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| Sunday 21st January 2007 | ||
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| A busy Sunday produced little in the way of new crowd-pullers, but there were
still plenty of long-staying rarities to entertain the January crowds. The most
popular attractions included the showy Lesser Yellowlegs at Thornham,
Norfolk, Penduline Tit at Rainham Marshes RSPB, London, Spotted
Sandpiper at Hayle Estuary, Cornwall and Cattle Egret at Otterton,
Devon. Black-eared Kite in Norfolk, Red-breasted Geese in
Lincolnshire and Dorset, Ferruginous Ducks in Bedfordshire and Kent,
Bonaparte's Gull in Angus, Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, Great
White Egret in Hampshire and two first-winter drake Lesser Scaups on
the Western Isles were all still available.
Across the Irish Sea, Blue-winged Teal in Co Dublin, Bufflehead in Co Clare, Bonaparte's Gull in Co Antrim and Lesser Scaup in Co Down created the headlines. The description of a thrush, seen for only 2-3 seconds at Forest Farm, Glamorgan, best fitted an Eyebrowed Thrush - finding a Mega in a winter thrush flock is truly the stuff of dreams - if anything more comes of this record, the finder will become very popular indeed! |
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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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| Saturday 20th January 2007 | ||
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| A drake Falcated Duck discovered late in the day at Strumpshaw Fen
RSPB, Norfolk, is likely to spark more debate on the origin of the recent individuals in
Britain. Hopefully it should be possible to work out whether it is one of the
two drakes seen until recently in Kent and Devon. Other rare wildfowl included
the Blue-winged Teal in County Dublin (reported today for the first time
in two weeks), the Barrow's Goldeneyes in County Antrim and Forth, and
the drake Bufflehead on Shetland.
Rarities in the South-west of England were comprised of the Laughing Gull, Cattle Egret, American Golden Plover and Spotted Sandpiper which all remained. In Essex the Penduline Tit at Rainham Marshes RSPB was once again supported by the re-appearing Grey Phalarope. Nearby in Kent, the Ferruginous Duck was present at New Hythe and another more recently discovered bird was still at Elstow Clay Pits in Bedfordshire. The popular Lesser Yellowlegs was still at Thornham Harbour, Norfolk. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Friday 19th January 2007 | ||
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| The good spell for new rarities continued with the exciting discovery of
1st-winter Franklin's Gull at Aberystwyth Harbour, Ceredigion, which
could possibly be linked to the storms. Also newly located was an
American Golden Plover near Bude, Cornwall.
Other rarities still remaining included the Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, the Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk and the Red-breasted Geese in Lincolnshire. In Ireland the Red-throated Pipit was seen again in County Dublin, but there was again no sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher there. The 1st-winter Laughing Gull was seen again in Devon, as was the Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall and the elusive Penduline Tit in Essex. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 18th January 2007 | ||
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| Gale force winds kept most people indoors today, but those who did venture
out were rewarded with the continuing presence of several rarities. These
included the Lesser Yellowlegs at Thornham, Norfolk, Barrow's
Goldeneye in Forth, Bufflehead on Unst, Shetland, Red-breasted Goose
on the Lincolnshire coast and Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall.
Surprisingly the strong winds did not produce much seabird action, but a lone Leach's Petrels was logged off Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire. White-winged gulls are starting to appear in larger numbers, mainly in the usual Irish and Western Scotland locations. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 17th January 2007 | ||
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| A quiet day today, with no new rarities being reported. The highlight
again has to be the juvenile Black-eared Kite still roaming North Norfolk
seen today over Blakeney Point and Thornham where the Lesser Yellowlegs
was also again present.
