Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) of Britain

Photo credit: The Wasp Factory on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Honey Buzzards are rare birds of prey who breed Britain. They arrive from their wintering grounds in tropical and southern Africa in mid-May and return in September. Pairs make their nests in open woodland and feed their young on wasps and bees. 

Honey Buzzards are not true buzzards although they belong to the family of birds which includes hawks, kites and eagles. They spend more time feeding on the ground than any other bird of prey.

Adults are large raptors with greyish-brown upperparts, whitish underparts, broad wings and a long tail.

Honey Buzzards live a solitary lifestyle in open woodland and on the edges of forests.

“The main food both in summer and winter quarters is nests, larvae, pupae and adults of social Hymenoptera, including wasps, bees, bumblebees and hornets”.

“Food is located by following flying insects to the nest and, once located, the bird will start to dig the nest out with its feet. The bird can dig as deep as 40cm, and consumes adult insects, larvae, pupae and parts of the nest itself as it excavates. It also hunts on foot to catch ground insects and small vertebrates”.

“In the spring when the main prey is scarce, honey buzzards will resort to a variety of other food, including other insects, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, nestlings and eggs of birds, worms, fruit and berries” (RSPB – Feeding: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/honey-buzzard/feeding/ ).

Honey Buzzards arrive from their wintering ground in tropical and southern Africa in mid-May. They return to their wintering quarters in Africa between mid-August and September.

The arrival of Honey Buzzards in mid-May coincides with an abundance of “wasp larvae, which is the principal food of nestlings”.

The RSPB estimated 41 pairs breed in southern and eastern England, Wales, northern England and northern Scotland. Their nest sites are kept secret to protect pairs from egg collectors.

The range of Honey Buzzards is between 10 and 40 kilometres, or between 6 and 25 miles. Pairs breed in pine or mixed woodland in lowland areas and the wooded hills of higher ground. They prefer open woodland with open countryside nearby.

A pair make their nest in the topmost branches of a large tree. They either make a new nest or reuse the old nest of a crow and other birds of prey such as a Common Buzzard.

The nest is a large construction of twigs and green leaves with more vegetation added during the breeding season. The female is mostly responsible for building the nest over 10 to 15 days.

“A clutch of two white eggs, heavily marked with deep purple-red blotches are laid...in May. Incubation...takes up to 37 days - 30-35 days per egg...but unlike in most birds of prey there is no aggression between the siblings, and there is usually little competition for food”.

“From 18 days the young are able to feed themselves from food in the nest...The young fledge at 40-44 days and return to the nest for food until about 55 days old. They are independent from 75-100 days. Only one brood a year is raised” (RSPB – Breeding: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/honey-buzzard/breeding/ ).

The European Honey Buzzard is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

The Honey Buzzard “is a widespread summer visitor to Europe, which constitutes 75% of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is large (>110,000 pairs), and was stable between 1970–1990”.

“Although there were declines in countries such as Finland and Sweden during 1990–2000, key populations in Russia, Belarus and France were stable, and the species remained stable overall. Consequently, it is provisionally evaluated as Secure” (Birdlife International - http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/BirdsInEuropeII/BiE2004Sp3334.pdf ).

The Honey Buzzard is an amber-listed species of bird in Britain. The shy and secretive nature of these birds of prey makes them difficult to study.

The RSPB said the number of Honey Buzzards is increasing in Britain possibly as a result of a proliferation of maturing conifer forests. The boost in the population of wasps due to climate change may also be responsible for the rise in their numbers.

A new source of food may be provided by the invasive species of Asian Hornets in Britain. Asian Hornets are “wasps, which can kill with a single sting, pose a threat to Britain's honeybees and may soon have a devastating impact on their populations” (Daily Mail - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8203829/Invasion-Asian-hornets-cause-7-6million-environmental-damage-year-study-finds.html ).

