If February was a very quiet month for local wildlife, March certainly started with a bang. In order to retain a veneer of fitness I try to get in a walk of at least an hour every day. Recently I have been walking up to Hatchpen Farm on the Greenwich Meridian trail 2-3 times per week, looking mainly for rarities amongst the good variety of gulls that favour this area in the afternoons. On the 1st I finally had some luck when, in amongst a large mixed flock of gulls on the ground at Hatchpen Farm, I spotted a very pale individual about 400 metres away. It was close enough to get some rather blurry photographs and also flew further away at one point, confirming that it was a 'white-winged' gull. Examination of the images at home confirmed my suspicion that this was likely the wide-ranging, third winter Kumliens gull (the Canadian sub-species of Iceland gull) that has been seen several times this winter at Heydon Pig Farm. My images, as well as a description of the bird, have been sent to the Herts. Bird Club rarities committee for confirmation (or otherwise!). A great black-backed gull (an uncommon inland species) was also seen in (typically ponderous) flight.
Third Winter Kumliens Gull (upper bird) in Flight, Hatchpen Farm, 1 March
Third Winter Kumliens Gull (central bird) with Common Gulls, Hatchpen Farm, 1 March
Having concentrated on the Reed area for my walks in February I then switched to walking along the Icknield Way and also on to Therfield Heath. I had my first local views of golden plover in flight (about 125 birds) on the morning of the 8th - some were already showing spotty breasts as they started their moult into summer plumage. A raven, 25 lapwings and 50+ fieldfares were also seen at Greys Farm. The golden plovers were still present on the 9th (late afternoon), but there was no sign of any of the rarer raptors and owls that used to be seen in this area. As the weather warmed up on the 10th I saw at least two brimstone butterflies in flight near Royston town centre.
Golden Plovers in Flight, Therfield, 8 March
Warm weather, with southerly winds, in the middle of the month brought an early arrival of summer visitors (singing chiffchaffs were recorded from the 9th locally) as well as Saharan sand, which was dumped on my car. Chiffchaffs were recorded in Royston (in the hospital grounds), Therfield and Reed when I went on a walk round the villages on the 14th. Lapwings were displaying on two areas of Greys Farm, where a flock of around 50 fieldfares was feeding on the ground. Five chiffchaffs were singing as I walked across The Heath on the following day and an early blackcap (or was it a late winter visitor?) was singing in dense scrub near Heath Farm. A treecreeper was seen briefly in Fox Covert on the 17th, whilst a few pasque flowers were already in bloom nearby, on Church Hill.
Chiffchaff, Therfield, 28 March
Pasque Flower, Church Hill, 17 March
Corn buntings returned to their breeding sites later in the month, a pair of bullfinches near Wicker Hall on the 24th was my first local sighting of this species in 2022 and a raven flew over the garden, also on the 24th. All five of our 'hibernating' butterflies (brimstone, comma, peacock, red admiral and small tortoiseshell) were seen locally in unusually warm and sunny weather.
At the end of a hard week I decided to relax with a walk round the RSPB Fowlmere reserve (my first visit of 2022) on the 25th. Not expecting to see anything of interest I didn't bother bringing my camera, which was a big mistake because four garganey (a summer visitor and our only migratory breeding duck) were showing beautifully in evening sunlight on the mere, from the reedbed hide. I came back with my camera at 7.00am the following morning, but they had already departed after a very brief stay. Male frogs were busy in the garden pond and the chorus of croaking got louder and louder until 'all hell was let loose' on the 26th when three clumps of frogspawn were laid. At one stage a 'frog ball' of one female and up to four males was thrashing about in the water - as far as I'm aware, there were no casualties from all this rather brutal activity. The spawning took place on exactly the same date as last year's event. A few images, taken on the day, are below.
Frogs and Frogspawn in the Garden Pond, 26 March
"Frog Ball" in the Garden Pond, 26 March
Frogspawn in the Garden Pond, 26 March
After a long spell of warm, settled weather we were plunged back in to winter from the 29th, to such an extent that there were snow showers on the morning of the 31st. Needless to say, spring bird migration was put on hold.
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