Confirmed Totals for Honey Buzzard Passage in 2000

Confirmed Totals for Honey Buzzard Passage in 2000

Reference: Nightingale, B, & Elkins, N, The Birdwatching Year 2000, British Birds 94(12) 590-600 (2001).

20th September: 25 Gibraltar Point, 15 Spurn, 27 Norfolk.

Sheffield: 29 from 22nd September - 1st October.

Nottinghamshire: 64 from 21st September - 1st October.

Lincolnshire: 98 total (only 80 before to date).

Leicestershire: Loughborough 18 on 22nd; Twycross 25 on 25th.

Norfolk: 70 including 27 on 20th above.

Essex: Abberton Reservoir 42 from 22nd-23rd September.

Surrey: 76 from 21st September - 6th October.

East Sussex: Beachy Head 110 passing during the period (20th September - early October) including 63 on 30th September alone.

Portland: 56 during 23rd-30th September including 37 on 30th.

Estimates of total numbers involved range from 500 to perhaps as many as 800.

Suspected cause of movement: with the onset of south-easterlies and a succession of fronts moving into the North Sea between 20th September and early October, there was a remarkable influx of this species with many counties having to rewrite their record books.

Other raptors associated with the movement:

Marsh Harriers: including four at Dungeness on 24th September.

Common Buzzards.

Ospreys: including one at Dungeness on 24th September.

Common Kestrels: including 95 logged at Spurn on 28th September, the second highest day count since 1945

Hobbies: Surrey had best ever autumn; in Nottinghamshire more than 40 contrasts with a typical count of three or four for the same period; three were at Dungeness on 24th September.

Merlins: five were at Dungeness on 24th

Comments:

The substantial movement from 20th September - early October is confirmed.

The total size of the movement is still not clear. No total is given for south coast emigration. It may be difficult to be sure, with uncoordinated counts, how many birds were actually involved. As well as birds at high altitude being completely missed, it is also very easy for a group of birds to be counted twice or even more times as they manoeuvre for an optimal sea crossing.

No evidence is produced of movements on the continent which may have contributed to the British movement.

The other raptors associated with the movement all now have large British breeding populations Rare Breeding Birds Panel 1999 .

In particular the Hobby is now estimated to have a British breeding population of around 2,500 pairs giving a post-breeding population of over 10,000 birds with 2.44 young fledged per successful pair Hobby Population in Britain . We must now expect some concentrations to appear in Britain when the birds are exiting. The Hobby is also spreading north and west in Britain so the presence of large numbers in Nottinghamshire is completely to be expected.

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