Weekly round-up: 08 - 14 May 2013
To be honest, I’ve no idea what’s been happening here for the last two weeks, tho’ it doesn’t appear to have been an overly electrifying fortnight which, from a wholly selfish point of view, is clearly a good thing...!
With a head still full of such awesome birds as summer plumaged Spoon-billed Sandpiper ~ finding your own is a truly exhilarting experience - magnificent male Cabot’s Tragopan feeding in the open for 10 minutes a short 35 paces away (of course I counted how many!) and a persistence-pays-off scenario where Chinese Crested Terns was concerned, it has been tough getting back in to the swing of things, but here goes anyway….
The overshoots kept on overshooting, despite what looks to have been a pretty indifferent set of mid-May weather, many places wriggling and wrestling with inclement showery spells (or longer periods of the wet stuff), backed by fresh southwest to westerly winds.
It wasn’t the case everyhwere though and Shetland looked to have nipped in with the better birds of the week as the weather map ~ once again ~ appeared to be most conducive to rares making their way to the far flung Scottish islands....
Generally though, it was a struggle and there’s little change on the horizon.
Puttting on the respective best bibs and tuckers this week were not one, but two super-handsome first-summer male Collared Flycatchers, one in the far northeast of England with number two following, almost as you’d expect, on Shetland.
The first first-summer male of the week was an excellent tea-time find on the coast of Northumberland, at Low Newton-by-the-Sea, on 8th ~ showing well until dusk and throughout the whole of the next day too ~ last seen just before 8pm.
A county first, it is perhaps a little surprising that there hasn’t been a Collared Flycatcherin the northeast in the past ~ a look at the previous records reveals just four accepted records (before the Low Newton bird) between North Yorkshire (a male at Filey in 1985) and Aberdeenshire ~ other birds, all further males, were seen at Ethie Mains (Angus) at the end of May in 1997, at Cove Woods (Aberdeenshire) at the end of April 1999 and a four-day bird at Denburn Woods (Fife) in the middle of May 2009.
Somewhere that is quite used to hosting this gorgeous Ficedula is Shetland and on 10th, the day after the Northumberland bird was last seen, a male was discovered at Skaw, on Whalsay, where it remained to 14th.
As with numerous other species (admittedly almost entirely autumn birds such as Lanceolated and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers, Pechora Pipits and the like), Shetland dominates the records list where Collared Flycatcher is concerned ~ this week’s new bird will become the 14th record for the islands, out of an overall total (for Britain and Ireland) of 38 records (a total that includes the two males from 2013 and the Tory Island bird from last spring).
The first British record was also Shetland’s first, a male shot on Whalsay on May 11th 1947. Shetland’s second came nearly 30 years later, another male, this one on Out Skerries in May 1975, and was followed a year later by one of the few accepted female Collared Flycatchers, also found on Out Skerries. A third 1970’s record came on Bressay in 1979.
There was just one record during the 80’s on the islands, a first-winter trapped on Fair Isle in 1986, and there were three seen during the 1990’s (between 1995 – 1999). The 2000’s has seen five records already, which reflect the overall upward trend of this once genuine mega.
Since 2002 there have been 14 Collared Flycatchers, including two in 2004 and three each for 2009 and 2011 to go along with this week’s duo, and the species has been seen annually since 2009. Interestingly, aside from the (at the time) much debated young male in Holkham Pines on May 12th-13th 1985 (taking over a decade to be accepted as a pure bird and not a hybrid), there has yet to be a conclusively proven record of a Collared X Pied Flycatcher in Britain but, given the increase in “pure” birds here recently and the, still, increasing numbers of hybrid pairs breeding in Sweden, it seems likely that we may land one of the more taxing individuals before too long.
Prior to the discovery of the Collared Flycatchers, much of the chatter early in the week concerned the remarkable capture, on a camera trap designed to secure images of Scottish Wild Cats, of a funky White’s Thrush marching about the understory of the Ledmore & Migdale Woods Woodland reserve, near Bonar Bridge (Highland). Sadly, the image came from January 31st this year, but it was still pretty exciting stuff and will become only the fourth winter record of this most awesome of thrushes in the past five decades.
