For me, the period from mid-February to mid-March has always felt a bit of a damp squib the renewed vigour of New Year has started to wane but spring is yet to get going properly. That doesn’t mean that it is simply a case of as you were, this time of year can be productive with the first hints of spring starting to appear. As the days lengthen and the first Daffodils burst into flower the birds respond and the dawn chorus becomes ever louder and more varied as the cast of songsters increases. Robins are joined by Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Dunnocks and Wrens and this will only get better as they are joined by summer migrants later in the season!
The past 4 weeks have seen a continuation of the warm and wet weather that has dominated much of the winter period. Highlights have included 4 Eastern Yellow Wagtails, in Northumberland, Norfolk, Suffolk and Galway, 2 Black-throated Thrushes, 1 in Lincolnshire, which was a first for the county, and the long-staying male in Bedfordshire and, a Lesser White-fronted Goose in Norfolk. On the Shetland Isles, particularly Unst there was a small influx of Glaucous Gulls at the end of January. This arctic cousin of the Herring Gull is an annual winter visitor and numbers vary from year to year, this year has been fairly quiet but on the 18th January, 15 flew north past Lamba ness, Unst. This was then followed first by 67 coming in off the sea during the morning on the 25th January at Burrafirth, Unst, then 56 the next day and 12 on the morning of the 27th January at the same location. Quite where these birds went is open to speculation but there hasn’t been an associated increase anywhere else across the country. The most likely origin of these birds is from Iceland and Greenland as the winds prior to the 25th were almost directly from the southern tip of Greenland and across Iceland before sweeping across the top of Scotland.
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| 1st winter Glaucous Gull - Photo by Scott Mayson |
Species focus
Goshawk
February is a month when many of our breeding birds begin to think about the coming season in earnest, and as the days begin to lengthen more and more join the dawn chorus, proclaiming territory and advertising for a mate. Many will also be involved in displaying to achieve the same. One of these is the Goshawk, with February being the month when the males begin their undulating display flight in earnest. This can also be accompanied by a slow, butterfly-like flapping flight.
The Goshawk’s fortunes have seen a turn-around in recent times, the latest population estimate from APEP4, 2020, stands at 620 pairs, up from 280-420 pairs in APEP3, 2013. However, it remains a difficult bird to catch up with due to its elusive nature – it isn’t known as the ghost of the woods for nothing.
February and March is a good time to catch up with Goshawks that are on the move, birds that crossed the North Sea to spend the winter here and non-breeders that are moving around in search of their own territory. That northern populations migrate south during the winter is without doubt but there is very little documented evidence of birds arriving in Britain – there is one recovery of a Goshawk ringed outside of Britain being found here, a bird that was ringed in Southern Norway, being trapped and released in Lincolnshire. However, Goshawks are regularly seen during migration periods at coastal watchpoints and on offshore islands, suggesting migrant Goshawks might be a little more common than current knowledge infers.
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| Goshawk - Photo by Chris Knight |
Weather for the month ahead
The weather over the next 4 weeks looks set to continue to be unseasonably mild with wetter conditions in the northern half of the UK and any drier colder weather being short-lived. At this time of the year, any days of prolonged sunshine should encourage species like Goshawk, Woodlark and Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers to start displaying and nest building. Mediterranean Gulls were once a scarce bird in the UK but now they are expanding their range and breeding at a number of sites, often in large numbers. In early spring they start to acquire their stunning breeding plumage of a jet black hood, white wingtips and scarlet red bill. Look out for them along the coast and in flocks or roosts of Black-headed Gulls. |
| Mediterranean Gull - Photo by Chris Mills/Norfolk Birding.com |
Most of our winter visitors will be leaving over the next few weeks as they begin to head back to their breeding grounds. Species like Pink-footed and White-fronted Goose and particularly Bewick's Swan will all but have gone by mid-March. Both Redwings and Fieldfares will also be heading back towards Scandinavia over the next few weeks and as a result, many coastal sites will have flocks possibly hanging around for a couple of days as they await favourable weather to make the North Sea crossing.
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| Birdtrack reporting rate for Bewick's Swan, by the end of February most birds have left the UK |
Any sustained warm weather in early to mid-March could see the arrival of the first summer migrants, these are typically Garganey, Little Ringed Plover, Black Redstart, Wheatear and Sand Martin, although the odd individual of other species such as Swallow and House Martin can also arrive. The arrival of these is not only determined by the weather in the UK but also along their entire migration route from Africa and through Europe. Unfavourable conditions along any part of their route can curtail their progress and set back their arrival in the UK. Both Guillemots and Razorbills will be arriving back at their nesting cliffs during early March in readiness for the breeding season ahead, these will be joined by Puffin, Black Guillemot, Fulmar and Shag later on in the spring.
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| Black Redstart - Photo by Liz Cutting |
Scarce and rare species that could arrive over the next month include Red-rumped Swallow, Penduline Tit, Hoopoe and Alpine Swift, but as with other times of the year, anything is possible!
Scott Mayson and Paul Stancliffe