Courtesy of Haines Junction birders, Canada likely has a new bird species.

A Eurasian hawfinch has been spotted around the village since Dec. 14.

It’s a close relative of the more-familiar black-and-yellow Evening Grosbeak of the Canadian North Woods, but this species is found exclusively in Europe and Asia.

At this time of year, the closest members of the species should be residing in Japan, said Cameron Eckert, a member of the Yukon Bird Club.

A few sightings of vagrant birds have been documented in the Aleutian Islands and western Alaska, Eckert said.

The most recent had been written up from Anchorage in 2018.

No records exist of the bird being seen anywhere in Canada.

On Dec. 14 in Haines Junction, birder Wolf Reidl first spotted the hawfinch in his yard. He didn’t manage to snap a photo, Eckert said, but had enough of a look to realize this was something he had never seen before.

An Internet search later, Reidl was satisfied the bird was a hawfinch, and the word was out to other birders in the area.

The bird then went missing in action, despite active searches from the bird-watchers, until it turned up again last Monday in a nearby location.

Eckert said that birder, Millie Hall, then contacted others, who came flocking for a second time to try to get a look at the hawfinch.

Finally, last Tuesday, it was seen and photographed by Julie Bauer.

More bird-watchers, including Eckert, saw it last Wednesday and more photos were taken.

Eckert said the hawfinch is quite capable of surviving a Yukon winter. He described it as a “large, hardy” bird with more than enough food sources to keep it comfortable.

It’s been elusive to find because it’s not reliant on feeders, he said.

“It’s only visiting feeders occasionally so far.”

He speculated the hawfinch had tried to migrate in the fall, but had a faulty sense of direction that somehow led it to the Yukon, which is on the same latitude as its wintering range in Japan and Asia.

It’s not uncommon among birds for this to happen.

“It took the proverbial wrong turn at Albuquerque,” he chuckled.

Ordinarily, such a sighting would bring birders flocking from around the country, if not around North America and perhaps the world.

Expert birders often chase such rarities, sparing no expense for the chance to put a unique check on their “life lists”.

Eckert said he has received a few calls from birders outside the territory interested in seeing the hawfinch.

He had to explain to them that anyone entering the Yukon has to isolate for 14 days, which was a disappointing scenario for them.

People, he said, will just have to appreciate the bird from afar for the moment.

It will take some time for the sightings of the hawfinch to be officially recognized by formal Canadian records-keeping groups. Once that happens, the formal list of Canadian birds will be revised.