Local Wildlife Sightings, February 2024

 The first few days of February were very dry, if rather windy. However, heavy rain arrived from the evening of the 6th and paths once again became extremely muddy and fields waterlogged. With health mainly restored, I started local walks again. I made a couple of visits to Briary Lane in the hope of seeing Royston's first reported winter Waxwing, but without success. However, a walk on the west side of The Heath on the 2nd provided a surprise in the form of a Chiffchaff. Wintering Chiffchaffs are increasing in numbers in the UK, but they are almost always found close to water and there was none where this bird was found. Was it moving through the area or wintering here? Royston Sewage Works (now off-limits) has regularly harboured wintering Chiffchaffs (including a 'Siberian' sub-species one year), but this is only the second bird that I have seen on my Local Patch in February. Nearby, a male Stonechat was holding winter territory. This is a much more regular winter visitor to The Heath.

I can see the folly at Wimpole Hall from the rear bedroom windows, so I decided to go for a walk there, for the first time in two years, on the 6th. Mandarin Ducks winter on the main lake there - I saw seven on my visit. A good range of water birds on the lake included Great Crested and Little Grebes, Wigeon, Shoveler and Egyptian Goose. A look through the flocks of 100+ Greylag Geese that were feeding on the parkland failed to produce any rarer species (I've seen Barnacle Goose, Russian White-fronted Goose and Tundra Bean Goose here in previous winters).

Retreating Mandarin Ducks, Wimpole Hall Lake, 6 February

A smallish murmuration of perhaps 500-700 Starlings was noted at Hatchpen Farm on the late afternoon of the 8th. With more birds arriving as I left, it is possible that numbers might have reached the 1300-1600 that I saw here two winters ago.

A few of the several hundred Starlings seen at Hatchpen Farm on 8 February

After a few days of dry weather, rain returned with a vengeance in the middle of the month and wellington boots once more became essential for getting around the muddy and, in places, waterlogged footpaths and bridleways. Incredibly mild weather accompanied the rain, and I saw a couple of Peacock butterflies in flight during sunny intervals, the first being encountered on the 2nd. On the 14th I was surprised to encounter a very early Pasque Flower on Church Hill. It is not unusual to see this beautiful and rare wild flower appearing at the end of February, but this particular bloom was exceptionally early!

A very early Pasque Flower, Church Hill (Therfield Heath), 14 February

A local walk on the 19th produced a pair of Ravens over Burloes Farm and a pair of Stonechats in fields less than one kilometre south of my house. I didn't have a camera with me at the time, and the birds were gone when I next visited. A female Sparrowhawk was flying over my estate when I returned, and this or another bird was later seen flying over the garden. Other walks on my local patch were uneventful. One unusual sighting in my garden was of a pair of Feral Pigeons, which seem to have taken up residence on my estate. Hundreds of Feral Pigeons live in and around Royston town centre, but this is the first time I have encountered them in the garden! One of the birds was particularly aggressive towards the ever-present Woodpigeons, head-butting one at one point, much to its surprise! The presence of Collared Doves in the garden as well provided an interesting size comparison, as the sunflower hearts that I put out in feeders for the smaller birds disappeared at an alarming rate.

The multiple storms during the winter months brought down lots of trees and branches across the region. The continuously wet weather combined to produce some interesting fungi on this dead wood, an example of which is shown below. The February rainfall record for my back garden had already been broken with six days of the month to go and further rainfall on the 'Leap Day' made this the wettest February in East Anglia and the South-east since meteorological records began back in the 1850s. My own reading was 4.28 inches (109mm).

Fungus and Lichens on Dead Wood, Therfield, 27 February

UK Wildlife Sightings, February 2024

 With reasonable health restored, it was back to 'business as usual', with a return visit on the 1st to North Norfolk, visiting (in order) RSPB Snettisham, Hunstanton Cliffs and Thornham Harbour. The male Long-tailed Duck at Snettisham showed well, although I searched in vain for Snow Buntings along the shoreline of The Wash. Several Fulmars were already zooming along the cliffs at Hunstanton, where a good variety of waders were feeding along the rocky beach as the tide retreated. I always find Thornham Harbour interesting for raptors and waders and it didn't disappoint here, with a rare wintering Greenshank being the best sighting.

Greenshank, Thornham Harbour, 1 February

Male Long-tailed Duck, RSPB Snettisham, 1 February

A trip to Wicken and Baker's Fens on the afternoon of the 5th, looking for raptors and owls, was rewarded with sightings of a Little Owl at a well-known farm site and a close view of Hen Harriers (three adult males and a 'ringtail') coming in to roost at Sedge Fen, adjacent to the National Trust visitor centre. Unfortunately, the weather was very dull and also too dark for photography of the harrier roost, but I did manage a few 'record shots' of the Little Owl.

'Record Shot' of a Little Owl, Baker's Fen, 5 February

Lesser Scaup, an American duck species that closely resembles our Greater Scaup, is quite a rarity in the UK. The storms of last autumn brought in record numbers to the far west of the UK and Ireland, but these were too far away to make travel to see them worthwhile. However, a flock of four (or possibly five) appeared at Abberton Reservoir (Essex) at the beginning of the month, making a trip to see them more realistic. I decided to visit on the 7th and, having had a look round the reserve and a welcome coffee at the visitor centre, I went to the screen at Billets Farm (a few hundred yards from the Layer de la Haye causeway), from where most sightings had come. I was incredibly lucky to get good telescope views and a few photos of the birds (three males and a female), maybe 150 metres from the screen. The birds then moved away and were lost to view. Judging by the (lack of) photos of the birds on the Birdguides web site, I was very lucky to get so close to such a rare (and small!) species.

