Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Common passage migrant, with a small breeding population. (Amber list).
Breeding was confirmed at Broom East (1 pair) and MCP Wetlands NR (1 or 2 pairs).
The first of the year were at Priory CP and Fenlake Meadows on 1st April, two days earlier than the ten-year average arrival date, followed by a widespread arrival over the next few days. After 8th April, records were almost daily until September, when sightings tailed off rapidly, with the last of the year being two juveniles at Grovebury SP on 24th September. During the year, numbers were very low, perhaps due to the effects of avian influenza, with most counts in the range of one to five, and there were just two double-figure counts, both at Priory CP, with ten on 21st May and 12 on 21st July (that compares to a peak of 61 at Willington GP in 2023).
