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| Saturday 29th April 2006 | ||
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| The inevitable anticipation that a Spring Bank Holiday always brings could
not be matched in reality today with no new rarities discovered throughout the
British Isles. New Hoopoes were discovered at South Walney, Cumbria and
in Dorset at both Hengistbury Head and Portland. Most notable amongst the long staying rarities was the reappearance of both the Long-billed Dowitcher at Old Hall Marshes, Essex and the Laughing Gull at Devoran Quay, Cornwall. The Whiskered Tern showed again at Chew Valley Lake, Somerset but went missing during the morning; to the chagrin of many. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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Daily news summaries
Catch up with RBA's daily birdnews summaries. Browse ten days at a time, or choose a date to read summaries from that day backwards.
Daily summaries are available from 13 April 2006. For earlier weekly reviews, visit our articles.
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| Friday 28th April 2006 | ||
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| The high point of a relatively quiet day was the discovery of a Whiskered
Tern at Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, in the afternoon, which then showed
distantly until dark. The only other new rarity discovered today was a
Coues’s Arctic Redpoll near Thetford, Norfolk. A Hoopoe at Portland, Dorset was the pick of today’s scarcities, whilst elsewhere Dotterel continued to arrive, including three at Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire and one at Foulden, Norfolk. A Night Heron showed briefly at Dungeness, Kent. Birders in the English Midlands were treated a strong passage of Arctic Terns, with a maximum count of 220 at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire in the evening. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 27th April 2006 | ||
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| A Red-rumped Swallow flew over St.Margaret's at Cliffe in Kent, and what was probably the same bird was seen an hour later over Kingsdown but, unfortunately, it was not seen again. An Alpine Swift was a good find at Ogston Reservoir, Derbyshire and proved popular during the evening and first thing the next morning. A Black Stork was reported over Minsmere RSPB Reserve and Westleton Heath, both Suffolk, and a Caspian Tern was reported at Attenborough Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire. | ||
| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 26th April 2006 | ||
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| A Red-rumped Swallow over Pegwell Bay Kent, a Cattle Egret near Beaulieu, Hampshire and a Subalpine Warbler (although only heard) provided the new rarities for the day. Notable longer staying birds included the drake King Eider in Ayr, three White-billed Divers off the Butt of Lewis, Alpine Swift at Seaton, Devon and American Golden Plover at Cemlyn. | ||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 25th April 2006 | ||
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| Late news from yesterday concerned a Great White Egret that flew over
Lodmoor RSPB and was probably the same bird that appeared on the fleet at
Langton Herring this afternoon. Other new rarities were thin on the ground
although a Bonaparte’s Gull appeared at Belfast Lough RSPB and there was
yet another passage White-billed Diver, a bird seen from a boat off
Stranraer yesterday. In Lewis a further three White-billed Divers
continued their moult off north-west Lewis and the adult bird remained off the
north end of North Ronaldsay. In Galway the adult Forster’s Tern
reappeared again at Nimmo’s Pier where there was no sign of the 3rd-winter
American Herring Gull. In Devon the Franklin’s Gull remained at
Northam Burrows and at least one Alpine Swift roosted again in Seaton.
Hoopoes appeared on Mainland Shetland, Pett Level (E.Sussex) and Hayling Island (Hants). The Purple Heron was seen again at Minsmere RSPB and the adult Night Heron appeared on cue in Lincoln. Wrynecks appeared at Dungeness while other birds continued to show at Alkborough (Lincs) and at North Common (Glos). The Short-toed Lark remained on Scilly while a Great Grey Shrike was found near Walberswick (Suffolk). An Ashy-headed Wagtail made a brief appearance off the East bank at Cley NWT. On the local front, passage Wood Warblers appear to be fairly common this spring in comparison to recent years. |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Monday 24th April 2006 | ||
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| A poor day for exciting discoveries with a brief Cattle Egret at Samphire Hoe, Kent in the afternoon and an Alpine Swift at Meols, Wirral – the latter presumably the long-staying bird present recently at nearby Barnston. Three Wrynecks were found; at Portland, Dorset, Warmley, Gloucestershire and Alkborough, Lincolnshire whilst a confiding White Stork showed well during the afternoon and evening at Glais, Glamorgan. | ||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 23rd April 2006 | ||
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| In Somerset a cracking male Black-headed Wagtail turned up on Minehead
Golf Course and showed well near the coast path throughout the day. There has
been a large influx of Yellow Wagtails during the last week or so, with many
Blue-headed Wagtails and green-backed variants involved. Let’s hope we will see
an upturn in fortunes for flavissima over the next few years. A controversial
sandpiper in at Marston sewage works (Lincs) provided a tough identification for
one wary birder. Although the bird exhibited spots down the flanks and on the
belly, many of the other features pointed squarely at Common Sandpiper.
