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| Tuesday 20th November 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the confirmation of a Pechora Pipit at Goodwick Moor, Pembrokeshire. Suspected late yesterday afternoon the identity was confirmed early this morning and the bird showed well throughout the day. Elsewhere in Wales a male
Desert Wheatear was discovered at Towyn, Conwy. A Cattle Egret at the Otter Estuary, Devon may be a returning individual, as might the Great White Egret at Dingle Marshes, Suffolk; the latter joining three Penduline Tits that remain at this site. Other lingering rarities comprise single Glossy Ibises in both Devon and Lancashire, a Cattle Egret in Cornwall and a Great White Egret on the Western Isles. |
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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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| Monday 19th November 2007 | ||
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| The wheatear species, either a Pied or Black-eared, remained at
Northam Burrows Country Park, Devon, for at least its third day - this
individual is certainly proving to be an identification nightmare!
In neighbouring Cornwall three Cattle Egrets were discovered in the Sennen area, whilst on Isles of Scilly the Cattle Egret remained on St Mary's. In Devon, the juvenile Glossy Ibis was still present at West Alvington. In Suffolk four Penduline Tits continued to perform at Dingle Marshes, the Ferruginous Duck was still at Theale GPs, Berkshire and the long-staying Spotted Sandpiper remained on show at Lisvane Reservoir, Glamorgan. An intriguing record concerned a possible Pechora Pipit seen in Pembrokeshire - many will be hoping that this one 'firms up' tomorrow. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 18th November 2007 | ||
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| A Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler was found in Conwy, at Penrhyn Bay this
morning, proving that this autumn isn't over yet! A Glossy Ibis appeared
in Devon, at West Alvington, at the same site that one was present a few months
back. Two Cattle Egrets were found, both in the southwest, with one on Scilly, which roosted on St.Mary's, and one in Cornwall briefly on The Lizard. The juvenile American Golden Plover reappeared at Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire, and the Great White Egret on the Western Isles has relocated to Benbecula. Late news concerning either a Pied or a Black-eared Wheatear on Friday in Devon was released, after an incorrectly labelled photograph was found on a website. Other lingering rarities today included Penduline Tits in Suffolk, Lesser Scaup in Somerset, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, Ferruginous Duck in Berkshire, and the Forsters Tern in County Louth. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 17th November 2007 | ||
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| Another first winter Penduline Tit was discovered today, this time in
Cornwall, at Marazion Marsh, in the same area as the long staying
Yellow-browed Warbler. The four Penduline Tits still showed very well
at Dingle Marshes, Suffolk, for much of the day, although they can go missing
for long periods. Lancashire's Great White Egret was discovered in nearby Cumbria today, at Beetham, before flying back towards Leighton Moss RSPB. A new King Eider was found off Fetlar, Shetland, and the Lesser Scaup remained on the same island. Other rarities seen today included the Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, which reappeared at Llanishen Reservoir, White-billed Diver off Selsey Bill, Sussex, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Lesser Scaup in Somerset at Blagdon Lake, and the female Ferruginous Duck at Theale GPs, Berkshire. The second winter Laughing Gull returned to Countess Wear, Devon, where it showed very well within the compound. Elsewhere, Great Grey Shrikes continued to entertain, with most birds likely to settle down to winter here. The adult Pomarine Skua showed well again between Salthouse and Cley, in the draining fields north of the A149. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Friday 16th November 2007 | ||
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| The four Penduline Tits were still at Dingle Marshes, Suffolk,
although they were fairly mobile, not being seen after 12.30pm. The American
Golden Plover was seen again at Waxham, Norfolk and the adult
White-billed Diver was seen off Selsey Bill late morning. A Blyth's Pipit flew over Land's End and Sennen, but was not relocated afterwards. The Red-breasted Goose was seen briefly at Caerlaverock, Dumfries and Galloway, but remains tricky to pick out of the mobile Barnacle Goose flocks. Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Yellowlegs remained in Angus, with Lesser Scaup and Ferruginous Duck in Berkshire, and a couple of Great White Egrets around the country. Several Great Grey Shrikes were found today, and will hopefully remain for the winter. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 15th November 2007 | ||
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| Scotland hosted a fine selection of rarities, included Red-breasted Goose
at Caerlaverock WWT, Dumfries and Galloway, Bonaparte's Gull at
Fishtown of Usan and Lesser Yellowlegs at Montrose Basin, Angus.
