• The initial report showed only 116 Honey Buzzards were recorded compared to 166 in 1998. By recent standards this was regarded as a low total.
• The highest counts were for Norfolk (16), Dorset (9), Devon, Suffolk and the Isle of Wight (8) and Surrey (7).
• Five were recorded in October, the last being seen in Buckinghamshire on 11th.
• There was an easterly bias in spring and a concentration along the south coast in autumn.

Comments:

• A drop in the total while the British population is by all accounts rising is very surprising and may result from unusual weather patterns during migration or under-reporting.
• In the report on the 2000 season, the 1999 total was revised sharply upwards to 200 as a result of late reports, confirming the latter as the more likely reason.