This work deals with the local heat transfer coefficient evaluation over the fin of the second row of a staggered circular finned tube heat exchanger assembly. The coefficient distribution is determined by using a transient technique and by calculating the energy balance during the fin cooling. The calculation model takes into account radiation with the surrounding and lateral heat conduction into the material. The method uses infrared measurements and integration between time bounds that depend on space. It is proposed to choose the integration bounds with an original criterion based on local heat transfer. Validation is performed on the reference case consisting in a thin plate in an aerodynamically and thermally developing channel flow. Then, distributions of Nusselt number on the circular fin are presented for several Reynolds numbers. The high resolution of the whole method and set-up allow detecting thermal imprints of developing horseshoe vortices. These imprints are analyzed by following their angular evolution around the tube.