<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society Newsletter
Newsletter of the Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society
Honey Buzzard – drift migrant or overlooked breeding species?
Winter 2000
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Prior to this autumn there have only been 8 accepted records of Honey Buzzard in the LDBWS recording area (Harrison et al., 1999).  However as part of an unprecedented movement across much of England, as many as 10 were seen in the local area during the final week of September. While a definitive figure for the national total may prove elusive given the number of duplicated sightings, the movement is thought to have involved between 500 and 1000 individuals (Birding World, 13, 363-365; Birdwatch, Nov. 2000, 60-61).  The initial influx of Honey Buzzards began on 20th September when record numbers began appearing along the east coast (eg. counts of 25 over Gibraltar Point and 14 over Spurn).  These coincided with a strong south-easterly airflow from the continent and an occluded front over the North Sea.  The obvious interpretation was that the birds had probably been drifted off course as they migrated through southern Scandinavia and/or northern Germany, though it left open the question as to why, in similar weather conditions, Honey Buzzard influxes had not occurred in previous autumns.

In response to the apparent lack of any historical precedence for a Honey Buzzard influx from the continent, Northumbrian birder Nick Rossiter proposed an alternative theory. He suggested the movement could be wholly attributed to a simultaneous late departure of British fledged juveniles - if one accepts that the current British breeding population is grossly underestimated. Not surprisingly this theory, detailed in a 17-page on-line article (Rossiter, 2000), has generated much controversy, not least amongst subscribers to the internet discussion group UKBirdnet. Although most subscribers remained unconvinced by Nick Rossiter's theory, the discussion did at least focus attention on the status of Honey Buzzard as breeding species in Britain.

The most recently published estimate of the current British breeding population is 50-60 pairs (Roberts, Lewis and Williams, 1999).  However, on the basis of his experiences of searching for and finding breeding Honey Buzzards in north-east England, Nick Rossiter has argued that the species is easily overlooked in suitable breeding habitat and went as far as to claim that."an extrapolation from my study area.would suggest 200 pairs in northern Britain alone from the Humber northwards".  He goes on to state that "the breeding season was very good in 2000 with 1.4 juveniles per pair in my area and all pairs successful. Extrapolated, with a wide range of error, this would suggest 280 juveniles were raised in northern Britain alone".  While these figures may seem almost inconceivable, there does seem to be some evidence emerging that breeding Honey Buzzards are on the increase in Britain, including north-west England.  With continued global warming, is it possible to that in the near future Honey Buzzards may become a regular breeding species in well wooded parts of the LDBWS recording area, such as the Lyth and Winster valleys or the Arnside and Silverdale AONB?  Alternatively is it possible that they have already reached our area as a breeding species, but have been overlooked?

References

Harrison, K. (Ed.)  (1999)  A Checklist of the Birds of Lancaster & District

     http://libweb.lancs.ac.uk/ldbwschecklistintro.htm

Roberts, S.J., Lewis, M.S. & Williams, I.T.  (1999)  Breeding Honey-Buzzards in Britain, British Birds 92, 326-344.

Rossiter, N.  (2000)  The Honey Buzzard Movement in Britain in Autumn 2000

     http://www.nrossiter.supanet.com/hb/hbsept2000.htm

Pete Crooks




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