Reported Honey Buzzards: Totals by Month 2004 and Comments

Figures from Birdguides with additions from other sources: * from Birding World (Biscay); † from Birdwatch.

These totals are not directly comparable with the presumed migrant totals compiled by British Birds. The records above are unchecked and may include breeding sites, though each breeding site will only feature once per month. On the other hand not all records are submitted to the Birdguides and other reporting systems. Bird Forum does not record the numbers in each report by an observer, so taking each report as involving one bird (as Birding World appear to do) gives a total that is too low.

Notes:

April: More records than usual and enough from different sources to suggest some genuine arrival this early in the season.

May: Another month with an increase in the total over the corresponding month of last year (64 against 54). Migration was on a very broad front with as many in the south west as in the south east and in the north west as in the north east. East Anglia recorded the most with 19 noted, mostly in Norfolk. 69% were recorded on weekends or bank holidays which only made up 39% of the calendar days. The weather did seem better at weekends on one or two occasions but there are also more observers around on 'non-working' days. Peak arrivals were on 3^rd, 16^th and 29^th with a fairly smooth rate through the month overall.

June: Last year with the season running late, significant numbers were still moving in in early June. This year, with a more normal timing to the season, there was only a light movement up to 14^th. Notable records later in the month were of two birds on islands off northern Scotland from 22^nd-24^th. Very few were reported from anywhere in the last week. This is not unexpected with pairs now with clutches of eggs or small young.

July: There appeared to be a minor exodus around 6^th-11^th when 13 were noted including single reports of three birds at Kent and on the Channel Islands. This movement may have been associated with the unseasonable deep depression moving across southern Britain and low temperatures at the start of this period. Otherwise as expected it was a quiet month although more typical return passage started from 28^th-30^th with a total of seven noted.

August: After a steady trickle on the Birdguides site up to 24^th when a total of 27 had been noted, the pace increased in the last four days with 18 noted from 28^th-31^st. Multiple counts of birds on migration appear to be increasing with three loose groups of two birds in Northumberland, Essex and Berkshire on 28^th and five at Welney, Norfolk on 31^st. The breeding season in Northumberland has been very protracted this year with some early birds completing breeding in early August and others not laying until mid-June. The extremely wet August does not appear to have affected productivity in Northumberland but has delayed the appearance of juveniles above the canopy.

September: Only about half the number reported in 2003 of 103 were seen. Some 30 were seen by 9^th but only 20 in the rest of the month suggesting a limited juvenile passage and a poor breeding season in Britain as a whole. There was also an unusual westerly bias to the records in the south with 14 seen in south west England compared to ten in south east England and only two in East Anglia. One on Shetland from 4^th-17^th arrived on moderate SW/W winds, suggesting a Scottish origin. Out of ten reported in Northumberland, six were seen outside of the main study area in the south west of the county. Five of these were in north Northumberland, which also holds much suitable habitat for the species. All of these five were seen by observers other than NR. Northumberland birds moving due S would cross the Channel in the Isle of Wight-Portland area.

It is very interesting that few migrant Common Buzzards have been reported nationally this month, in spite of a good breeding season being completed before the August deluge. The volume of such passage appears to correlate closely to Honey Buzzard productivity, possibly indicating that the very difficult identification challenge of separating juvenile Honey Buzzard from Common Buzzard is not being fully met. Dick Forsman (1999, p. 31, 34) suggests that juvenile Honey Buzzards are probably the most often misidentified raptors in Europe.

October: A quiet month with only five reported, three of which were in East Anglia. The very small tail-end is perhaps another indication of an indifferent breeding season.

Overall: A slight fall in total numbers from 257 to 233. Higher numbers in spring and lower numbers in autumn might indicate an increased breeding population and reduced breeding success but weather also plays a critical role. Regional pattern was fairly typical with south east England and East Anglia to the fore with 52-53 each. The next group, with 26-36 each, included as expected north east England and the Midlands and perhaps less expectedly south west England.