Previous individuals noted in the depths of a British winter were found at Salcombe, in south Devon, on January 12th 1984, at Libberton (Lanarkshire) in early January 1979, near Thirsk (North Yorkshire) for two days in December 1976, on Fair Isle for a day in February 1971, at Bude (Cornwall) for two days at New Year 1962, shot in Perthshire in January 1956, Suffolk in December 1928 and West Yorkshire in December 1902. Remarkably, a further 13 winter birds were collected in the 19th Century.
Then, on 11th, came belated news of an unconfirmed report of another White’s Thrush ~ this one was seen briefly at Glen Feshie (also in Highland) on May 5th ~ accepted spring records are extremely thin on the ground where White’s Thrush is concerned ~ there are two for April, the well-twitched five day bird on Copeland Island (Co. Down) in 1993 and a one day bird on Shetland in 2005 and there is also one May record, from Cheshire in 1964, and one June bird too, seen on the Isle of May (Fife) in 2009.
The old round-up game of putting 2+2 together and getting any manner of numbers adjacent to 4 (and occasionally the right answer as well..) was put to the test as the week drew to a close. A summer-plumaged Pied-billed Grebe was found on Achill Island’s Sruhillbeg Lough, over in lovely County Mayo on 14th ~ a second record for the county following on from a week-lonmg staer on Lough Baun in late October to early November last year.
Could the Mayo birds actually be one in the same? Or could the current Mayo bird actually be the summer male that spent a few months in Somerset? He was last seen on May 6th...the route of a northbound transit isn’t too far askew.....
The freshening Atlantic weather systems saw a few seawatchers reap the rewards between 10th-12th with a decent push of both Long-tailed Skuas and Pomarine Skuas, spread between Gwent and the Outer Hebrides.
It wasn’t too much of a surprise that the Hebrides fared best ~ generally when the conditions are right for spring skua passage, it is the Hebs that always cleans up ~ but just because it was expected, it shouldn’t lessen the impact of the wonderous sight of sizeable numbers of these supreme seabirds passing by some spectacularly scenic locations…
At Ardvule, on South Uist, on 11th at least 91 Long-tailed Skuas were counted between 7am and 2pm, with local resident John Kemp on hand to record a delightful record shot of four of the adults concerned.
Along the way, up on North Uist, those casting an eye out to sea at Balranald RSPB on the same day scored 57 birds in a similar timeframe and then rattled in a super score of 265 off Aird an Runair, in just under six hours, during the afternoon and evening of 12th.
Elsewhere, notable Long-tailed Skuas included 27 off Criccieth (Gwynedd) on 10th, a lone bird off Newport Wetlands (Gwent) on 11th and up to 28 birds, at two different sites, in Ayrshire on 12th, while the week concluded with a further 19 west coast birds, including six reported off Aberystwyth.
Seven birds were seen in Cumbria and on 13th, five more flew over Annagh Head (Co. Mayo) and 30 were seen from Strathaird Point on the Isle of Skye, but these figures were merely the warm-up act for the show-stealing tally of 415 birds off Balranald throughout the day ~ what a day that must have been….
Pomarine Skuas appeared in higher numbers still, and a daily break down reveals some impressive scoring through the week.
On 8th, at least 45 birds were recorded, all of them along the south coast. Birds began to filter along to the west coast on 9th, with at least 57 noted including 26 off Criccieth. The following day (10th) saw 556 birds recorded, with the emphasis now almost entirely on the far northwest ~ just over 100 each for Annan (Dumfries & Galloway) and Bowness-on-Solway (Cumbria), while on North Uist, Balranald weighed in with 163.
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Some of the big numbers for the week came on 11th ~ Balranald collecting a whopping 614 birds throughout the day, with 342 off Ardvule on South Uist (doubtless many of these birds were duplicates, but they are impressive tallies whatever). Sixty Poms were seen off Ardivachar Point, also on South Uist on the same day, with a similar figure for Bowness-on-Solway (where Darren Robson was on hand to capture a flock brandishing plenty of the relevant cutlery….) and many ones, twos and threes were spread along the west coast, all the way down to Somerset. The day’s total mustered almost 1800 birds.
