Sunday 14th May 2006
	A cracking male Turkestan Shrike (form phoenicuroides) was found at Whitburn Bird Observatory in Co. Durham in the morning but sadly was not seen again after it flew north at about 9am. At the other end of the country a Gull-billed Tern performed well on the River Caen at Braunton in Devon. A Red-footed Falcon was found at Walland Marsh in Kent, with a Red-rumped Swallow at Old Head on Kinsale Co Cork, a Great White Egret at Rosslare Back Strand, Co Wexford and an Alpine Swift reported over Southend in Essex in the afternoon. The Calandra Lark continued to show on and off on the Isle of May in Fife and the Lesser Scaup at Brampton in Suffolk also proved popular. Broad-billed Sandpipers were still on the Humber Estuary at Spurn and at Tacumshin in County Wexford. New Purple Herons were at Fingringhoe in Essex and in the Slimbridge/Frampton area of Gloucestershire but typically, they were mostly seen in flight. New Woodchat Shrikes were found at Portland, Dorset, on Bryher, Scilly and at Boyton Marshes in Suffolk and a Bee-eater flew past Grune Point in Cumbria. Other typical mid-May fare included Temminck's Stints in Lincolnshire, Cleveland, Norfolk and Essex, a trip of 12 Dotterel briefly in Norfolk with another 16 still in north Lincolnshire, a smattering of Spoonbills and several Garganey scattered throughout the country.
-  Chris Batty, RBA