Last month I said January can be a disappointing month, but it was far from that.
February if anything is, for me, a month that can be the peak of dreariness. However, with hard work from a lot of the team it is fair to say it was generally OK, with an outstanding finale on the last Saturday of the month - but more of that later.
The weather was generally average with regard to temperature, but striking in terms of wind, with three named storms, Dudley, Eunice and Franklin between 16th and 21st. Despite many enthusiastic predictions as to what remarkable birds might turn up, only one prediction came true, that there would be ‘nowt’.
The first of the month saw long stayers from January still present, with the tristis Chiffchaff still holding court in the vicinity of Flasks Lane and Nosterfield village. The next day the nominate Chiffchaff was seen again at the sewage farm. Also on 2nd, the long-staying Scaup from January was also seen and subsequently most days of the month.
Also on 2nd the Langwith roost contained a minimum of 475 Curlew. Made for insomniacs, these birds needed to be counted as near to dawn as possible, as they soon split up and distribute themselves around the whole recording area and beyond. Sadly, or perhaps luckily for me, this roost fragmented and was no longer present after the middle of the month
On 4th a thorough walk around the northern part of the area amassed 38 Long-Tailed Tits, including a flock of 15 birds. I suspect the total for the whole recording area could be as high as 70, but I did not have the stamina for such a mammoth statistical exercise.
The lurking Bittern put in an appearance in the reedbed on 6th and the first Ringed Plover of the year was on Flasks the next day. All the while the Oystercatcher numbers started to ramp up, with 56 on 7th. The three Eurasian White-fronted Geese put in the first of several sporadic appearances during the month, on 9th.
Two days later, one lucky/skilful observer added a Jack Snipe to the area year list, a lurking, as always, individual by the nursery. The 12th saw an impressive 48 Goldeneye in the area and Ringed Plover rising to three. The male Marsh Harrier from last month put in another appearance and a stroll by the Ure within the recording area was rewarded by good views of two Dippers. There was also a hint of spring with three Lesser Black-backed Gulls passing SW during the day.
Two Whoopers Swans were present on Langwith first thing on 13th and then flew SE to a field to the south of Ladybridge, where they were seen later in the day.
From the middle of the months, the Skylarks which hunker down in secretive gangs in stubble fields, where we can’t see them without enduring levels of inconvenience coupled with trespass, started to become obvious, with singing birds distributing themselves about and passage birds starting to push through. This started to become noticeable on 18th when 39 birds were counted in area, notably around the reserve and in the region of the Henges.
The 18th also delivered a magnificent count of 47 Shoveler and the highest Dunlin count of the year so far- five.
The next day the wind was relatively light and the area well birded. The Oystercatcher count reach its monthly maximum of 119, the tristis Chiffchaff popped up again in Nosterfield village and a total of 73 species was seen.
On 22nd and 23rd rather unpleasant windy weather marked the onset of more obvious visible migration, again. On 22nd highlights were 110 Pink-Footed Geese north, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls north, 25 Skylark north and a new nominate Chiffchaff south down the hedge at the main reserve. A fine adult Sinensis (continental) Cormorant was also present on Lingham. The next day included 302 Pink-Footed Geese north, 44 Skylark north and 14 Reed Buntings SW. The Linnet flock also peaked at 91 in that day.
Whilst visible migration was very meagre in amount on 25th, it made up for it in quality with a flock of eight Corn Buntings north past Ladybridge Farm. These historically common breeders in the area are now a scarce, bordering on rare, bird now.
As I indicated, the best is often saved till the last and 26th proved to be a fantastic day to be birding at Nosterfield.The first birder was on site just before 7 ‘o’ clock in punishingly cold ‘double gloves’ weather - 1c and a Force 3-4 SSE wind.Within 20 minutes a flock of Whooper Swans announced their presence and headed through WNW.
This coincided with news from Spurn of a heavy movement of Pink-Footed Geese there (nearly 4000 went through eventually). Further reports indicated many were going up the coast and would therefore miss us. Meanwhile two further flocks of Whoopers went through. And then the Pink-feet started, with a starter pack flock of at least 500 birds. By the end of the day, but mostly before lunch, 1405 Pink-Footed geese headed through WNW on a broad front, a new record for the patch.
The total number of Whoopers Swans through was 157, a count that maintains Nosterfield’s premier position for Whoopers moving through north in the spring. To put it into context, on the visible migration web site, Trektellen, there are only two higher counts of moving Whooper Swans in February since the system went live. The day had other treats too, a Turnstone briefly dropped in on Flasks and the first Avocet of the year appeared on Langwith around midday. The cherry topping were two Ravens heading NE over Langwith seen by observers ‘twitching’ the Avocet. All in all, a truly memorable day and a tiring one too.
The penultimate day of the month saw a few more Whoopers and an adult female Marsh Harrier head through WNW after a rest in the Ladybridge area. One observer thought he heard a Mediterranean Gull, but it could not be found, however the next day he located one on the reserve; another new bird for the year.
What will March bring, watch this space……
Andrew Hanby 28th February 2022