Following three months of very wet weather, February was unusually dry and sunny - not that I'm complaining! There was no appreciable rainfall until the 22nd. I was away for the first part of the month, only resuming bird watching activity on the 14th when I logged 45 species (42 seen) on a walk around the villages. Phillup's Lake was particularly productive: in addition to the pair of wintering (and hopefully breeding in the future?) Gadwall I also saw Little Grebe (1), Tufted Duck (2 - a pair), Coot (3), Canada Geese (13) and Mallard (14). Although this lake is rather bleak and short of vegetation, it is starting to become more popular as a breeding site, with Little Grebes, Coot and Canada Geese having fledged young there in 2022.
Tufted Ducks, Phillup's Lake, 14 February
A large gathering of Linnets (170+) was seen on wires above the weedy field at Wicker Hall the following day. I visited Bramfield (near Hertford) on the 20th, looking for the Hawfinches that had been regularly sighted in or near the churchyard there. After a long wait I did see one fly out of a Yew tree and disappear round the side of the church to sit in a tree where it was briefly seen by others before flying off. I also investigated nearby Bramfield Woods, looking for but not finding Brambling, although I did hear a Raven calling there. On my return home I was delighted to find a female Blackcap feeding on a suet block in the garden - the first time I've seen this species in the garden for several years.
Female Blackcap in my Royston Garden, 20 February
High pressure dominated the second half of February, with a lot of cool, dull weather interspersed with a few bright days and only 6mm of rain in Royston for the whole month. With little happening elsewhere locally, I walked up to Hatchpen Farm on a few dates looking for interesting gulls. The fields at Hatchpen, and Newsells Stud Farm to the east, seem to be on one of the flyways used by larger gulls and this is where I have seen the Iceland (Kumlien's ssp.) Gull on at least two occasions. There was no sign of this individual, but I did add Great Black-backed Gull (a single individual) to my local patch year-list on the 22nd, the seventh gull species to be seen here in 2023. Lapwings were notably absent from the area in January and February. Indeed there seems to be a paucity of wintering Lapwings in Hertfordshire this winter, with two visits to Amwell and a trip to the Tring Reservoirs on the 28th failing to reveal a single bird, although the water levels at both sites were high and mud was in very short supply.
Great Black-backed Gull (top) with other Gulls, Hatchpen Farm, 22 February
Mixed Flock of Roosting Gulls, Amwell NR, 23 February
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