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit

,http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html

Interesting Articles

BTO – Sad Demise of a Honey Buzzard: http://btoringing.blogspot.com/2013/07/sad-demise-of-pioneering-honey-buzzard.html

BBC - Honey Buzzard takes plane flight to The Gambia: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-15533903

Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) of Britain and Ireland

Photo credit: Aaron Maizlish on Visual Hunt/CC BY-NC 

Sand Martins arrive in Britain and Ireland between March and April after flying 3,500 miles from their wintering grounds in Africa. They are fairly common and widespread birds which breed in sand and river banks along rivers and in the open countryside. They leave again for Africa between August and September.

Adults are the smallest of the Hirundine species to breed in the British Isles. They are about two thirds the size of their cousins, the House Martin and Swallow. 

Sand Martins are sociable who breed in open country where water is nearby. They are common on farmland, pastures, rivers, quarries and wetlands. Urban areas, woods and mountains are generally avoided.

Pairs breed in colonies and make their nests in sandbanks and riverbanks. 

The main diet of Sand Martins are insects such as flies, aphids, hoverflies, flying ants and midges which are caught in the air.

Sand Martins fly across the Sahara Desert in Africa and arrive in Britain and Ireland between mid-March and April. 

A map of the breeding distribution of Sand Martins in Britain and Ireland has been supplied by the British Trust for Ornithology:  https://app.bto.org/mapstore/StoreServlet?id=321 .

Flocks of Sand Martins leave for the wintering ground in Africa between late July to September. Most of the wintering population are thought to congregate around the Sahel.

The Sahel lies between “the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south” (Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel ). 

Sand Martins breed in colonies of up to 100 pairs. They make their nests in sandy, dry banks found sand pits, gravel pits, railway embankments, riverbanks and sea cliffs. Some pairs choose holes in walls, drainpipes and brickwork.

The nest is a chamber at the end of a long tunnel which can be up to a metre deep. Pairs excavate between 8 and 10 centimetres into the sand each day. They line the chamber with grass, leaves and feathers.

Four or five white eggs are laid in late May or early June and take 2 weeks to hatch. Both parents care for the young who learn to fly after 19 or 24 days. The young are dependent on their parents for another week. 

Pairs often raise 2 broods a year if there is good weather in the summer. Some males and females seek another mate and start a new family.

(A short video on a colony of Sand Martins can be found on Birdguides: https://www.birdguides.com/species-guide/ioc/riparia-riparia/ ).

Adults and chicks are vulnerable to the American Mink and foxes.

The Sand Martin is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

There has been a slight decline in the population of Sand Martins in North America over the last 40 years. The population trend in Europe is unknown.

A map of the breeding sites of Sand Martins in Europe has also been provided by the BTO: http://s1.sovon.nl/ebcc/eoa/?species1=9810.

The Sand Martin is a green-listed species of bird in Britain. They were moved from the amber list to the green list of birds in 2015.

The Sand Martin is an amber-listed species of bird in the Republic of Ireland.

The BTO said the population suffered “steep” declines throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. The latest figure suggested, “a stable or shallowly increasing population, with wide fluctuations”.

Sand Martins are difficult to monitor as “active and inactive nest holes are difficult to distinguish, and because whole colonies frequently disperse or shift to new locations as suitable sand cliffs are created and destroyed”.

The status of Sand Martins in Europe was described as “depleted”. (BTO – Trends: https://app.bto.org/birdtrends/species.jsp?&s=sanma ).

The Breeding Bird Survey said in 2018 “Winds from the north through much of the spring migration period could have taken their toll on migrant species returning to the UK from Africa, but conditions on wintering grounds could also have contributed to the year-on-year declines for some of the UK’s migrant species. House Martin (-17%), Sand Martin (-42%) and Swift (-20%) all declined between 2017 and 2018” (BBS – page 14 : https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/bbs-report-2018.pdf ).

The population of Sand Martins occasionally “crashes” because of drought conditions in their wintering quarters in Africa. Their numbers are also affected by overgrazing by livestock, climate change, manmade changes made along rivers and in quarries and pesticides.

