The Cock o’ the North or Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, approximately the same size as the more familiar chaffinch. The common English name probably derives from the German for bramble. They (and countless fieldfares) seem to have adopted the hedgerows edging the fields adjacent to Rampton Spinney recently and were not in the least perturbed by the tree fellers with noisy choppers in hand. My wife even asked if we could double back for another look…who says Carry On humour is a bygone?
