February Highlights
With such a great start to 2025 it is not surprising that February was a somewhat quieter affair with wind and rain making the headlines. That being said, the first signs of the arrival of spring and a changing of the guard came throughout the month. After those first intrepid first arrivals in late January, the first half of February saw Oystercatchers arrive back on breeding grounds. The arrival of the years first passerines though, not waders, typically heralds the arrival of spring for most birders and that came on the 24th with the seasons first Sand Martin.
The mornings are still producing regular sightings of Barn owl. a trip to the Cotswold Water Park gave some good views of Siskin, Treecreeper, and Goldcrest with a good variety of Duck species still around including some nice male Goldeneye and Goosander.
marsh Harrier, Merlin and Tawny owl all seen this month, along with groups of Fieldfare and a few Redwing.
Towards the end of the month the weather improved and a walk around a local area produced 3-4 singing Chiffchaff.
