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| Thursday 2nd November 2006 | ||
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| The highlight of some fabulous seawatching along the British east coast was a
Brünnich's Guillemot in East Yorkshire, seen briefly off Flamborough
Head with it - or another - reported later off Withernsea. A few Grey
Phalaropes and Pomarine Skuas were noted passing various watchpoints
but it was, in the main, the day of the Little Auk, of which the peak
counts comprised in Northumberland 7,881 Farne Islands and 6,000 Newbiggin, East
Yorkshire 3,190 Flamborough Head and 1,050 Spurn, Co Durham 3,049 Whitburn,
Angus 1,637 Fishtown of Usan, East Yorkshire 1,092 Scarborough and 646 Filey,
Norfolk 752 Sheringham, Lincolnshire 401 Gibraltar Point, Aberdeenshire 329
Girdle Ness, Cleveland 256 South Gare, Suffolk 103 Benacre, Kent 35 Reculver and
Essex 33 Holland Haven. Elsewhere a Dusky Warbler on Hayling Island, Hampshire was a county first and a Black Kite in Lincolnshire that flew over Freiston Shore and appeared to roost near Butterwick will prove popular if it shows again tomorrow morning. The Desert Wheatears in East Sussex (at Cooden Beach) and Isles of Scilly (St Mary's) remained from yesterday but the Masked Shrike had gone from the latter. The Black Duck continued on Fair Isle, Shetland Isles and the White-billed Diver was seen again in Roaringwater Bay, Co Cork. |
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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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| Wednesday 1st November 2006 | ||
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| A remarkable discovery today came in the form of Britain's second Masked
Shrike. Just two years after the first, it was found on St.Mary's on the
Scilly Isles and remained on show during the late afternoon. A fine male Desert
Wheatear was also found on St.Mary's and the island also continued to host a
Blyth's Reed Warbler, a Rose-coloured Starling and a Richard's
Pipit, with a Serin on Tresco and at least three Yellow-browed
Warblers on the islands.
Elsewhere another Desert Wheatear was found at Cooden Beach in East Sussex. A White-billed Diver flew north past Girdle Ness in Aberdeenshire and a Black Duck was found on Fair Isle in The Shetlands. An American Golden Plover flew over Nanjizal Valley near Land's End in Cornwall. In northerly winds, seawatching along the east coast produced large numbers of Little Auks with a smattering of Sooty Shearwaters, Pomarine Skuas and Grey Phalaropes among the commoner seabirds. Southern counties witnessed some impressive movements of common birds at various sites topped by a passage of 74,000 Woodpigeons past Christchurch Harbour in the morning. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 31st October 2006 | ||
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| Today brought more of the same with highlights amongst the finds an American Golden Plover
on South Uist, Western Isles, a White-rumped Sandpiper at Ballycotton, Co Cork and a brief
Olive-backed Pipit at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire. Of the rarities remaining from previous days the Blyth's Reed Warbler on St Mary's, Isle of Scilly, Radde's Warbler on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd, Glossy Ibis at Fluke Hall, Lancashire, Cattle Egret near Sidmouth, Devon and two American Golden Plovers in Cambridgeshire were the most noteworthy. A total of 33 Spoonbills was notable, including flocks of 18 on the Taw Estuary, Devon and 12 at Brownsea Island, Dorset. In London the distinctive adult Yellow-legged Gull with extensive, dense but neat head streaking showed again in Hyde Park but it still remains for it to be identified to form. It, at least superficially, closely resembles Azorean Yellow-legged Gull although it has been suggested that this head pattern can perhaps also be shown by some Yellow-legged Gulls of the, principally Mediterranean, form michahellis. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 30th October 2006 | ||
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| A Blyth's Reed Warbler identified on St Mary's, Isle of Scilly was the rarest find of the day with an
Arctic Redpoll on Fair Isle, Shetland Isles, American Golden Plover at Maxey, Cambridgeshire and a
White-rumped Sandpiper at Lurgangreen, Co Louth also new discoveries. A second
Radde's Warbler was unearthed on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd. In Ireland the White-billed Diver showed again off Cape Clear, Co Cork with Lesser Yellowlegs nearby at Rosscarbery, Forster's Tern in Co Louth and White-rumped Sandpiper still in Co Kerry. In England the Cattle Egret reappeared near Sidmouth, Devon whilst two Red-breasted Geese remained in Lincolnshire as did the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Long-billed Dowitcher in Kent, Great White Egret in West Yorkshire and White-rumped Sandpipers in Norfolk. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 29th October 2006 | ||
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| Few new rarities were discovered today with a Radde's Warbler on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd and a
Rustic Bunting on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly being the pick of the bunch;
a White-rumped Sandpiper in Co Kerry and a Cattle Egret in Essex
