MARCH marks the real start of summer as the first African migrants return to their British breeding grounds.

The earliest arrivals in this area tend to be wheatears or sand martins and it was the latter species which was first reported with nine birds at Nosterfield on the 16th. The earliest wheatear I have so far heard of was on Feldom Ranges on the 28th .

The fine weather in the latter half of March also encouraged the arrival of another early migrant, the chiffchaff, with widespread reports by the month end including in Northallerton town centre.

More surprisingly, the first swallow was seen at Nosterfield on the 24th, a good fortnight ahead of the usual arrival date. Even more remarkably, there was a report of a cuckoo at this site on the 28th. Records of cuckoos in March are not completely unprecedented, and indeed there was a sighting on the south coast at about the same time, but the last Yorkshire record was as long ago as 1947.

Just as the summer breeders were arriving, so the winter visitors were moving back north. The appearance of pinkfooted geese in the area has become a regular feature of early spring and small numbers often spend a few days feeding up around the local waters before moving on. This year has seen higher than usual counts with birds seen most days at Nosterfield peaking at 230 on the 24th. Away from this site there have been up to 20 birds at Bolton-on-Swale and 24 at Thornton Steward Reservoir.

March was another good month for gulls with Nosterfield again proving the most attractive site with at least three different Iceland gulls seen here as well as a yellow-legged gull, a young glaucous gull and a fine summer-plumaged Mediterranean gull. The latter species was also noted at Bolton-on-Swale gravel pits.

Birds of prey also provided one or two interesting sightings. These included an early osprey over Colsterdale on March 31 and a red kite seen here on the same day. There were also unconfirmed reports of a red kite in the Northallerton area.

Goshawks were reported from two sites away from the species' breeding areas and I also received a good smattering of buzzard records away from their usual haunts.

The spread of the buzzard in this part of Yorkshire is one of the more gratifying conservation stories in recent years. The species bred in the Richmond and Masham areas up to the late 1890s but for most of the twentieth century it was only recorded as a scarce winter visitor to the upland areas.

Increasing numbers from the mid-Eighties eventually led to breeding again in 1991. From there the population has grown rapidly but it is only in the last couple of years that it has really started to establish itself in the lowland areas of the Vale of Mowbray and even out on to the western flanks of the Hambleton Hills.

Finally, other records of note included hawfinch near Carperby and a pair of black-necked grebes, and 20 whooper and two Bewick's swans at Nosterfield.

Not surprisingly, it was the well-watched Nosterfield reserve which also turned up the month's rarest sighting, a woodlark, which was seen feeding on a bank in the company of ringed plovers on March 10.

This was only the third record of woodlark in this area but with a small Yorkshire breeding population now re-established, perhaps it may not be too long before the next local sighting