Another 356 Pomarine Skuas headed past Balranald on 12th, with 59 off Seafield (Dumfries & Galloway) and a further five double-figure groups elsewhere to bolster the numbers to over 562. Things seemed to have eased a little on 13th, 27 off Annagh Head (Co. Mayo) was definitely of note, as where the 63 off Bowness. Another 100 or so birds were added in to the mix before the Hebs haul was revealed ~ as well as the 415 Long-tails, there were also a massive 455 Poms ~ wowsa! The overall figures for 13th (some 670 birds recorded) took the week’s haul to around 3065 birds and with an additional 119 seen on 14th, the tally rose to an impressive 3184 which make that an awful lot of spoons….
In amongst all the skua action were a few Leach’s Storm-petrels ~ one was seen passing Burnham-on-Sea (Somerset) on 10th while, more expected, were birds in the Outer Hebrides, singles off Ardivachar and Ardvule on 12th and 13th, with two off Balranald on the former date and nine there on the latter. Also on 13th, a single Leach’s was seen off Neist Point, Isle of Skye and another flew past Salcoats (Ayrshire) on 14th.
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Those intrepid birding Scotsmen and ex-pats were back on the High Seas off Portsoy (Aberdeenshire) on 12th, scoring (a still-impressive) five White-billed Divers. Single birds were seen at Burghead (Moray) and Evie, Mainland (Orkney) on 9th and then in flight over St. Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 10th.
The only other seabirds of note this week were a handful of Balearic Shearwaters, a one and then a two were off Portland Bill (Dorset) on 9th and 10th, with a single bird off Brighton Marina (East Sussex) on 9th and another off Thurlestone (Devon) on 13th.
In north Wales this week, a Black Stork was reported from Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd (Clwyd) on 9th and followed on from another belated report in Somerset from the middle of the previous week ~ one seen at Monksilver on May 4th, while all of the week’s White Stork records (in Norfolk, the two birds at Breydon, and in County Durham and then North Yorkshire) all related to escaped birds.
Another “after the event” report was of a Squacco Heron at Lanreath (Cornwall) on 8th ~ apparently in an area with no general access. If accepted it would become the 20th record for the county and the first there for three years.
A Purple Heron spent the day of May 8th at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) while eight Great White Egrets included two at Ham Wall RSPB (Somerset) and the long-stayer still at Coombe Hill Meadows (Gloucestershire) early in the week (perhaps moving to Frampton on 14th). In Northumberland, last week’s bird at Hauxley remained to 9th before moving to East Chevington on 10th.
The same date saw another Great White Egret appear at Flamborough Head (East Yorkshire) and one was also seen at Priorslee Lake (Shropshire), before moving to Wall Farm on 13th. In Staffordshire, one was seen at Belvide Reservoir and over Stafford on 12th and one was at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) as the week came to a close.
In Kent, a Cattle Egret flip-flopped between Grove Ferry and Stodmarsh between 8th-11th with another arriving at Shorne Marshes RSPB (not far from Cliffe Pools) on 14th. Further Cattle Egrets were seen in Suffolk, at Minsmere and North Warren RSPB reserves, on 11th and on Anglesey, at Llanfachraeth on 14th, while in the north of Ireland, at Hillsborough (Co. Down) the summer adult Cattle Egretremained to 12th.
The Marloes Mere Glossy Ibis played second-fiddle to an all-the-more glamorous (and rarer) visitor this week (more on that later) but clearly didn’t take it to heart ~ still present to 13th at least.
Six Spoonbills were at Minsmere on 10th, with four there to 13th, and three over Benacre on 12th, with singles at a couple of other coastal sites in Suffolk through the week too. Up to four singles were seen along the north Norfolk coast (from Titchwell to Cley) and four were seen over Hickling on 14th. Two birds were on the lagoons at Brownsea Island (Dorset) early in the week and in South Yorkshire, the inland Spoonbill was again at Wombwell Ings on 10th.
