CommonChaffinch 1

Photo Study Of A Common Chaffinch In Union Township (Hunterdon County, NJ), January 9th, 2012

    A Common Chaffinch was discovered at a home feeder on December 20th and reported to the birding community by the homeowner, Michael
    Rehman. Further, the Rehman family has generously opened their property to birders allowing hundreds of us to see this rarity to our area. The
    NJ Review Committee will ultimately decide if this Common Chaffinch can be considered wild or not. If the Chaffinch is accepted it will be a
    second U.S. record! But for me just being able to see and photograph it was reward enough.

I wish the quality of the images had been better but the distance from the bird, the heavy cropping and the poor lighting made it very difficult.
Nevertheless, here are some of the photos taken this morning:

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch

  The Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae. It is 6 inches
  long; has a wingspan of 10-11.5 inches and weighs about 1 ounce. The Common Chaffinch is the U.K.'s
  most common finch and has striking double white wing bars. The wing bars are formed by white patches
  on the wing coverts and the primary and secondary wing feathers. Its summer plumage is brighter than
  its winter plumage. The male Common Chaffinch has a pink breast and cheeks, blue-grey crown and nape
  and a chestnut brown back. In summer, its bill is gray-blue, turning to pale brown in the winter. The
  female has an olive-brown back, and gray-brown underparts becoming almost white towards the rump,
  which is greenish. The juveniles are similar to the female but lack the greenish rump. The bill is brown in
  both the female and juveniles. This bird is widespread and very familiar throughout Europe. It is the most
  common finch in western Europe, and the second most common bird in the British Isles. Its range extends
  into western Asia and northwestern Africa. It was introduced from Britain into a number of its overseas
  territories in the 18th and 19th centuries. In New Zealand, it is a common species. In South Africa, a very
  small breeding colony still lives in the suburbs of Constantia, Hout Bay and Camps Bay near Cape Town.
                                                                              (British Garden Birds; Wikipedia; BirdGuides.com)

To see a larger image of any of the photos below, please click on either the thumbnails or the captions...thanks!


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I was able to get much better photos of the Common Chaffinch on January 18th, 2012. To see the images please click on the photo below: