FEBRUARY proved to be a distinctly quiet month for local birdwatchers despite the north-easterly airflow and periods of snow. Nonetheless there were some sightings of interest, the long-staying Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Bolton-on-Swale was still present and was joined by 30 Pinkfooted Geese and 13 Barnacle Geese whilst a White-fronted Goose was seen at Nosterfield.

The herd of 15 Whooper Swans was still present near Kirby Fleetham and hopefully this might mean a return to regular wintering birds at this site after an absence of nearly ten years.

Waders too were on the move with four Knot seen at Nosterfield whilst at Bolton-on-Swale the wintering flock of Curlew peaked at nearly 500 birds and were joined by a single Bar-tailed Godwit and at least 15 Ruff.

Despite the snow late in the month there were even some very early signs of Spring with the now annual migration of Oystercatchers through the local waters. Numbers haven't been as high as in some recent years, presumably because of the cold weather, but nevertheless some decent counts have included up to 120 at Nosterfield, 82 at Thornton Steward Reservoir (near Newton-le-Willows) and 45 at Bolton-on-Swale. A combined count of all these three sites on the 26th found a total of 211 birds.

Nationally there was a notable influx of Iceland Gulls during February and this was also reflected locally with a single at Nosterfield and no less than three different individuals at Bolton-on-Swale. All of these birds were adults. Other gull sightings included a Mediterranean Gull seen on a number of dates at Bolton-on-Swale and a report of a Caspian Gull at Nosterfield.

Other records of note at Nosterfield included both drake and duck Scaup, a Twite and a "fly-over" Snow Bunting.

One of the pleasures of birdwatching is that even common species can occasionally surprise you. This was clearly illustrated by the humble Wood Pigeon with a huge movement of this species through the area during late February. Southward movements totalling 3-4,000 birds were reported over Ainderby Steeple in less than an hour on the 26th and a gigantic flock moved south over Thornton Steward Reservoir on the same day. This latter flock was conservatively estimated at more than 10,000 birds. Were these just local movements from feeding to roosting sites, cold weather movements ahead of snow or perhaps even an influx of continental birds? Talking of massive movements of birds Bramblings, attractive little finches closely related to our familiar Chaffinch, have been very scarce this year. The only regular birds I've heard of this winter have been in the roadside woods near Little Langton or visiting garden bird feeders in Great Langton. However, a birdwatching colleague in Germany has told me of exceptionally huge numbers of the species in that country. One observer estimated between two and five million birds moving through beech forests in the Ruhr Valley. March could be an interesting month if these carry on westwards!

Another bird to look out for this month is a White-tailed Eagle which has been ranging widely around England over the last few weeks. Recent sightings have been made in north Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire so there's just a chance it might now head up into our area.