The only Common Cranes this week were a single bird at Lakenheath RSPB (Suffolk) on 8th, two lingering birds at Wicken Fen NT in adjoining Cambridgeshire on 10th and singletons back in Suffolk, over Minsmere, on 13th when another was seen at Wedholme Flow (Cumbria) ~ this bird may have been in the county for a few days before too.
A Spotted Crake was seen briefly at Clayhanger Marsh (West Midlands) on 9th.
The drake Lesser Scaup remained at Anglers CP (West Yorkshire) to 10th when a regular drake was again on St. John’s Loch (Highland) where it remained to 13th at least. In Cleveland, at Saltholme Pools, the drake Lesser Scaup was back on the Allotment Pools on 12th, after an absence of almost a fortnight.
In East Yorkshire, the first-winter Ring-necked Duck stayed at Tophill Low NR to 13th and adult drakes were at Inch Island Lake (Co. Donegal) on 9th and again at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 13th.
The latter site also hosted a drake Ferruginous Duck on the same date while in Suffolk, at Minsmere, the female Ferruginous Duck remained to 9th.
In Scotland, the long-staying drake Blue-winged Teal was at Bridgend Farm Pool (Clyde) to 11th while just three drake Green-winged Teals made it to this part of the month, one still at Campfield Marsh RSPB (Cumbria) on 11th and another spent 12th-14th at Dungeness RSPB (Kent) ~ the first record for the site for almost a decade (since one there in February 2004). The third of the week was found at Wanlip Meadows LRWT (Leicestershire) on 14th. In Cork, at Cuskinny Marsh, a first-summer drake American Wigeon was seen on 12th-14th.
Two familiar drake King Eiders were watched during the week this week, still at Symbister, Whalsay (Shetland) and on the Ythan Estuary (Aberdeenshire) to 8th and 14th respectively, while Surf Scoter records came from Embo (Highland), a drake there on 8th-9th, around the Musselburgh area of the Lothian coast on 9th-14th with another drake a little further south, off Stag Rocks (Northumberland) on 14th, while a first-year drake was still at Rosslare Bay (Co. Wexford) on 12th. A drake Northern Eider (form borealis) was photographed off Tiree, Argyll and Bute on 8th May.
A Black Brant was at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 8th and an adult and first-winter were reported from Kirton Marsh (also in Lincs.) on 13th.
A spotty spring Spotted Sandpiper is always a lovely thing and the bird found along the Camel Trail, near Wadebridge (Cornwall) on 10th was as lovely as they come. Still present on 14th, the bird will become the 14th mainland record for Cornwall but only the third modern-day spring record ~ following May birds in 1987, 2006 and an over-wintering bird on the Hayle that was last seen in May 2007.
In Cambridgeshire, a Black-winged Stilt was a neat find at Wicken Fen NT on the afternoon of 14th ~ the bird remained through until dusk. There have been seven accepted county records of this gangly traveller, but that tally doesn’t include last year’s six-day stayer at Paxton Pits, from May 3rd-8th. Also at Wicken Fen on 14th, appearing just ahead of the Stilt was a flock of three Pectoral Sandpipers ~ unusual not only for the inland location but also for the number of birds ~ spring Pecs rarely make it beyond two.
There were a further seven Pectoral Sandpipers recorded this week ~ birds leftover from previous weeks were still at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) and Bradford Kaims (Northumberland) ~ to 8th and 11th ~ while new arrivals appeared at Dungeness and Cahore Marsh (Co. Wexford) on 11th (with two birds at the latter site on 12th), briefly at Orford Ness (Suffolk) also on 12th and at Seaton Common (Cleveland) on 14th.
Just over 60 Dotterel were found during the week ~ with a flock of seven at Grainthorpe Haven (Lincolnshire) growing to 12 and then 14 as the week concluded. A trip of 10 was reported from Ynyslas (Ceredigion) on 8th and eight were seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 8th. Back in Lincolnshire, another eight were at Tetney on 10th (some five miles from Grainthorpe, so probably different birds) while Lancashire’s Pendle Hill scored five on 12th-13th, four were at South Stack RSPB (Anglesey) on 14th and there were three at Grimston (East Yorkshire) on 10th.