Netting placed near their breeding grounds can also cause problems for colonies (BBC - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-48838611 ).

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit

,http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html

Yellow Wagtail of Britain

Yellow Wagtails are summer visitors from West Africa who arrive in Britain d between April and May. Pairs breed in damp habitats and then return to their wintering grounds in the late summer.

Experts have estimated that three-quarters of the Yellow Wagtail population has been lost over the last fifty years. Their range in Britain has also declined and are now only found in southern and eastern England. The main factor in their decline is agricultural changes.

The Yellow Wagtail is an elegant bird with a medium-sized tail and the smallest of the European Wagtail species. The Motacilla flava flavissima race breeds in Britain and described as the “most yellow of yellow”. They are also found in the coastal areas of Holland and France.

“The male is a stunning bird with striking yellow underparts that extend up onto the face and greenish-yellow upperparts. Females and young birds are less brightly coloured and may be confused with other wagtail species” (BTO https://www.bto.org/understand…/species-focus/yellow-wagtail ).

Yellow Wagtails spend most of their time running or walking on the ground searching for small insects and invertebrates. Some of their prey is caught in the air.

They often forage for flies, beetles and other insects around livestock grazing in fields.

Yellow Wagtails start to arrive in Britain from West Africa in early April and peak numbers are reached at the beginning of May. The breeding season finishes in August and birds form flocks before returning to their wintering quarters in West Africa.

“Britain holds almost the entire world population of the distinctive race flavissima, so population changes in the UK are of global conservation significance” (BTO – Trends: please see below).

The British Trust for Ornithology have provided a map of the breeding distribution of Yellow Wagtails in Britain - https://app.bto.org/mapstore/StoreServlet?id=334

Pairs breed in a variety of damp habitats which include wet pastures and meadows, wetland fringes, marshes and riverbanks. Arable fields, particularly those with potatoes, peas, beans and oil-seed rape, have been increasingly used as nest sites in recent years.

The nest is made of grasses lined with finer materials such as wool and fur in a hollow on the ground.

The female lays five or six eggs which take 13 days to incubate. The young learn to fly after 16 days. Both parents care for their young and may return to West Africa as a family.

The Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, is classified of Least Concern by IUCN.

Europe accounts for approximately 30% of the global range of the Yellow Wagtail. The European population of Yellow Wagtails has undergone a “moderate decline” between 1980 and 2013.

The Yellow Wagtail is a red-listed species of bird in Britain. They were moved from the green-list to the amber list in 2002 and then to the red list in 2009.

“Breeding populations declined by nearly 75% between 1967 and 2013 and data from Bird Atlas 2007-11 reveal that the species has been lost from the margins of its UK breeding range, which is largely restricted to central and eastern England and the Welsh Marches”.

Yellow Wagtails have been also lost from large parts of East Anglia where it was once “a familiar breeding species” (BTO - https://www.bto.org/understand…/species-focus/yellow-wagtail ).

The Yellow Wagtail population declined by 6% between 2017/18 according to the Breeding Bird Survey (Page 15 - https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/bbs-report-2018.pdf ).

Yellow Wagtails have been in “rapid decline” since the 1980s and their range has contracted to central and eastern England. Losses in their range have been reported in southern and western Britain and East Anglia.

“The European trend, which comprises several races of the species, has been of moderate decline since 1980” (BTO – Trends: https://app.bto.org/birdtrends/species.jsp?&s=yelwa ).

Yellow Wagtails are considered rare birds in Northern Ireland. They became extinct as a breeding species in 1968 and only single birds of passage have been recorded in recent years.

The Yellow Wagtail is a scarce breeding bird in the Republic of Ireland where it is amber listed. “The yellow wagtail is a…regular passage migrant, found along southern and eastern Irish coastal locations feeding on lowland rough pastures and wet meadows” (Irish News - https://www.irishnews.com/…/take-on-nature-grey-wagtail-an…/ .).