Elsewhere the 1st-winter Laughing Gull was still in Newton Abbot at various locations throughout the morning, also in Devon the Cattle Egret was also still present. The adult Bonaparte's Gull was still in Angus this morning with 1st winters still on the Isles of Scilly and in Co. Antrim, while in Cornwall the Spotted Sandpiper was also noted again today on the Hayle. In Bedfordshire the female Ferruginous Duck was seen again as was the 1st-winter Long-billed Dowitcher in Kent, however only one of the Red-breasted Geese was seen today in Lincolnshire. |
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| - Keith Langdon, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 16th January 2007 | ||
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| One of the highlights of the day was the reappearance of the Black-eared Kite between Cley and Blakeney, Norfolk. Elsewhere, the
Ross's Gull continued in Argyll, as did the Laughing Gull in Devon,
Red-breasted Geese in Lincolnshire and American Herring Gull in Co Galway. A Lesser Scaup was a new discovery on Benbecula, Western Isles. Overwintering Nearctic vagrants continued to be well represented with Bonaparte's Gulls in Co Antrim and the Isles of Scilly, Long-billed Dowitchers in Kent and Co Louth, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall and Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 15th January 2007 | ||
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| A Bonaparte's Gull near Dingle, Co Kerry was a new discovery whilst other
Bonaparte's Gulls remained on the Isles of Scilly and in Co Antrim. Highlights from elsewhere in Ireland included the
Bufflehead still in Co Clare and the American Herring Gull again
showing well in Co Galway. The increasingly mobile Barrow's Goldeneye was seen again near Callander, Forth and, in Norfolk, the Black-eared Kite relocated again; being present at Snettisham during the morning before being seen over Holkham and Warham Greens late in the afternoon. In Devon the Laughing Gull continued to show well in Newton Abbot. The Lesser Yellowlegs that remains in Thornham Harbour, Norfolk headlined today’s cast of Nearctic waders, with the Spotted Sandpiper still in Cornwall and single Long-billed Dowitchers still in Anglesey, Kent and Co Louth. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 14th January 2007 | ||
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| At least one male Penduline Tit joined the female at Rainham Marshes
RSPB, London, this afternoon, but both were typically elusive in the
wind-battered reedbed. A busy Sunday also saw the reappearance of a couple of old friends. The adult female Ferruginous Duck returned to Elstow Claypits, Bedfordshire, for its 8th winter and in Co Galway the American Herring Gull returned to Nimmo's Pier - this time sporting
fourth winter plumage.
In Norfolk the confiding Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Thornham, and the (much) less confiding Black-eared Kite was again showing on and off between Snettisham and Dersingham Bog. In the southwest region Devon hosted the Laughing Gull in the Newton Abbot/ Teign Estuary area and the Bonaparte's Gull was again in Plymouth. The Spotted Sandpiper was still in Cornwall and on Scilly the Bonaparte's Gull reappeared, this time on Tresco. On Anglesey the Long-billed Dowitcher was relocated on the Inland Sea and yet another Bonaparte's Gull remained at Ferryden, Angus, but apart from this long-stayer Scotland was devoid of rarities. Ireland held several long-stayers including the Red-throated Pipit in Co Dublin, Bufflehead in Co Clare, Bonaparte's Gull in Co Antrim and Long-billied Dowitcher in Co Louth. In Co Galway, as well as the returning American Herring Gull, Nimmo's Pier held three Ring-billed Gulls, a second-winter Kumlien's Gull, seven Iceland Gulls and two Glaucous Gulls - nothing short of a mouth-watering gull-fest. An adult white morph Snow Goose (presumably the Lesser Snow Goose from Norfolk) was noted with a large Pink-footed Goose movement over Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire, Girton, Nottinghamshire and finally Poolsbrook, Derbyshire - next stop Lancashire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 13th January 2007 | ||
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| An excellent day today, with three new rarities found. A Lesser Yellowlegs
was an excellent find at Thornham Harbour, Norfolk and will likely be much
appreciated by birders visiting nearby Norfolk hotspots in coming days. In Devon
another great find was a 1st-winter Laughing Gull found at the River
Teign Estuary though later seen upstream in Newton Abbot. In Kent a Great
White Egret was seen briefly from Capel Fleet.
Other rarities still present included the Snowy Owl on Lewis, the Ross's Gull seen again in Argyll, and the elusive Gyr Falcon on Fetlar, Shetland. More accessible rarities included the Penduline Tit at Rainham Marshes RSPB, Essex, the Long-billed Dowitcher at Oare Marshes NR, Kent and the Ferruginous Duck at New Hythe, Kent. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Friday 12th January 2007 | ||
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| No new rarities were found today, but it continues to be a busy winter period,
with plenty to keep birders occupied in all parts of the country.
The ever popular Black-eared Kite was seen again around Snettisham in Norfolk. Other rarities continued to impress including the Long-billed Dowitcher in Kent, Cattle Egret in Devon and Bonaparte's Gull in Angus. In Ireland the Dowitcher sp. at Dundalk Docks, County Louth that was previously reported as Short-billed now appears to be a Long-billed Dowitcher. Also in Ireland the Bonaparte's Gull continued at Whitehead, County Antrim. Interesting late news was received that an adult Forster's Tern (presumably the returning bird from previous years) was seen at Nimmo's Pier, County Galway on 6th January. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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