Rough-legged Buzzard at Withern on 28th November 2011. Photo courtesy of Russell Hayes.
Rough-legged Buzzards at Donna Nook October 29th 2016 and at Worlaby Carrs October 2011; both photographs courtesy of Graham Catley.
Migrants occur at inland localities as well as on the coast from early October to early November, on the whole. In some years they may be absent, but influxes are noted at irregular and sometimes long intervals. Historically, influxes were recorded in 1839, 1875, 1880, 1891, 1903, 1915, 1962, 1966, 1973 and 1974 (L&A, 1989). In more contemporary times, larger numbers than usual were seen in 1994, 1998, 2011, 2014 and 2015. In the period from 1979 onwards, the earliest autumn record was a very contemporary one - on September 17th 2015 at Pye’s Hall. However, an individual ringed as a nestling in Luleå, northern Sweden in July 1973 was found dead at Ulceby Grange on September 15th 1977, just two days earlier than the Pye’s Hall (Donna Nook) bird. It was just over four years of age.
Unsurprisingly, there is just one record of a Rough-legged Buzzard being ringed in the county. This was reported in full in the Lincolnshire Bird Report 2010 (Lound 2010). In summary, this bird was found sick on November 22nd 2010 at Blankney North Drove and taken to the former Weirfield Wildlife Hospital* in Lincoln. Staff at the hospital contacted Nigel Lound (NAL), an LBC member, as they were unsure of the bird’s identity. NAL duly identified it as a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard. The only injury an examining Vet could find was lameness to one leg. The bird was ringed with a BTO ring** before its release on January 7th 2011 at Blankney North Drove, when it flew strongly away. The ringer, Alan Ball, confirmed that the bird was a juvenile male with a wing length of 410 mm (BWP gives a male wing length range of 403-430mm and female range of 430-454mm). The bird was last seen on January 11th 2011 when it appeared fit and well.
(Note: *Weirfield Wildlife Hospital closed in December 2016; **this bird does not appear in BTO records as it had been in captivity for more than 24 hours. ).
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The rescued Rough-lgged Buzzard described above, November 22nd 2010; photograph courtesy of Nige Lound.
The pattern of Rough-legged Buzzard seasonal occurrence is one of autumn arrivals, mainly in October and early November, with some new arrivals or birds remaining in diminishing numbers through to March, followed by a small pulse of spring passage in April and into May. An unusual spring record was of three birds together near Caistor between mid-March and mid-April 1975, when the birds engaged in twig-carrying and tumbling displays. The latest recorded was a 2CY bird at Laughton Forest on May 17th May 1996. The annual totals vary greatly, and there were several years in the 1980s and 1990s with none. Historically, larger arrivals in Britain were associated with low Arctic Lemming, Dicrostonyx torquatus, numbers in the Arctic but it is not clear whether that association persists or is very strong. There are also two factors that affect assessment of the numbers occurring. First, it can be difficult to know whether individuals seen at different sites or intermittently are the same or not. Second, especially with increasing numbers of pale Common Buzzards, B. buteo, there is concern that misidentifications may be made by less experienced observers. Records during 2016-2019 since the last influx in 2015 have remained low with five, one, four and one record, respectively. Another good year is well overdue.
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Reference
Lound, N. (2010). Rough-legged Buzzard taken into care. Lincolnshire Bird Report 2010, 192-3.
(Account prepared May 2018; includes all records to 2015 (occurrence dates) and 2016 (totals);
updated with reference to the new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), October 2022)
