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| Saturday 15th July 2006 | ||
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| Find of the day was a Caspian Tern at Breydon Water, Norfolk, present
for a couple of hours on and off during the afternoon. In Berkshire a
first-summer female Red-footed Falcon was located at Moor Green Lakes Nature Reserve and in Hertfordshire,
the male Pine Grosbeak continued to attract plenty of attention as the
weekend crowds descended on Gilston Park.
The first-summer Black Stork remained in the Houndwood area, Borders, but was typically elusive and two Great White Egrets were again at Blashford Lakes HWT, Hampshire. Other reports included the first-summer Laughing Gull still at Arlington Reservoir and the Squacco Heron again at Shapwick Heath, Somerset. |
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| - Stuart Piner, 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 14th July 2006 | ||
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| The news was dominated by the continued presence of the male Pine Grosbeak
at Gilston Park in Hertfordshire. Although sometimes elusive, the bird generally
showed well at times to many observers.
Elsewhere a drake King Eider was found off Wester Quarff in Mainland Shetland, while the Black Stork in Angus and Laughing Gull in East Sussex remained in residence. The colour-ringed Great White Egret showed up again at Blashford Lakes (Hants) but there was no sign today of the Stilt Sandpiper in Conwy. |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 13th July 2006 | ||
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| The story of the day concerned the male Pine Grosbeak that was
remarkably relocated across the Essex border in south Hertfordshire. Frequenting
the small hamlet of Gilston Park, the bird had been present at the site since
last Saturday (the same day it departed from Essex) and seen by only a handful
of birders since. Searches during the evening failed to find the bird so only
time will tell if it will continue to give its would-be observers the
run-around.
In Scotland the Black Stork was seen again by the Eye Water (Borders) but it is still very mobile and elusive, while an adult Rose-coloured Starling was on Unst (Shetland) briefly. Elsewhere, the Stilt Sandpiper remained at Conwy RSPB reserve, the Laughing Gull was still at Arlington Reservoir (E.Sussex) and a Wilson's Petrel was again noted from a pelagic south of Scilly. |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 12th July 2006 | ||
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| Conwy RSPB continued to host the first-summer Stilt Sandpiper and the
first-summer Laughing Gull remained at Arlington Reservoir, East Sussex.
Another Laughing Gull was found yesterday about 120 miles northeast of
Aberdeen at the Buchan Alpha oil platform.
A probable ringtail Pallid Harrier on the Merseyside /Lancashire border was seen at both Marshside RSPB and near Martin Mere WWT. If genuine, this would be the first for the Lancashire and North Merseyside recording area. Two Wilson's Petrels were observed from a pelagic off Scilly this evening. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 11th July 2006 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of the first Stilt Sandpiper for Wales at Conwy RSPB, Conwy in the afternoon. Thanks to an impromptu extension of the reserve opening hours the bird - thought most likely to be a first-summer - showed well until dusk. In East Sussex a first-summer Laughing Gull spent the evening at Arlington Reservoir, no doubt a wandering remnant of the incredible influx into Europe in late autumn 2005. The Black Stork showed again by the Eye Water, Borders and the female Lesser Grey Shrike continued to delight admirers at Shingle Street, Suffolk. However, the Semipalmated Sandpiper at Back Saltholme Pool, Cleveland, having spent an hour calling flew off strongly to the south at dusk. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 10th July 2006 | ||
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| An eclipse male Lesser Scaup discovered at Hornsea Mere, East Yorkshire this evening was - given the strong site fidelty traditionally shown by ducks - presumably the bird that spent last autumn at this site. Other moulting ducks included a male American Wigeon at Goldcliff, Gwent and singles of both King Eider and Surf Scoter at the traditional seaduck hotspot of Blackdog, Aberdeenshire. In England the female Lesser Grey Shrike at Shingle Street, Suffolk and the Semipalmated Sandpiper at Back Saltholme Pool, Cleveland remained popular whilst in Scotland the Black Stork at Auchencrow, Borders and Great Reed Warbler at Loch of Kinnordy, Angus remained frustratingly elusive. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 9th July 2006 | ||
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| An Alpine Swift over Wheal Rose, Cornwall and a Great White Egret
at Grove Ferry, Kent. were the two most noteworthy finds today. After being
absent for several weeks, the Squacco Heron reappeared at Shapwick Heath