In Cornwall a Red-rumped Swallow was reported from Petherick Marsh near Bude and an adult Laughing Gull turned up at Porthcurnick Beach. In Berkshire, an Alpine Swift flew over Greenham Common but was not seen again. Selected remaining rarities included the Long-billed Dowitcher that reappeared at Old Hall Marshes RSPB (Essex), American Golden Plover at Cemlyn (Anglesey), Hooded Merganser on Unst, four White-billed Divers on Lewis and Lesser Scaup at Swithland Reservoir (Leics). On the scarcity front six Dotterel appeared on the Western Isles, both Tawny Pipit and Short-toed Lark popped up on St. Mary’s (Scilly), the Common Rosefinch remained on Portland, Woodchat Shrike stayed on at Porthgwarra. A brace of new drake Green-winged Teals appeared on Mainland Shetland and Pomarine Skuas picked up slightly off favoured headlands. |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 22nd April 2006 | ||
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| Although a busy day with the flood of migrants continuing – few new rarities were discovered, the best being a brief Black Kite near Sandwich, Kent and Woodchat Shrikes at both Porthgwarra, Cornwall and Pett Level, Sussex – the former briefly accompanied by a Bee-eater and the latter by a Cattle Egret! A showy Bluethroat at Staines Moor, Surrey proved predictably popular whilst a dapper Common Rosefinch at Portland Bill, Dorset gave most would-be observers the run around. | ||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Friday 21st April 2006 | ||
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| New rarities included a Snowy Owl on North Uist at Aird an Runair,
Laughing Gulls at Bexhill (E.Sussex) and Restronguet Creek (Cornwall) and
White-billed Diver off Unst. A Red-rumped Swallow was reported
from Portland Bill, this might have been the bird that was belatedly reported
present at Radipole Lake yesterday. In Shetland the drake Hooded Merganser
of unknown origin reappeared on Unst after a day’s absence, while other rare
ducks still present included Blue-winged Teal at St. Mary’s Island,
Black Duck in Scilly, King Eider in Ayrshire, Lesser Scaup in
Leicestershire and Black Scoter in Conwy.
The American Golden Plover remained at Cemlyn as did the Long-billed Dowitcher in Cornwall. A new Kentish Plover appeared at Breydon Water, a veritable hotspot for this species. The pair of Kentish Plovers remained at Marazion beach, while Dotterels were reported from Great Ormes Head and Pendle Hill. The Franklin’s Gull remained in Devon at Northam Burrows but there was no sign of all day of the Bonaparte’s Gull at Farmoor Reservoir (Oxon). Late in the day an adult summer Bonaparte’s Gull was found roosting in Weymouth Bay. Further White-billed Divers remained off the north-east side of Lewis and North Ronaldsay. The adult Night Heron was seen again in Lincoln, while other rare herons included Purple Herons at Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall), Bough Beech Reservoir (Kent), at a private site in Pembrokeshire and Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk). The Woodchat Shrike remained in Dorset and late Waxwings were in Berkshire and Edinburgh. A Hoopoe was reported in Shropshire and a Gull-billed Tern reported at Scalby Mills. |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 20th April 2006 | ||
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| Today's new rarities were two more White-billed Divers, this time off North Ronaldsay (Orkney). In Oxon the Bonaparte’s Gull again returned to roost at Farmoor Reservoir, while in Anglesey the 1st-summer American Golden Plover continued to show well at Cemlyn Lagoon. Other remaining rarities included King Eider at Irvine, Blue-winged Teal at St. Mary’s Wetland, Franklin’s Gull at Northam Burrows Country Park, Black Duck in Scilly, Lesser Scaup at Swithland Reservoir and Long-billed Dowitcher at Hayle Estuary. Alpine Swifts were again spotted in Kent and Wirral. Other birds of note included the pair of Kentish Plovers all day at Marazion beach, Purple Heron at Minsmere RSPB and a couple of Hoopoes were reported, in East Sussex and Cheshire respectively. A Night Heron was found in Lincoln. | ||
| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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