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| Thursday 15th March 2007 | ||
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| A quieter day today with no new rarities being reported, though plenty of
commoner spring migrants continue to arrive. Chiffchaff and Sand
Martin are both now abundant, there are plenty of Wheatears, White
Wagtails and Little Ringed Plovers, while Ospreys, Swallows,
House Martins, Willow Warblers and the odd Ring Ouzel are
also being reported.
On the rarity front, Cornwall is still leading the way with the White-billed Diver and Spotted Sandpiper both still on the Hayle Estuary, the Gyr is still present, though it is now roosting at Pentire Point and the American Herring Gull roosted again on St.Clement's Island. Elsewhere, the Long-billed Dowitchers were again on the Stour estuary on the Essex/Suffolk border and in Dundalk docks in Co.Louth, the Laughing Gull was still at Matford Pools in Devon and the Glossy Ibis was again at Ballam in Lancashire. In Scotland, the Barrow's Goldenye was today in the centre Callander in Forth and the White-tailed Eagle was once more at the Loch of Strathbeg RSPB in Aberdeenshire. |
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| - Keith Langdon, 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 14th March 2007 | ||
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| A Rustic Bunting was a surprise find at Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire. An
American Herring Gull was a more predictable discovery at Killybegs, Co Donegal with the continued presence of other
American Herring Gulls confirmed at Mousehole, Cornwall and Nimmo's Pier, Co Galway. Additional evidence of early spring movement by vagrants came from six Green-winged
Teals, two American Wigeons together in East Yorkshire and a Common Crane in Oxfordshire. In Cornwall the Gyr was reported again but, unlike the White-billed Diver, Spotted Sandpiper and Dusky Warbler in the same county, it managed to avoid the many visiting birders. Over-wintering rarities included the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Long-billed Dowitcher on Anglesey and Red-breasted Geese in Norfolk. The Laughing Gull showed again in Devon as did the White-tailed Eagle in Aberdeenshire and the Long-billed Dowitcher on the Essex/Suffolk border. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 13th March 2007 | ||
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| Another day of warm weather produced further arrivals of Chiffchaffs, Sand
Martins and Wheatears, along with one or two early Willow Warblers.
With these came an adult Night Heron on St.Mary's on the Scillies, the
second of the year, following one in south Devon on Sunday. The Long-billed
Dowitcher remained on the Essex/Suffolk border at Mistley Walls and, in
Norfolk, the two adult Red-breasted Geese continued to entertain at
Wells. The first winter Laughing Gull put in another appearance near
Exeter, this time at Countess Wear, and the drake Lesser Scaup remained
at Blagdon Lake in Somerset. However, at Caerlaverock, only one Lesser Scaup
remained, the long-staying female.
The Gyr put in another brief appearance near Polzeath in north Cornwall, but the White-billed Diver remained more confiding on the Hayle Estuary. Elsewhere long-stayers included the Dusky Warbler at Newquay, the White-tailed Eagle in Aberdeenshire, the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, the Black-eared Kite in Norfolk, the Little Bunting in Hertfordshire and the Grey Phalarope on the River Thames in London. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Monday 12th March 2007 | ||
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| A male Lesser Scaup at Caerlaverock, Dumfries and Galloway was a new arrival and joined the long-staying female at this site. A
Great White Egret put in a brief appearance at the Camel Estuary, Cornwall where the white
Gyr, Dusky Warbler and American Wigeon all remained. The Pacific Diver reappeared at Lly-y-Fran Reservoir, Pembrokeshire whilst over-wintering rarities included the Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, American Herring Gull in Co Galway and Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall. The White-billed Diver continued to show well at Hayle, Cornwall as did the pair of Red-breasted Geese at Wells, Norfolk, the White-tailed Eagle in Aberdeenshire, Lesser Scaup in Somerset and Long-billed Dowitcher in Suffolk. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 11th March 2007 | ||
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| Two new rarities were found today: a drake Lesser Scaup was at Blagdon
Lake, Somerset and an Alpine Swift was reported flying north over
Martin Mere WWT, Lancashire. Aside from these much of the focus of the day
involved the first big arrivals of Sand Martins with numbers passing
through over twenty sites. A total of 6 Wheatears were also recorded and
large numbers of Chiffchaffs were heard singing across the country.