Cley remained the best place in the UK to see Temminck’s Stint ~ the annual May passage of this cute, mousey wader is pretty much guaranteed on the famous reserve and this week four were still in place as the new review period began, with two present on 13th (which, given the through flow of Temminck’s at Cley, were almost certainly different individuals). Elsewhere in Norfolk, two birds were on private land near Methwold and another was at Titchwell RSPB on 9th-10th.
Further a field, single Temminck’s Stints were found at Saltholme Pools RSPB (Cleveland), Thorne Moors NNR (South Yorkshire) and Faversham (Kent) on 8th, at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 9th and, in the same county, at Manby on 12th-14th, with another in the county at Saltfleet on 14th. On 13th, one made a brief drop-off at Stanwick GPs (Northamptonshire) and singles were found at Rainham Marshes RSPB (London) and Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) on 14th.
The adult Bonaparte’s Gull continued to show well along the Exe Estuary at Topsham and nearby Bowling Green Marsh and Dawlish Warren to the end of the week. In Ireland, the adult remained at Tacumshin (Co. Wexford) to 13th and then another adult was found in County Kerry on 13th, at Kilshannig.
An adult Ring-billed Gull was also seen at Kilshannig on 13th, and joined the two first-summers seen at Whitehouse Lagoons (Co. Antrim) on 12th, which followed on from a second-winter and a first-summer (presumably one of the same two) at Belfast Lough RSPB on 11th and 8th.
Another Irish second-winter was at Kinnegar Shore (Co. Down) on 11th-12th, while at the south end of the Shetland Mainland, the first-winter Ring-billed Gull was at Quendale and nearby Loch of Hillwell on 8th-14th.
A Kumlien’s Gull was seen over Gerinish, South Uist (Outer Hebrides) on 8th and then Ardivachar Point on 13th, while the contentious bird at Barmston (East Yorkshire) remained to 9th and was one of 12 Iceland Gulls reported this week, with two each for the Outer Hebrides and Co. Derry.
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Two juvenile Glaucous Gulls were off the north end of the Butt of Lewis (Outer Hebrides) on 8th with another at Brue, also on Lewis, the same day. Further singles were seen at Lochgilphead (Argyll) and Whitehouse Lagoons on 10th, on Yell and Mainland (Shetland) on 12th and 14th, with another at Trimley (Suffolk) also on 14th.
The popular adult male Red-footed Falcon remained at Lakenheath Fen RSPB (Suffolk) through to 14th while a first-summer male was reported from Petersfield (Hampshire) on 9th. A belated report from Norfolk was of an adult male over New Buckenham Common on the afternoon of 7th.
A Black Kite was seen at the airfield at Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland on 9th and was followed by one near Rhayader (Powys), at Craig Goch Reservoir, on the afternoon of 10th and on 14th, another headed over Walland Marsh (Kent).
A dozen or so passage Montagu’s Harrier were noted through the week, including two or three females in east Norfolk, a male at Wicken Fen NT (Cambridgeshire) from 8th-12th at least. Best of the bunch, the north of Ireland’s fourth-ever (and only the second twitchable bird) record ~ a male around the Lough Cowey area of County Down on 12th-14th.
Eleven Honey Buzzards included two heading over Hollesley (Suffolk) on 8th and three singles in Kent, over Dungeness on 9th, Margate on 11th and Northward Hill on 13th.
At Solas, on North Uist, the adult male Snowy Owl was back on the machair on the afternoon of 13th and was still present the following day.
Aside from the double-bill of male Collared Flycatchers it was tough to know where to go in terms of “best passerine of the week” after them….but, despite its still-lumped status, the pick of a neat and tidy bunch surely has to be the second county record of Black-headed Wagtail for Pembrokeshire ~ found at Marloes Mere on 12th, where it showed pretty well during the afternoon and evening, with a further sighting coming the following day.
