February turned out to be a decent month for birding in Bucks.
Top of the list was of course the Richard’s Pipit at Bury Field, on the north edge of Newport Pagnell. Initially found on the 17th, subsequent evidence indicated it may have been present from at least the 10th. Either way, the keen county listers who assembled on the morning on the 18th needn’t have worried, as the bird stayed until the month’s end.
It turned out to be quite a crowd-pleaser too, favouring a certain area of the field, and being fairly tolerant of dog walkers and birders. Richard’s Pipit was a significant gap in the lists of many county birders. Apart from a flyover at Steps Hill in May 1998, the last twitchable bird in Bucks was way back in October 1990!
The last few years have seen several winter records of Richard’s Pipit in the UK, no doubt a result of individuals migrating west from their central Asian breeding grounds (check out this article).
And it’s almost certain that some of these individuals return to favoured areas in successive winters (the bird at Awre in Gloucestershire for example). If I was birding Bury Field next winter, I would definitely be keeping an eye and ear out for Richard’s Pipit.
Wildfowl was headlined by a bird whose occurrence was almost as remarkable as the pipit. A female Ruddy Duck was seen at an undisclosed site on 28th, the first known bird in the county since 2012.
The best of the rest of the wildfowl were our long-stayers. The adult Brent Goose remained at Dorney Common, and despite many observers noting that the bird looked sickly, it hung on until at least the 18th. An adult White-fronted Goose was at Dorney Common on 8th and 9 of the wintering Thame valley flock were seen at Aylesbury STW on 15th.
Pintail numbers remained low. The pair at Willen were seen there until at least 26th, another pair was at College Lake on 14th, up to 2 were seen irregularly at FFNR from 16th-27th, and there was one at Gallows Bridge on 22nd. Goldeneye were reported from just three sites, down from four sites in January. Maximum counts were 23 at Willen, 8 at Foxcote, and 2 at College Lake. Goosander numbers and distribution stayed stable. Site maxima included 21 at Emberton, 12 at FFNR, and 8 at Tongwell.
The appearance of two magnificent Cranes at Gallows Bridge on 22nd would have attracted more attention had they stuck around. But they soon departed and were seen at Otmoor later that morning, maybe to spend the summer there. It’s worth noting that these birds were unringed.
Cattle Egrets remained at Shabbington (3 on 8th) and Dorney Common (1 on 3rd). Great White Egrets were reported from 15 sites (the same number as January), with 5 at Linford being the highest count.
Jack Snipe were reported from eight sites, and some of the counts were impressive. Site maxima were 15 at Logistica Floods, 13 at Bury Field, 6 at Aylesbury STW, 3 at Stoke Common, 2 at Gallows Bridge, plus singles at Shabbington, Ickford, and Willen. Snipe remained scarce, with the biggest counts relatively paltry – 21 at Aylesbury STW and 16 at Gallows Bridge.
The Lapwing situation remained stable, with the biggest count being 1750 at Gallows Bridge. Other high counts were 800 at Little Marlow GP, 600 at Ickford, 420 at Shabbington, and 170 at Gayhurst Quarry. That Gayhurst Quarry count almost feels like an anomaly – Lapwings have seemed pretty scarce up north this winter. The beautiful partially melanistic individual remained at Little Marlow GP. Golden Plover numbers took a dive in February, with 840 at Gallows Bridge and 130 near High Wycombe being the only substantial flocks seen.
A first-winter Kittiwake flying through Gallows Bridge on the 2nd was something of a surprise to the observer, and the best gull of the month. It’s been a poor winter for Mediterranean Gulls, and February didn’t change that. Just three birds were seen, an adult at Dorney Common on 4th, a first-winter bird at Calvert on 24th, and another bird (age unreported) at FFNR on 25th.
Caspian Gulls were seen at four sites, although only Calvert held birds with any regularity, with 5 on 24th being the peak count there. In addition, there were 2 at Little Marlow GP on 1st, 1 at Bleak Hall MK on 12th, and a different bird at Caldecotte on the same day. Yellow-legged Gull numbers remained stable, with birds seen at five sites. Once again Calvert proved the most reliable, with a peak of 10 birds on 25th. Other birds were 2 at Newton Leys, and singles at Caldecotte, Foxcote, and Logistica Floods.
The first-winter male Black Redstart hung around at Logistica Flood until the 19th. Despite being elusive and wide-ranging, it proved a popular bird. A second bird was found near Bradenham on 27th.
Stonechats were reported from 17 sites (a slight decline from January), with site maxima including 7 at Pitstone Hill, and 5 at Dorney Lake, Stokenchurch, Buckingham, and Newport Pagnell. There were a few decent Meadow Pipit flocks, with 70 at Berryfields being the largest.
Hawfinches continue to feature, with 8 over Aston Clinton on 13th, and at least one bird visiting gardens in Stoke Goldington on three dates from 19th.
The finch flock at The Hale grew even larger in February, containing 100 Brambling, 600 Chaffinch, and 150 Linnet. Once again there were very few Brambling seen elsewhere. For example, the former roost at Penn Wood returned just 4 birds in February. Away from The Hale, another brilliant finch flock at Swan Bottom contained 2000 Linnets and 1000 Chaffinches. Incredible numbers. 300 Chaffinch at Rowsham was another great count - in contrast, 46 was the highest count from the north.
Other good Linnet flocks were 500 at Rowsham, 200 at Bloom Wood, 120 at Whitehouse MK, and 110 at Tove Valley. It was a poor month for Yellowhammers, with no good flocks seen – 11 at Tove Valley was the highest count. The fact that two modest counts of Reed Bunting make it into this report indicate what a poor winter it has also been for this species – 15 roosted at Weston Turville, and there were 10 at Bury Field.
Speaking of bunting roosts, there were several really encouraging counts of Corn Buntings roosting at Weston Turville, peaking at 73 birds on the 8th. I can’t recall any reports of roosting birds at Marsworth this winter.
There were a couple of good Starling flocks, with 2000 at both The Rye and Bledlow. There were also 300 at Stowe, and 200 at Chearsley.