IT has been rather a quiet winter for local birdwatchers and February was no exception.

Even the expected movements of pinkfooted geese and other wildfowl were only noticeable by their absence.

However, hardworking local birdwatchers managed to find a handful of goodies.

Pick of these was a Caspian gull seen on a number of dates in the Lingham (Nosterfield) roost. A couple of short films of this bird have now been posted on YouTube. Definitely one for the experts, this scarce gull shows a range of quite subtle differences to distinguish it from its commoner cousins.

When I started birdwatching, you wouldn’t have found Caspian gull in any bird books but recent research has split the larger gulls into a series of different species, all of which have their own identification challenges.

Another rare gull, a Kumlien’s gull, was also seen at Lingham. Just to add to the confusion this isn’t a separate species but is a race of Iceland gull although some experts think it may be split in the future. No wonder some birdwatchers have given up on gulls altogether.

The other finds of note were a great grey shrike seen at Croft and a red-throated diver which made a brief appearance on Newsham ponds (by the A66). This seabird has only been recorded in this area a dozen times before. Its arrival coincided with a number of inland diver records elsewhere in the country but it wasn’t clear what weather conditions led to this unusual movement.

One of the features of recent years has been the large numbers of curlews wintering in this area. In fact, the Vale of Mowbray and its surrounds is probably now the best inland area for wintering curlews in the whole of the country. The odd ringing recovery has also shown that these aren’t just “local” birds coming down from breeding sites in the Dales but also include birds from the continent.

The main counts in February included up to 339 at Nosterfield, 160 at Ainderby Steeple, 334 at Bolton-on- Swale and an impressive combined count of 676 birds in the Newsham area.

That early harbinger of spring, the oystercatcher, appeared from mid-month with a bird at Ainderby Steeple on the 18th and then good numbers passing through including peaks of 86 at Nosterfield, 74 at Thornton Steward Reservoir and 130 in the Newsham/Thorpe Farm area on the A66.

At Newsham, the avocets returned from the 16th and there were five present by the month end. Other wader sightings of note included 20 dunlin, Jack Snipe and nine ruff at Nosterfield.

An unusual find on the floodwater at Ainderby Steeple was a black swan. These are the Australian equivalent of our familiar mute swan but with black plumage and a red, rather than orange, bill.

This will be an escape from some waterfowl collection but still made a striking sight in an English landscape of pasture and hedgerows. Escaped black swans now breed in very small numbers in Britain but are vulnerable to hard winters, presumably because they have never had to adapt to long periods of frozen water in their native habitat.

Looking ahead to March, we should see the first arrivals of summer migrants. Typically, the first bird will be one of ring ouzel, chiffchaff or sand martin, but little ringed plovers, wheatears and perhaps even an early swallow might also make it by month end.

March is also the month that waterfowl start their main departures north. If you’re lucky, you might spot a large “V” of pinkfooted geese passing over. They can be distinguished from the commoner greylag goose by their smaller size and their higher pitched call.

March is also probably the best month for catching up with whooper swans. Small family groups or larger herds can drop in on any stretch of open water as they head north to their nesting areas.

However, the best sites not surprisingly tend to be Scorton Quarry, Bolton-on-Swale lake, Newsham ponds or Nosterfield.

Ringing of these birds has shown most of those recorded in this area come from the large winter gatherings on the Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire.

These birds used to travel up the Yorkshire coast but are now more likely to move through the Vales of York and Mowbray en route to their breeding areas. I can only think this is due to the improved habitat in this area, in particular the flooded gravel pits and other waters that have so enhanced local birdwatching.

If you spot some whoopers, or any other interesting birds, I would be very happy to receive your sightings at nick.morgan1@virgin.net.