provided a supporting cast. In Northumberland the Daurian Shrike remained at Cresswell and the Bonaparte's Gull at Newbiggin with other long-staying rarities including the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Forster's Tern in Co Louth and the two Red-breasted Geese in Lincolnshire. Elsewhere a Long-billed Dowitcher, two Ferruginous Ducks, three Great White Egrets, four American Golden Plovers and five White-rumped Sandpipers were all recorded. The most frustrating news was of the presence of a Siberian Rubythroat in a garden in Sunderland, Co Durham from at least 26th-28th October. Following the identification (from photographs) it was most disappointing that access was not arranged. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 28th October 2006 | ||
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| The final Saturday in October failed to provide the hoped for late autumn mega, but a scattering of rarities were available around the country. The best new bird was a Marbled Duck at North Warren RSPB, Suffolk, but this record will undoubtedly be tainted with the usual controversy that surrounds this species. In Kent the stunning male Penduline Tit continued to perform at Dungeness RSPB and in Northumberland the Daurian Shrike remained at Cresswell Pond. Cambridgeshire continued to host the juvenile American Golden Plover at Little Paxton Gravel Pits and in Yorkshire the Great White Egret toured a selection of waterbodies in the morning before reappearing at New Swillington Ings. The Thrush Nightingale remained on Fair Isle. Little Auks were recorded in small numbers off the mainland, but in Northumberland the Farne Islands scored a massive tally of 1,997 by midday. Late news from 19th October related to a Killdeer on North Uist, presumably the same bird seen last weekend in Argyll. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 27th October 2006 | ||
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| New discoveries today were headlined by a Desert Wheatear on St Agnes, Isle of Scilly, a
Daurian Shrike at Druridge Pools, Northumberland, Penduline Tit at Dungeness, Kent,
Dusky Warbler at Gunton, Suffolk and American Golden Plover at Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire. The White-billed Diver remained off Cape Clear, Co Cork and the late Thrush Nightingale stayed on Fair Isle, Shetland Isles. The Glossy Ibis put in another appearance at Marshside, Merseyside and the pair of Red-breasted Geese present recently in Lincolnshire were seen passing Spurn, East Yorkshire. Of local significance were a Rose-coloured Starling at Kidwelly, Carmarthensire, a Richard's Pipit at Rumworth Lodge, Greater Manchester and a movement of 494 Little Auks past the Farne Islands, Northumberland. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 26th October 2006 | ||
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| The pace of the autumn continues to slow down with the only new rarity today being a brief
Red-throated Pipit on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. However, the archipelago continues to support an impressive
selection of rare and scarce birds with Blyth's Pipit, American
Robin, Serin, two Short-toed Larks, Rose-coloured
Starling, Red-backed Shrike, Wryneck and six Yellow-browed
Warblers. Elsewhere the Spotted Sandpiper continued to perform at Hayle Estuary, Cornwall as did the Red-breasted Geese in Lincolnshire, Great White Egret in South Yorkshire and White-rumped Sandpipers in Norfolk. Several long-staying rarities, such as Ferruginous Ducks in both Kent and Somerset, look set to remain for the duration and, when coupled with an arrival of Little Auks, added a real feel of winter to the day. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 25th October 2006 | ||
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| Fair Isle hosted both a Thrush Nightingale and the first Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll of the autumn.
Elsewhere it was another relatively quiet day, with the best of the rest being
an Aquatic Warbler and American Robin on Isles of Scilly, whilst
in Cornwall the Least Sandpiper reappeared at Hayle Estuary.
A Pallas's Warbler was a nice find on Hengistbury Head, Dorset and a decent movement of Little Auks was recorded, mainly on the east coast. In Norfolk the drake Surf Scoter remained offshore at Titchwell RSPB for it's second day. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 24th October 2006 | ||
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| There were very few new rarities located during a relatively quiet day by
recent standards. In County Cork Cape Clear remained in the headlines, with a
White-billed Diver being seen off there today, with another off Mainland
Shetland. A Cattle Egret was
briefly at Hanningfield Reservoir early morning and the Great White Egret
in Yorkshire was relocated in the Wombwell Ings/ Broomhill Flash area. In
Argyll a juvenile White-rumped Sandpiper was on Islay.
Long staying rarities included the Red-flanked Bluetail in Suffolk, American Robin on Scilly, and a party of three White-rumped Sandpipers at Cley NWT, Norfolk. Large pipits continued to cause headaches on Isles of Scilly, but once again the individual in question was finally confirmed as a Blyth's Pipit. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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