Agricultural intensification has been blamed for the decline of Yellow Wagtails in Britain. “It is thought that land drainage, the conversion of pasture to arable and a decline in invertebrate numbers (notably those associated with livestock) may be behind the decline” (BTO – please see above).

The BTO believes more research on the migration of Yellow Wagtails to and from their wintering grounds in West Africa may provide more information about the declines in their population.

.For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit

,http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html

Interesting Articles

Birdguides - Focus on: shades of Yellow Wagtail: https://www.birdguides.com/…/focus-on-shades-of-yellow-wag…/

Belted Kingfisher of Britain and Ireland

The Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, is native to North America and a rare visitor to Britain and Ireland They are known to roam over a wide area the autumn and a few occasionally turn up on the shores of the British Isles.

The male “is identified by its large head with stiff crest plumage, its characteristically long and heavy black bill with a grey base and its tiny feet. Belted kingfishers are notable because the females are brighter than the males – a condition known as reverse sexual dimorphism” (Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/…/punctuated-equi…/2011/jan/10/4 ).

Belted Kingfishers are solitary birds who live near a variety of freshwater habitats in North America such as rivers, streams, lakes, gravel pits and reservoirs. “

Pairs breed “on or near bodies of fresh or brackish water or along coasts throughout most North America” (Guardian – above). They make their nests by excavating burrows in river banks and along the shores of lakes. Both parents look after the young and only rear one brood a year.

“Belted kingfishers live on a diet including sticklebacks, trout, crayfish and insects “They perch along streams, lakes, and estuaries searching for prey and fly quickly up and down rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls”

“They hunt either by plunging directly from a perch, or by hovering over the water, bill downward, before diving after a fish they have spotted “

(Daily Mail - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/The-little-birdie-big-appetit… ).

Other prey includes small frogs, tadpoles, and reptiles. Plant material is sometimes eaten.

Most of the population travel south as far as South America during the autumn and return in the spring. Some remain on their breeding grounds in North America for the winter.

Belted Kingfishers “have a reputation for wandering widely during migration and vagrant individuals have been seen as far away as Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom” (Guardian – above).

There are less than ten reports of Belted Kingfishers in Britain and Ireland.

The Belted Kingfisher was first seen in Cornwall in England during 1909. The last sighting of a Belted Kingfisher in Cornwall was in October 1979 when it stayed until June 1980.

The next sighting occurred twenty-five years later in Staffordshire during April 2005. The bird travelled to Howden in Yorkshire and then Peterculter along the River Dee in Scotland. (Birdguides - https://www.birdguides.com/articles/the-belted-kingfisher/ ).

A Belted Kingfisher was reported on the Isle of Scilly in April 2018 (Rare Bird Alert - https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/…/Finders-in-the-field-Blet… ).

The first official record of a Belted Kingfisher in Ireland was along the River Bunree in County Mayo between December 1978 and February 1979.

Another Belted Kingfisher was seen in County Clare in Ireland in the autumn of 1984. The little Kingfisher stayed in County Clare until the winter of 1985 before flying to Country Tipperary where it remained until the spring of 1985.

The most recent sighting in Ireland took place at the Kylemore Abbey estate in County Galway in October 2012. “It is believed to have got caught in a jet stream across the Atlantic on its annual migration south” (Irish Times - https://www.irishtimes.com/…/rare-sighting-of-belted-kingfi… ).

The Belted Kingfisher is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN,

The population of Belted Kingfishers has been stable in North America over the last 40 years.

Kingfisher Mythology

“According to the ancient Greeks, kingfishers built their nests on a raft of fish bones and, having laid their eggs, they set the nest afloat on the Mediterranean sea and incubated the eggs for seven days before and after the winter solstice.

In order to facilitate this it was said the gods always made sure that the seas and winds were calmed during this period.

The Greek name for Kingfisher is halcyon, leading to the term ‘halcyon days’ which was originally a reference to the calm and fine weather at this time in Greece. We now use the term to refer to fondly remembered times in our past.