Black-headed Wagtail remains a splendidly rare bird in Britain, with just 18 accepted records to date, including a further three birds in Wales ~ Pembrokeshire’s first was found on Skomer in May 1986 and was followed by a two-day male at Conwy in May 1998 and another one-dayer at Cemlyn Bay (Anglesey) in May 2011. These three earlier Welsh records all occurred between 6th-8th May, so the window of opportunity has opened a little wider now.
…the question as to whether this distinctive looking, and sounding, sub-species of Yellow Wagtail will ever be given the green light of elevation to specific status seems a long way from being answered ~ there’s been little heard from the BOURC Taxonomic Sub-Committee for some while and feldegg seems likely to languish on a hefty pile of potential splits, that grows longer and longer. Word on the street is that there may be actually be a lump or two in the offing….which is awful news for the lister! We’ll keep a watching brief on that one for now….
Shetland was, very much, the focus for a nice variety of (typical) mid-May arrivals this week ~ they may be typical but they remain a very fine cross section of birds that would be warmly received anywhere.
Leading the line was the three-day Thrush Nightingale found around the old ruin at Pund, on Fair Isle, on 8th. Up until the end of 2011, Shetland has recorded a massive 83 accepted records of Sprosser and Fair Isle has dominated those records.
The first nine Shetland records were all found on Fair Isle, between 1911 ~ Britain’s first ~ and May 1970 (when four different birds were found there between 8th and 14th). A further 50 Thrush Nightingales have been found on Fair Isle subsequently (including birds from last year) with the vast majority being May birds….
An Ortolan Bunting was found on Fair Isle on 12th where a female Red-breasted Flycatcher appeared on the same day, and followed a devilishly dashing male RBF at Grutness, on the Shetland Mainland on 8th ~ captured, as beautifully as ever, by Hugh Harrop.
Four Red-spotted Bluethroats made it to Shetland on 10th ~ on Noss, Bressay and two on Mainland (at Quendale and Frakkafield), while an Icterine Warbler was on Fair Isle on 8th and up to 12 Red-backed Shrikes appeared around the islands between 9th-14th and a Wryneck was on Fair Isle on 12th (with perhaps another on 14th).
Away from Shetland, a handful of the species named above were discovered in various nooks & crannies of the UK ~ an Ortolan Bunting was a skulking visitor to Longham Lakes (Dorset) on 8th, a Red-breasted Flycatcher was at Rattray Head (Aberdeenshire) on 11th and a singing male Red-spotted Bluethroats was in the same county, at Girdle Ness, on 10th and another male was on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) the following day.
Red-backed Shrikes numbered a further eight or nine birds away from the Shetland dozen, and at least six of those were on Orkney, including three on North Ronaldsay on 10th, with further singles at Deerness and Burray, while a male was at Collieston (Aberdeenshire). The only other bird this week was a showy female at Seaton Carew (Cleveland) on 12th-13th, while the second Wryneck of the week was also on North Ronaldsay, seen there on 9th and a third was at Hempsted (Gloucestershire) on 13th.
Coming some way down the list, but no less important for all that, Worcestershire’s first ever Great Reed Warbler, found on 14th at Grimley, a superb inland Midlands rarity full-stop. Further “brown and white” rareish warblers this week were found in Suffolk ~ a singing male Savi’s Warbler spent 12th reeling in the reeds at Minsmere and a Marsh Warbler that appeared at Landguard NR on 14th.
Three Subalpine Warblers were noted this week ~ the male still at Inch Strand (Co. Cork) on 8th and a female spent 8th-11th near Carn Vean tearooms on St. Mary’s (Scilly ~ if you’d had one of their cream teas, you wouldn’t want to stray too far from there either.....nom nom! ~ while last up was a male Western Sub-A at Cruden Bay (Aberdeenshire) on 14th.
Nearby at Pelistry, a female Woodchat Shrike remained all week, while Cornwall continued to host two more ~ near Newlyn to 9th and at Gwenter to 12th. The fourth of the week was found in Wexford, at Hook Head, on 14th.
