Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Very rare, with occasional winter influxes, with an exceptional influx in 2017. (Red list).
After two very quiet years, there were 213 reports. Unusually, the first was found on 12th May, when one was heard calling over Biggleswade, with another at Chicksands on 16th May, but there were no further reports until autumn.
During October, there were 25 reports, all concerning passage migration, the vast majority from east Bedfordshire during vismig watches. Th e first, a single seen on the 3rd at Warden Hill Everton, marked the start of a very productive period. They were reported from 25 sites on 13 days in the month, the best of which was the 27th, when there were at least ten individuals through four sites. Passage continued into November before the first began to settle in suitable habitats, with Warden Warren at the forefront, holding two from the 4th, increasing to a peak of 26 by the 7th, with then good numbers until the 15th. As a result the site was popular with birders, resulting in over half of the 107 reports for the month. Away from there, they were at 21 other sites throughout the county and, of these, reports of multiples came from Aspley Guise, with two on the 7th, and The Lodge, with three on the 8th, before another two were at Pedley Birches, Bedford on the 21st. December saw a marked fall in reports, though Warden Warren still held up to six and there were a regular pair at Pedley Birches throughout the month. The only records from outside of those areas were singles at Th e Lodge on the 3rd, Wrest Park on the 15th and finally Woburn Park on the 28th.
