THE BIRDS OF SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE
THE BIRDS OF SOUTH
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
MONTAGU'S HARRIER – Circus pygargus
As with all reports of
rare and scarce birds they are subject to ratification by the respective
rarities committees
George Montagu was an English naturalist who is best known for his Ornithological Dictionary, he has contributed significantly to early knowledge of British birds. He showed that many hitherto accepted species were invalid either being birds in summer or winter plumage or males and females of the same species. His study of harriers resulted in the discovery that Montagu's Harrier was breeding in southern England and he was also involved in the first British records of Cirl Bunting, Cattle Egret, Little Gull and Gull-billed Tern. The scientific name 'pygargus' quite literally means white rump or more precisely, the rump plus white.
There have been six Montagu's Harrier reported from S. Gloucestershire, they are;
1958: (1)
A ‘ring-tailed’ harrier being mobbed by Rooks was noted on May 25th near Marshfield.
1982: (1)
A female/ immature was identified on August 3rd near Marshfield.
1991: (1)
On October 16th a female flew in over the estuary drifting east at Aust Warth.
1994: (1)
On June 11th a ‘ringtail’ was located at West Littleton Down.
2005: (1)
On June 20th at Rushmead Lane/ Tormarton Road near Marshfield, a 2nd calendar male
was seen in flight north-west towards West Littleton at 20:00 and remained in
the area until
the 22nd June. (ST: 779 754)
Montagu's Harrier at Rushmead Lane near Marshfield. June 2005. © Paul Bowerman.
2008: (1)
A female was seen in flight on May 12th just north of Tormarton at around 11:00. It was watched in a tree, then in flight heading south towards Marshfield before returning north to be watched north of the B4040 near Lyegrove House, east of the A46;