Kingfisher can be an unpredictable bird here, with some winters only boasting a handful of sightings. This winter has been one of the good ones, with a single bird showing very frequently all winter, and two birds being seen together for the first time at the end of January. For the first two weeks of February the two birds were seen together almost every day. They would sometimes perch close together in the channel between the main reed-bed and the first island, easily viewable from the start of the boardwalk. They also spent a lot of time flying around together, often being very vocal. They appeared to be doing a lot of exploring, both here and over the road on the West Reservoir, and were probably looking for suitable nesting sites. By the end of February though, the pair appeared to have moved on, presumably after finding a more suitable site for breeding somewhere else.  

Great crested grebes nest here every year and this year they started building a nest in the middle of February and the eggs were laid from around the 20^th.

The first new bird for the year was a red-crested pochard (above) seen on the 8^th. A handful of birds have been based in Finsbury Park most of the winter and tend to increasingly spend time further afield as the breeding season approaches. The first little egret (below) of the year was seen on the 10^th, although that was the only known sighting in the month.

The first yellow-legged gull of the year was also seen on the 10^th, with presumably the same bird visiting again the following day.

The poor winter for shoveler continued with just a few sightings of a pair. Teal numbers were healthier, just about making it into double figures. It is hard to know how many snipe are here but their number was probably not many more than the three which were often seen together near the water outlet.

The flock of around ten redwing stayed for the whole of February, with their numbers being significantly boosted during a brief cold spell, when they could still feed on ivy berries and found some sheltered areas along the woodland trail where the ground wasn’t frozen. Reed bunting sightings increased through February, though there were probably no more than two birds present.

The total number of bird species seen here in February 2023 was 60, a number very typical for February here although in years with an extended cold spell this can get up to the mid or high 60’s.