Whilst birdwatching the Haradh area in early a January
2017 I came across up to 30 Yellow Wagtails including some male Black-headed
Wagtails feeding in a stubble field. This is a very early date for the birds
and they may well have wintered in the area. Mid-February is the start of the
spring passage for this species and Black-headed Wagtail feldegg is often the first subspecies to occur. The Black-headed
Wagtail is part of the Yellow Wagtail complex a group of birds that are common
spring and autumn passage migrants, sometimes in hundreds. Thy pass from
mid-February to May and again from early August to mid-November with many races
identifiable in the field including feldegg,
melanogrisia, lutea, flava, thunbergi and bema. In spring the black-headed yellow wagtail feldegg (considered by some as a
separate species) is often the first subspecies to occur with bema, flava and thunbergi following. By April, flocks of more than a hundred birds
are regularly recorded in cultivated areas. During the autumn peak passage, in
October, numbers are higher with flocks occasionally exceeding 500 birds.
Occasionally they are also recorded during summer and winter such as these
birds.