The name halcyon itself comes from the Greek goddess, Alcyone who was married to Ceyx.

According to legend the couple were happily married but made the mistake of calling each other Zeus and Hera, which angered the real god Zeus who in bad temper killed Ceyx by sinking his ship with a thunderbolt.

On hearing this, Alcyone, wrought with grief, threw herself into the sea and drowned.

Out of compassion, however, the gods later changed them both into beautiful flashing blue halcyon birds named after her and recognised in the kingfisher’s scientific name of Alcedo, after Alcyone.

In Irish folklore it is said that dead kingfishers preserved in a dry place will never decay and if put among clothes and other articles, they will preserve them from moths and give them a pleasant odour.

Another old folk tradition in Ireland and Britain describes how a dead kingfisher hung by a thread from a post will always have its beak pointing in the direction of the prevailing wind.

Shakespeare refers to this in King Lear, writing:

Bring oil to the fire, snow to their colder moods;

Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks

With every gale and vary of their masters

A kingfisher, said to be the first bird to fly from Noah’s ark after the deluge, supposedly received the orange of the setting sun on its breast and the blue of the sky on its back.

It was considered a symbol of peace, promising prosperity and love” (Irish Times - Why the kingfisher is known as ‘the halcyon bird’ by Stephen Cotton: https://www.irishnews.com/…/take-on-nature-why-the-kingfis…/

Swainson's Thrush (or Olive-backed Thrush) – of the UK and Ireland

Photo credit: Minette Layne on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC

The Swainson’s Thrush, Catharus ustulatus, is a “mega rare” visitor to Britain and Ireland from North America. They normally migrate thousands of miles to their wintering grounds in South America. A few of these thrushes become lost in the autumn and fly to the shores of Britain and Ireland.

The first record of a Swainson’s Thrush in Britain was on Skokholm Island off the south coast of Wales in 1967. There have only been 41 records of Swainson’s Thrushes visiting Britain since 1967.

A Swainson’s Thrush was recently sighted along the coast of Shetland in Scotland in October 2019. A garden in Lerwick was the temporary home of a Swainson’s Thrush.

There was another report of a Swainson’s Thrush at St Mary’s in Scilly during October 2019 (Birdguids - https://www.birdguides.com/…/review-of-the-week-9-15-octob…/ ).

Two Swainson’s Thrushes were seen on at South Ulst in the Outer Hebrides and Tiree in the Inner Hebrides in September 2016.

Birdwatchers gathered to spy on a Swainson’s Thrush in Sanday in the Orkney Islands during October 2015.

The first record of a Swainson’s Thrush in Ireland was of a deceased bird at the Blackrock lighthouse in County Mayo during 1956. “To the end of 2014, there are just half a dozen accepted records: in Ireland (Rare Bird Alert- https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/…/WeeklyRoundup2018-43.aspx… ). The last report of a Swainson’s Thrush was at Mizen Head in County Cork during October 2019.

The Swainson’s Thrush is also known as the Olive-backed Thrush.

The Swainson’s Thrush is a medium-sized Thrush with an olive-brown back and white underparts. They can grow up to 8 inches, or 20 centimetres, long and are renowned for their beautiful songs.

The main diet of the Swanson’s Thrush is insects, fruits and berries.

“The breeding habitat of Swainson’s Thrush is coniferous woods with dense undergrowth across Canada, Alaska and the northern United States, also deciduous wooded areas on the Pacific coast of North America “

Swainson’s Thrushes are long-distance migrants who fly “to southern Mexico and as far south as Argentina” in the autumn.

“The coastal subspecies migrate down the Pacific coast of North America and winter from Mexico to Costa Rica, whereas the continental birds migrate eastwards within North America and then travel southwards via Florida to winter from Panama to Bolivia” ( Daily Express - https://www.express.co.uk/…/Rare-species-visiting-bird-land… ).

The Swainson’s Thrush is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

The global population is thought to be decreasing although the trend is unknown.

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,

http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html