NNR, Somerset; the bird was initially seen in mid June. Two Great White Egrets
were at Blashford Lakes HWT, Hampshire and the female Lesser Grey Shrike
continued to entertain an appreciative crowd at Shingle Street, Suffolk. In
Cleveland the adult Semipalmated Sandpiper was still at Back Saltholme
Pool and in Borders the Black Stork was seen again. It followed the same
pattern as on Friday evening, initially by the Eye Water near South Renton, then
roosting in a tree near Auchencrow late in the evening. The main talking point of the day was a breeding-plumage Red-necked Grebe present at Deeping Lakes LWT, Lincolnshire for its second day. It was initially flagged up as a possible American Red-necked Grebe (form holboelli) due to the extensive amount of yellow on the bird's lower mandible. When sporting breeding attire, this feature is thought to be indicative of the American and East Siberian form. However, it appears that there is a significant amount of variation in bill colour within nominate grisegena, and coupled with the lack of any truly diagnostic features of holboellii, the Lincolnshire bird's progression beyond 'a possible holboelli' seems unlikely. There was again no sign of the male Pine Grosbeak; this bird really does seem to have performed a remarkable disappearing act, evading all but the fortunate few. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 8th July 2006 | ||
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| Finally, after days of secrecy and rumours, the details of the exact location
of the Pine Grosbeak in Essex were in the public domain. However, after
putting in a brief early morning appearance at the site east of Chipping Ongar,
it disappeared for the rest of the day, following a bizarrely similar pattern to
the last Pine Grosbeak to occur in Britain; news was slow to leak out, and
virtually as soon as it did, the bird vanished!
The outstanding find of the day was a cracking Lesser Grey Shrike at Shingle Street, Suffolk, which showed well around tennis courts. Another class find was a Long-billed Dowitcher at Goldcliff Pools Nature Reserve, Gwent, but the bird was only on view for fifteen minutes early afternoon. In Dorset, the colour-ringed Great White Egret seen earlier in the week in neighbouring Hampshire was located at Sturminster Marshall Gravel Pits. The adult Semipalmated Sandpiper remained at Back Saltholme Pool, Cleveland and in Scotland the eclipse drake King Eider was still in Ayrshire and the Great Reed Warbler continued to sing in Angus. Yesterday evening's Black Stork however, was nowhere to be seen at dawn, but the Common Rosefinch was still at Newmachar, Aberdeenshire, and the adult Rose-coloured Starling remained on Harris, Western Isles. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 7th July 2006 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a (the?) Black Stork inland of Eyemouth, Borders.
First seen late afternoon by the Eye Water near South Renton it soon flew off south before being relocated roosting in a tree near Auchencrow
late in the evening. It will presumably remain overnight and prove to be a popular attraction. It was also seen in this area nearly a fortnight ago. Elsewhere a fist-summer male Red-footed Falcon made a brief early morning appearance at Gorleston, Norfolk whilst in Cleveland the Semipalmated Sandpiper continued to show well on occasion at Back Saltholme Pool. However, the main talking point remained the continued presence of a male Pine Grosbeak at an undisclosed site in Essex. Whilst it is perhaps impossible to ascertain the origin of this bird, it has been twitched by three birders who, at the request of the landowner, are keeping the location a closely guarded secret; a great shame given the success of other similar twitches in recent years. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 6th July 2006 | ||
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| The day started in superb fashion as a Semipalmated Sandpiper was
identified at Back Saltholme Pool (Cleveland). The bird had been present
yesterday evening but at the time it was not seen well enough for the identification to be
clinched. It showed well throughout the day and represents the third record for
Cleveland.
Intriguing news from Essex concerned a male Pine Grosbeak that has been frequenting a garden somewhere near Ongar since Saturday. However, the time of year, combined with its' scruffy plumage and worn legs would all point to it being an escape. In Mainland Shetland a Bee-eater flew over Virkie, and in the Western Isles an adult Rose-coloured Starling was found at the south-west end of Harris (Western Isles). The first UK Cory's Shearwaters of the season were logged off Porthgwarra (Cornwall) in a brief afternoon seawatch and a pelagic off Scilly once again produced a Wilson's Petrel. The singing male Great Reed Warbler remained at the Loch of Kinnordy RSPB reserve (Angus) and the Great White Egret was again reported from Blashford Lakes HWT reserve (Hants). |
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| - Richard Moores, RBA | ||
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