Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Annual passage migrant and winter visitor, very rare breeder. (Green list).
No breeding was recorded, but birds were at Dunstable Downs, where breeding occurred in 2021 and 2022, on 4th April and two dates in May.
In the first winter period there were widespread reports from a minimum of 24 sites in January, with the vast majority being of pairs. Evidence of early spring migration was noted at Houghton Brook Pools, with 12 there on 23rd February. Birds had mostly moved out of the county by the end of February, with reports from only five locations in March. A lone individual was at Wilstead Carriageway Meadows on 1st July, but otherwise autumn migration began on 12th September, with one at Houghton Brook Pools, and individuals and pairs were again widespread from the middle of that month. The highest counts were of six, at both Sandy Heath on 8th October and Blows Downs on 13th October. In the second winter period singles and pairs were at 20 sites, often at those favoured in the first winter period.