The two recently relocated Red-breasted Geese in Norfolk were deservedly popular, as was the Long-billed Dowitcher in Essex. Elsewhere the South-west continued to dominate the rarity headlines with White-billed Diver, Gyr Falcon, Spotted Sandpiper and Dusky Warbler all still present in Cornwall. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 10th March 2007 | ||
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| Two Red-breasted Geese with Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Warham Greens, Norfolk was an interesting discovery and seem most likely to be the pair found in the Netherlands in early autumn 2006 before relocating to coastal Lincolnshire and spending
the period 12th October to 23rd January 2007 there with a flock of over wintering
Dark-bellied Brent Geese. In Cornwall the white Gyr was again only seen at dawn whilst the White-billed Diver, Spotted Sandpiper and Dusky Warbler showed throughout the day. Elsewhere in England the Long-billed Dowitcher crossed the Suffolk-Essex border on several occasions and in Devon the Laughing Gull relocated to Bowling Green Marsh. In Scotland Barrow's Goldeneye, Snowy Owl, White-tailed Eagle, Lesser Scaup all remained and in Wales the Black Scoter was seen again at Llanfairfechan, Conwy. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Friday 9th March 2007 | ||
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| Highlights today include the news that there are now two Snowy Owls on
the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and the discovery of a Long-billed
Dowitcher on the Essex/Suffolk border near Manningtree. The Desert
Wheatear at Irlam, Greater Manchester attracted a lot attention this morning
though its stay was unfortunately brief.
In Cornwall the Gyr was again seen to roost at Stepper Point having left very early this morning. Also in Cornwall, the White-billed Diver continued to show well on the Hayle Estuary, where the Spotted Sandpiper remained and nearby the probable Central Asian Lesser Whitethroat (form halimodendri) was still in Lelant. Also, the Dusky Warbler was again seen on and off in Newquay. In Devon Cattle Egret was present again today at Budleigh Salterton and the Laughing Gull was at Exeminster Marshes RSPB this morning. The Black-eared Kite was again around Dersingham Bog in Norfolk, the Pacific Diver was seen this morning again on Llys-y-Fran Reservoir, Pembrokeshire and the long-staying Long-billed Dowitcher was again at Oare Marshes in Kent. In Scotland, the Black-throated Thrush on Bute, Barrow's Goldeneye on Loch Venachar, untagged White-tailed Eagle at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB and Lesser Scaups at Caerlaverock and Benbecula were all still present. |
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| - Keith Langdon, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 8th March 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a male Desert Wheatear well inland at Irlam, Greater Manchester.
Desert Wheatear is one of the last vagrants to arrive in the autumn and
is also one of the first vagrants to arrive in spring - although it is much more infrequent at this season, this being only the tenth
such record for the British Isles. However, in this instance it was disappointing that news of this exciting find was not released earlier in the day. Although neither the Great Spotted Cuckoo in Kent nor the Gyr in Cornwall could be located many other rarities remained on show including the Pacific Diver in Pembrokeshire, White-billed Diver, Spotted Sandpiper and Dusky Warbler in Cornwall, White-tailed Eagle in Aberdeenshire, Cattle Egret in Devon and Long-billed Dowitchers on Anglesey and in Kent. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 7th March 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was a Great Spotted Cuckoo at Dungeness, Kent. First glimpsed yesterday, this classic early spring rarity showed into the afternoon but remained elusive throughout. Cornwall continued to support an impressive line-up of rarities with the white morph Gyr at Stepper Point, Dusky Warbler at Newquay and both White-billed Diver and Spotted Sandpiper on the Hayle Estuary. Elsewhere, the Pacific Diver remained in Wales as did the Long-billed Dowitcher in Ireland with, Barrow's Goldeneye, Snowy Owl, presumed vagrant White-tailed Eagle and three Lesser Scaups all still present in Scotland. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 6th March 2007 | ||
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| In south Wales, the Glaucous-winged Gull failed to put in an
appearance all day in the Ferryside area of Carmarthenshire, much to the
disappointment of many, as it continued to prove difficult to pin down. Nearby,
in Pembrokeshire, the Pacific Diver did prove more obliging as it
continued it's stay at Llys-y-Fran Reservoir. Cornwall continued to host some
top quality birds, with the Gyr seen again at dawn at Stepper Point, the Franklin's
Gull again at Hayle along with the White-billed Diver and Spotted
Sandpiper and at Newquay the Dusky Warbler was still in residence. In
Ireland a new adult Bonaparte's Gull was at Blennerville in County Kerry
and the Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Dundalk Docks in County Louth.
Following recent arrivals of some early summer migrants, there were reports of House Martins in Norfolk and Dorset and double figures of Sand Martins in Devon. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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