of the Hull area, particularly the Humber Bridge Country Park and surrounding districts, is now the only place where the species occurs near Hull and it is worth giving the records in full. In 1985 a pair was seen at Hessle on 29th May and singles were seen again throughout June but there was no proof of breeding. One was in the Humber Bridge Country Park on 19th March 1987, three were there on 1st April 1990, eight were seen on 3rd March 1991 with others throughout the year, at least one pair reared nine young in the Park between 1992 and 1994 and a single was seen again in April 1997. Hawfinches are very shy and unobtrusive, however, so it is likely that they have regularly bred around the Park for decades but were often overlooked. Beyond the Hull area the Hawfinch is more numerous out towards North Ferriby and those birds in the Humber Bridge Country Park seem to represent the eastern-most extremity of this population. The only record of a Hawfinch east of the River Hull since the 19th Century is a very curious one indeed. On 12th April 1998 Michael Flowers heard a loud bang on the kitchen window of West Lodge in Hedon Road Cemetery. Thinking little more of it, he was very surprised when, half an hour later, he found the head of a Hawfinch, complete with the characteristic beak but almost devoid of feathers, below the same window. Just how it got there is a complete mystery, as Flowers has seen Hawfinches there neither before nor since. The only likely explanation I can think of is that a wandering Hawfinch, attracted to the Cemetery's whitebeams, was caught by a Sparrowhawk and taken to a tree near West Lodge to be plucked and eaten. It is possible that while plucking the head, which would be cumbersome and unappetising with the huge beak, the Sparrowhawk maybe pulled it off and tossed it aside as they so often do with their victims feathers, feet and other bony extremities. This could explain the bang on the window, as the falling head struck it, and also why it had no feathers.