A couple of brief Bee-eater flocks were reported this week ~ eight birds were at Briningham (Norfolk) on 8th and then at least eight (the same eight presumably) were at St. Osyth (Essex) on 11th, where they hung around for half an hour or so. The following day the same group (now numbering nine) headed over nearby Colne Point. A lone bird was reported at Cley (Norfolk) early on 11th.
Up to eight Red-rumped Swallows made themselves known this week ~ one was seen over the Shorebird Warden hut at Gibraltar Point (Lincolnshire) on 9th, with another reported from the same site on 11th. Further singles were at Flamborough Head (East Yorkshire) on 11th, at Beddington Sewage Farm (London), Spurn (East Yorkshire) and Marloes Mere (Pembrokeshire) on 12th ~ the latter found by the same observer as the Wagtail… ~ and on 13th, new birds were seen at Whitlingham CP (Norfolk) and at Dungeness RSPB (Kent).
A single Alpine Swift was noted this week, spending a short time over the causeway at Staines Reservoir (Surrey) on 12th. The week’s only Short-toed Lark spent 8th-13th on the runaway on St. Mary’s Airfield (Scilly) and 10th saw the same island host one of the week’s four Hoopoes ~ the others were at Lyme Regis (Dorset) from 8th-14th, Balranald RSPB, North Uist on 8th with another reported from Lewis, also in the Outer Hebrides, on 9th. The seven Golden Orioles seen this week were spread far & wide ~ one at Hook Head (Co. Wexford) on 8th was followed by two there on 14th, another was at Flamborough Head (East Yorkshire) on 10th, the fifth was seen at Cleadon, South Shields (Co. Durham), the sixth was heard on the Isle of Man on 13th while bird seven was seen at East Prawle (Devon) on 14th.
Half a dozen Grey-headed Wagtails, including three in Norfolk and two on Shetland, should have acted as a herald for Red-throated Pipit ~ traditionally the former leads the way for the latter, but this week there was just one RTP on offer ~ a flyover at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 10th.
There were quite a few typically “brief” Serins this week ~ a male was in the Obs Garden at Portland on 10th, before heading north. On 11th, a male sang briefly in Topsham (Devon) and on 12th, one was seen in a garden at Southwell, on Portland and the same day saw a female Serin fly in-off at Selsey Bill (West Sussex). It, or another, was still around on 14th.
We’ll conclude, as ever, with Waxwings ~ they’ve almost all gone now ~ just 37 reported this week, with one in the Midlands, three in the Northwest, five in the Northeast and 28 dotted around Scotland, including a loner on Fair Isle on 14th. By next week, it seems likely that we won’t see the species figure in the round-up at all....
A peak at the meteorolgical crystal ball shows the odd glimmer of hope, a puff of easterly here, a waft of northeast there, but generally the outlook looks unsettled, occasionally damp and certainly chilly for the time of year....
That is a great shame of course ~ a sqizz at the Rare Finder’s Almanac confirms what we all knew...we’re getting in to peak time for May, the back end two weeks always yield some of spring’s true stars....
In (relatively) recent years, May 15th has produced Britain’s first White-crowned Sparrow (in 1977) and Marmora’s Warbler (in 1982) along with our second Lark Sparrow (in 1991).
May 16th accounted for the first Audouin’s Gull (in 2007) as well as the most recent Wallcreeper (in 1985) and a two-day Thick-billed Warbler (in 2003).
The 17th? Well, that has an accepted Northern Mockingbird as its main eye-brow raiser from 1988 (who has that on their radar now?) while the spring Myrtle Warbler on May 18th 1977 is the headline act (amongst a host of awesome rares) for that date….
The much admired young male Trumpeter Finch in West Sussex from May 19th 1984 is a draw for that day while Cornwall has managed to pop in both Orphean Warbler and Brown Shrike on May 20th (1991 and 2010 respectively).
...and for those with dreams of the most exotic of shorebirds, maybe cast your eyes around on May 21st ~ the much-dipped male Caspian Plover on St. Agnes (in 1988) and the one-afternoon White-tailed Plover in Durham in 1984 rounding off the merest peep in to the eclectic mix of gross rarities that have appeared in the week we head in to next.
Something’s gonna change....
Mark Golley
15 May 2013