In Suffolk the four Penduline Tits remained at Dingle Marshes and in neighbouring Essex an immature White-tailed Eagle was once again reported near Braintree. Elsewhere the long-staying 1st-winter Mourning Dove remained on Inishbofin, Co Galway, the Black Scoter was off Llanfairfechan, Conwy, the Glossy Ibis remained in Somerset and in Berkshire the Lesser Scaup was still at Woolhampton Gravel Pits and a female Ferruginous Duck was unearthed at Theale Gravel Pits. Pallas's Warblers were at Spurn, East Yorkshire and Berry Head, Devon and the odd inland Pomarine Skua and a scattering of Little Auks continued to linger. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 14th November 2007 | ||
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| The party of four Penduline Tits remained at Dingle Marshes, Suffolk,
where they showed on and off throughout the day. On Shetland the female
Lesser Scaup was still on Fetlar and White-billed Divers were in
Bluemull Sound and South Nesting Bay.
Back on the Mainland, the Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Yellowlegs were both still in Angus, the American Buff-bellied Pipit made another appearance near Land's End, Cornwall and the adult drake Lesser Scaup was still in Berkshire. In Cleveland the Long-billed Dowitcher appeared at Seaton Snook and elsewhere the White-billed Diver was again logged off Selsey Bill, West Sussex, Glossy Ibises were still in Somerset and Lancashire (the latter returning to Warton Marsh) and on Islay, Argyll, three Richardson's Canada Geese were amongst the Barnacle Geese. Pomarine Skuas and Little Auks were still moving off the east and south coast, with the odd individual making it to inland locations. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 13th November 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of an adult Red-breasted Goose with the wintering Barnacle Geese at Caerlaverock, Dumfries and Galloway. Elsewhere a
Long-billed Dowitcher was new at Seal Sands, Cleveland and a Great White Egret flew in off the sea at Waxham, Norfolk before being tracked northwest along the coast to Morston. Lingering rarities comprised of the American Buff-bellied Pipit in Cornwall, a Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly, four Penduline Tits in Suffolk, White-billed Diver in West Sussex, Glossy Ibis in Somerset, Cattle Egret in County Wicklow, American Golden Plover in Norfolk, Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus and single Lesser Scaups in both Berkshire and the Shetland Isles. On the Western Isles the juvenile grey morph Gyr remained east of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis but the possibility that is actually an escaped hybrid - perhaps with a parentage including Saker - may prove difficult to eliminate. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 12th November 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a party of three Penduline Tits
at Dingle Marshes, Suffolk. Otherwise, a brief Long-billed Dowitcher was seen at Bewl Water, East Sussex, a
Lesser Scaup was confirmed and a White-billed Diver discovered on Fetlar, Shetland Isles and the
Black Scoter returned to Llanfairfechan, Conwy for the tenth succesive winter. In West Sussex the White-billed Diver reappeared whilst other lingering rarities comprised the Gyr on the Western Isles, Glossy Ibis in Somerset, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, Lesser Scaup in Berkshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon, Cattle Egrets in County Wicklow and Dorset (2) and single Great White Egrets in County Londonderry, Hampshire and Lancashire. Displaced Little Auks continued to be seen with reports from 22 counties including site maximums of 2,580 in Aberdeenshire, 860 Orkney Islands, 222 North Yorkshire, 201 County Durham, 136 Norfolk, 109 Moray, 99 Northumberland, 72 East Yorkshire, 59 Lothian and 53 in Cleveland. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 11th November 2007 | ||
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| Today was all about Little Auks - lots of Little Auks!
Thousands swarmed past the east coast throughout the day, with a peak count of
28,803 past the Farne Islands, Northumberland. Lower numbers were seen off
western and southern coastlines, with a scattering of birds making landfall at
inland locations. Seawatchers also scored a White-billed Diver off
Boulmer, Northumberland, then off Cullernose Point before finally being seen
flying north past St Abb's Head, Borders. Other seawatching highlights included the
odd Leach's Petrel, Long-tailed Skua, Grey Phalaropes and
several Pomarine Skuas.
On Western Isles a grey morph juvenile Gyr was discovered near Stornoway, Lewis, and staying in Scotland, an adult Bonaparte's Gull was off Fishtown of Usan, presumably a bird returning to spend the winter on the Angus coastline. Elsewhere rarities included a Ross's Goose with Pink-footed Geese on Plex Moss, Lancashire, Glossy Ibises in Somerset and Merseyside, Lesser Scaups in Co Donegal, Berkshire and Somerset, American Buff-bellied Pipit and Long-billed Dowitcher at Ballycotton, Co Cork, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan and Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon. In Oxfordshire, the adult Franklin's Gull roosted at Farmoor Reservoir for a second consecutive evening. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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