Lesser Scaup (Males Left and Centre, Female on the Right), Abberton Reservoir, 7 February

Male Lesser Scaup, Abberton Reservoir, 7 February. The key ID feature in this image is the high, domed Head, with a 'point' towards the rear. Common (Greater) Scaup has a different head shape.

A busy week of bird watching from the 12th started with a visit to RSPB Frampton Marsh (near Boston in Lincolnshire), where the Lesser Yellowlegs was present for the 147th day of its extended stay. Some wintering Ruff were also present, and a few Whooper Swans flew in to roost before I left, but my lasting impression of the visit will be of the amazing mid-afternoon 'murmuration' above the reserve of hundreds of Lapwings, over 1,000 Golden Plovers and assorted other waders - quite breath-taking! Hundreds of Wigeon were also on the reserve, giving good views. One of the males that I photographed had some green feathering behind its eye (image below), hinting at a few American Wigeon genes.

Lesser Yellowlegs, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 12 February

Whooper Swans, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 12 February

Male Common Wigeon, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 12 February - note the green Feathering behind the eye.

With a dire weather forecast for the remainder of the week, I decided to go to Lynford Arboretum on the morning of the 13th, hoping to see Hawfinches and possibly Crossbills there. I was lucky with the former, seeing a couple at the tops of trees in the paddocks, but only heard the latter. Hawfinches had been reported at a feeding station close to the entrance to the arboretum. I didn't see any there, but several Bramblings and Yellowhammers were feeding on the ground (image below).

Bramblings, Chaffinches and Yellowhammers, Lynford Arboretum, 13 February

'Record Shot' of a male Hawfinch, Lynford Arboretum, 13 February

By the 16th the weather had relented, and I drove to Deeping Lakes reserve, near Crowland in Lincolnshire. Long-eared Owls had been reported roosting there this winter, and I was lucky to see parts of one owl roosting in ivy just to the right of the  hide. Although its head showed occasionally as it preened itself (confirming its identity) I was unable to get a decent photo. A distant Glossy Ibis was also seen there and a Cetti's Warbler made a brief appearance behind the hide.

To end a busy week, I was a 'client' on my RSPB Local Group's visit to WWT Brandon Lakes reserve, near Coventry in deepest Warwickshire, on the 18th. Part of the reserve was closed due to flooding, but we were incredibly lucky to see a newly arrived male Ferruginous Duck (a vagrant species, normally seen in Eastern Europe) on one of the accessible lakes. Following heavy overnight rain to end an extremely wet week, we also had a bit of sunshine in the afternoon! Some images of birds seen on the day are shown below.

Male Ferruginous Duck 1, Brandon Marsh, 18 February

Male Ferruginous Duck 2, Brandon Marsh, 18 February

Male Ferruginous Duck 3, Brandon Marsh, 18 February

Nuthatch, Brandon Marsh, 18 February

The remainder of the month saw me enjoy wildly different levels of success on two visits to the North Norfolk coast. On the 20th I returned to Holkham, where I added White-fronted Goose and Shorelark (both species that I had missed on my January visit) to my year list. Spoonbills were returning to their breeding site at Holkham and, on a day when I walked 7-8 miles along the beach and through the pine woods, I was lucky to see several in flight including a flock of 14. However, I did miss out on a White-tailed Eagle (apparently from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme) by about 15 minutes. On the other hand, my visit to Sheringham on the 28th was a bit of a disaster from the bird watching point of view. Unusually, I failed to find any wintering Purple Sandpipers amongst the numerous Turnstones on the sea-front groynes. My walk along the cliffs from Sheringham to Weybridge was enjoyable, and I did see a Woodcock flying along the beach (!). My target species at Weybourne was Lapland Bunting, which had been seen in the second field to the east of the Coastguard Cottages there. Sure enough, as I approached this field I could see some bird watchers with telescopes looking at something. Apparently a Lapland Bunting was with a large flock of Linnets there, but I couldn't find it. Shortly after I arrived, the birds were flushed by a Sparrowhawk. They landed again, but all that I could see in flight or on the ground anywhere in the field were Linnets (Skylarks were present too). After an hour or so I set off back. Two bird watchers were looking at something a couple of fields further on. When I approached them they told me that a flock of five Lapland Buntings had been in the field until 15 minutes beforehand, but had then flown off. Presumably, I had walked right past them in my hurry to get to the 'second field'! Oh well....

Shorelark, Holkham Saltmarsh, 20 February

White-fronted Geese, Holkham, 20 February

Linnets on the Ground, near Weybourne, 28 February. How many can you see? There are at least 18 in the picture!

A weekend break with my partner in Dunwich, on the Suffolk coast, gave me the opportunity to see two Dartford Warblers on Dunwich Heath. Woodlarks were also heard here, singing their most attractive 'too-looe-too-wee' songs. To finish this month's post, here is an image of a most attractive Mandarin drake, photographed in London.

Mandarin Drake, Broomfield Park, North London, 17 February