Last chance to see...

March is, of course, the first month in spring, and although the main wave of summer migrants has not really begun, there are several wintering species which are starting already to head back to the breeding grounds (which are mainly to the north of the British Isles). Here are some of the birds which most of us won’t be seeing until the start of next ‘winter’. Say farewell to…

Whooper Swan

Nearly all of our 11,000 or so wintering Whooper Swans will be departing to the far north this month, to Iceland, Fennoscandia and Russia (although about 20 pairs breed in Scotland). Their cousins, the smaller, scarcer Bewick’s Swans go first, followed by these large handsome honkers.

Goldeneye

Another bird with a small UK breeding population: some 200 pairs in Scotland (a relatively recent colonist), there are more than 25,000 overwintering Goldeneye in the UK, which will be heading back to north-eastern Europe into Russia. Though they have been displaying here for months, they will continue the actual business of nesting thousands of miles away.

Merlin

For most of us, living in the lowlands of the southern and eastern halves of the country, Merlins are essentially winter visitors. Some 900 to 1,500 pairs do breed, usually in upland areas of the north and west, however, and the winterers will be heading that way, as well as back to the continent, this month.

Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Geese breed mainly in the Arctic tundra of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard, though they winter in the UK in their hundreds of thousands. If you are used to them filling the evening and morning sky with their ‘ wink wink’ calls and great V-shaped skeins, start getting used to times without their presence.

Short-eared Owl

These handsome birds, the owl equivalent of a harrier, are, like Merlins, essentially breeders of northern moorlands and young plantations, which grace the rest of the country with their presence during the cold months. But, they start to head back to the breeding grounds around this month. Enjoy them while you can, lowland southerners!