Sounds like a good idea, i will try to find an email for him and contact him, i also urge anyone else who feel the same to send a small email to him and speak there concerns, my friend called the trust today, im not sure who he spoke too and unfortunatly had no luck, the trust did express there concerns about the birds but apparantly the decision has already been made and the reason being the Hawfinches feed in the early morning and the play area will be used from opening time onwards so there will be no disturbance in there opinion? i have seen Hawfinches there at all times of day and they may feed in the early morning but that is because they like quiet and dont hang around when it is noisy or busy, the building of the park itself is going to be a disturbance, i hope the birds can survive this, i think these birds are superb and they are one of my favourite birds, it will be very sad if they are pushed away


sizergh@nationaltrust.org.uk this is the only email i can find so far,

Steve Matthewman wrote:

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That's a shame!
There's a guy called Rob Pocklington, who works for the National Trust at Sizergh and is a keen birder. It might be an idea to contact him and find out what is going on.

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This morning i had a phone call from a friend who turned up at the castle. Unbeleivably they have started plans to build a play area on the small patch of ground where the hawfinches feed. Even though the castle area is vast and in many acres they have choosen this tiny important area and one of the few reliable sites for seeing hawfinch. We are looking into who is in charge and seeing if there is anything we can do? Who we can complain too? Possibly national trust. Not sure yet. I will post more info as i get it. I personally feel this area is so small and important it would be such a shame to lose it.

At least 9 birds in the trees around the carpark this a.m. giving good views

Also:

Greater Spotted Woodpecker 2
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Jackdaw
Mistle Thrush
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Nuthatch

Arrived at Sizergh this morning just before 8am with Iain Johnson. The car park gates were just being opened and we drove in with another birder who had his camera. We saw about 10 birds originally which flew off, but gradually one or two returned. One gave us excellent views and as we left there seemed to be others returning. I would certainly recommend this site for Hawfinch, one of the best I've visited

Just to confirm as soon as its light has worked for me and the very tall trees behind the cafe - but also the Hornbeam [?] in the bottom of the loop of the car park in front of the cafe entrance - for such a distinctive bird they can be tricky to spot and I've never got more than a record shot! Perhaps we should agree a spot and starting doing a bit of sneaky seeding

Gordon Taylor wrote:

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Hi Sean, I saw four in the trees in the centre of the car park in January. I usually go in late March or early April. They can often be seen feeding under the trees in the lower left hand corner. Last year I saw nine there, a local had seen fourteen just before I arrived. The best time of day may be before the staff arrive at 9:00am when it is quiet.
Hope this info is useful

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Gordon, those trees in the lower part of the car park will almost certainly be the Hornbeams to which I referred



-- Edited by sid ashton on Thursday 17th of February 2011 07:49:44 AM

Sean in the past I have found the Hawfinches at Sizergh in and around the Hornbeams opposite to the cafe in the car park. I have also found that the best time is early morning when it's quite. Hope that helps.