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| Wednesday 26th December 2007 | ||
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| Boxing Day produced several lingering rarities, including the Hume's
Yellow-browed Warbler in Cornwall, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire,
Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Wilson's Snipe on Isles of
Scilly, Great White Egrets in Cambridgeshire and Hampshire,
Red-breasted Geese in West Sussex and Dumfries and Galloway, Spotted
Sandpipers in Forth and Glamorgan and a couple of King Eiders in
Aberdeenshire.
Cattle Egrets were still abundant - although the majority remained in Cornwall, singles arrived in St Neots, Cambridgeshire and East Lavant, West Sussex and the Dumfries and Galloway individual remained at Gatehouse of Fleet. |
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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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| Tuesday 25th December 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was confirmation of a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler
at Cot Valley, Cornwall; this bird had been present for four days and initially believed to be a Yellow-browed Warbler. In Somerset a
Great White Egret was discovered at Catcott Lows and in Cornwall a Pacific Diver was reported again at St Austell Bay. Elsewhere, two Wilson's Snipes were seen together on the Isles of Scilly with other lingering rarities including the Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Bonaparte's Gull in Aberdeenshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Spotted Sandpipers in both Forth and Glamorgan, Lesser Scaups in both County Down and Wiltshire and single Great White Egrets in Cambridgeshire, County Londonderry and the Western Isles. The thirty four Cattle Egrets seen today comprised singles in both Dumfries and Galloway and Gloucestershire with the remainder in Cornwall (fourteen near Helston, nine near St Ives, seven near Sancreed and singles at both Polgigga and St Buryan). |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 24th December 2007 | ||
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| A slightly busier day today saw the discovery of a Spotted Sandpiper
at Kinneil Lagoon in Forth, whilst, in Cornwall, a Blyth's Pipit flew
over Polgigga in the afternoon. In Ireland four Cattle Egrets were found
at Cartron in County Galway, with a single bird having been seen yesterday at
Mizen Head in County Cork. Other new Cattle Egrets were in Dumfries and Galloway
and by the River Exe in Devon.
A Great White Egret was at Staines Moor in Surrey until mid afternoon and plenty of Cattle Egrets could still be found in various parts of Cornwall. The Spotted Sandpiper remained in Glamorgan, and other winterers included the White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, the Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, the Wilson's Snipe in the Scillies, and Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk and Angus. A Hoopoe was an unseasonal discovery at Kingsley Common in Hampshire. The Pallas's Warbler remained in Suffolk and the Short-toed Lark could still be found in Northumberland. Bitterns were seen at a number of localities, including a very showy bird at Potteric Carr in Yorkshire. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 23rd December 2007 | ||
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| Cattle Egrets remained in the headlines with at least 35 in Cornwall (at least fifteen at St Ives, thirteen at Sancreed, five at Breage and two at Constantine) and singles still in both Devon and Gloucestershire. Lingering rarities comprised, in Northern Ireland, the Barrow's Goldeneye in County Down and Great White Egret in County Londonderry, in England the Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Lesser Scaup in Wiltshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk and Falcated Duck in Staffordshire. In Scotland the Red-breasted Goose reappeared in Dumfries and Galloway and both King Eiders remained in Aberdeenshire. In Wales the Spotted Sandpiper was still in Glamorgan. Wintering scarcities recorded today included the Pallas's Warbler in Suffolk, Short-toed Lark in Northumberland and Lesser Snow Goose in Dumfries and Galloway. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 22nd December 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Black Duck near Millford, County Donegal. Single Great White Egrets were located at Staines Moor, Surrey and briefly at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. Record numbers of Cattle Egrets continued to be seen with at least 21, perhaps 30, in Cornwall, two on the Isles of Scilly and singles in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Other lingering rarities included the Barrow's Goldeneye in County Down, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Forster's Tern in County Galway, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Laughing Gull on Shetland Isles, Falcated Duck in Staffordshire and single Lesser Scaups in Warwickshire and the Western Isles. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Friday 21st December 2007 | ||
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| The first message of today was a Mega, a Sociable Plover in Kent.
Despite there being a few twitchable birds recently, this species remains much
sought after among birders, due to its rarity in a global perspective.
Unfortunately, this one did not hang around, and wasn't seen again after the
initial sighting. A Lesser Yellowlegs was found in Suffolk, at Southwold, on Town Marsh. The bird remained present all afternoon, until the news was released when it promptly flew off! In the Western Isles, a drake Lesser Scaup was on Benbecula, with the Warwickshire bird remaining at Draycote Water. Up to 22 Cattle Egrets remain in the southwest, although some seem to be slowly moving northeastwards. The Desert Wheatear was seen again in North Yorkshire, with other lingering rarities including two King Eiders in Aberdeenshire, Red-breasted Goose in Sussex, Great White Egret in Hampshire and a Wilson's Snipe on Scilly. The Pallas's Warbler was reported again in Warrenhouse Wood, Suffolk briefly, early morning. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 20th December 2007 | ||
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| A quiet day for new rarities still produced a fine selection of lingering
goodies, along with the excellent numbers of Cattle Egrets.
Highlights included the Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon and King Eider in Shetland. Cattle Egrets were represented by a party of eight near Drift, Cornwall, at least two birds on Isles of Scilly and lone individuals at Britford Water Meadows, Wiltshire, and Botallack, Cornwall. A probable juvenile American Herring Gull was observed in flight on Tresco, Isles of Scilly and in Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler reappeared near Gunton. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 19th December 2007 | ||
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| A Cattle Egret at Britford, Wiltshire was present for at least its
third day, whilst on Isles of Scilly, several sightings of Cattle Egrets
were reported from various locations on St Mary's.
Available rarities included White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus and Falcated Duck in Staffordshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 18th December 2007 | ||
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| Cattle Egrets continue to turn up left, right and centre - the
majority of today's egret action was on Isles of Scilly, with three discovered
on Tresco, two on St Martin's and one on St Mary's. Another was located in Essex
at Great Bentley.
The most excitement, however, was caused by the report of a possible Great Blue Heron near Hartland in Devon, apparently present for the last ten or so days - unfortunately the bird could not be found this afternoon. The Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, King Eiders in Aberdeenshire, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire and White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire were all still available. The Thayer's or Kumlien's Gull was still at Dix Pit, Oxfordshire, the Pallas's Warbler continued to show in Gunton, Suffolk and in Staffordshire, the Falcated Duck lingered at Cop Mere. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Monday 17th December 2007 | ||
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| The long staying Desert Wheatear continued to perform at Cromer Point,
North Yorkshire and late news from Friday relating to a Desert Wheatear
in an area of no general access in Crewe, was no doubt very frustrating for
Cheshire birders.
Lingering rarities included six Cattle Egrets in southwest England, with another in Co Clare, the juvenile White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan and the Thayer's or Kumlien's Gull in Oxfordshire. In Scotland the Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Montrose Basin, Angus, and a couple of King Eiders were again noted off Girdle Ness, Aberdeenshire. In Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler was still at Gunton. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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