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| Sunday 30th December 2007 | ||
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| Yesterdays Yellow-browed Warbler at Beachy Head, Sussex was re-identified
today as a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler, with the Cornwall bird remaining
elusive. New Great White Egrets were found in Leicestershire and in
Powys, and up to 48 Cattle Egrets were seen. The Lesser Scaup remained in Warwickshire, Desert Wheatear in Yorkshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk, 2 King Eiders in Aberdeenshire with the Bonaparte's Gull nearby and two Red-breasted Geese in Sussex and Dumfries and Galloway. |
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| - Will Soar, 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 29th December 2007 | ||
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| At least 35 Cattle Egrets remain across Great Britain today, with
birds as far east as Cambridgeshire, and north to Dumfries and Galloway. The
majority are in Cornwall, with a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in the same
county still. Nearby, the Long-billed Dowitcher is still in Devon at
Bowling Green Marsh, and the Red-breasted Goose remains at West Wittering,
Sussex. There is a first winter drake King Eider at Leven, Fife, and the Spotted Sandpiper was seen again in Forth at Kinneil Lagoon. Further south, the Desert Wheatear lingers in North Yorkshire, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk and Great White Egret in Cambridgeshire. Best of the rest includes a Pallas's Warbler still in Suffolk, whilst in Ireland the Black Duck in County Donegal relocated to Blanket Nook. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Friday 28th December 2007 | ||
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| In Cornwall the Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler remained on show in Cot
Valley throughout the day. Elsewhere in the county fourteen Cattle Egrets
were available, a lower total than in recent days. Away from Cornwall Cattle
Egrets continued to grace Cambridgeshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Devon,
Hampshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Co Cork.
In Oxfordshire the juvenile Arctic Canadian gull, either a Thayer's Gull or hybrid reappeared at Dix Pit, the White-tailed Eagle was seen again in Hampshire and a Wilson's Snipe remained on Isles of Scilly. Other lingering rarities included Lesser Scaups in Warwickshire and Western Isles, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Ferruginous Duck in Berkshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk and Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan. The best of the rest included the Pallas's Warbler in Suffolk, Hoopoe in Hampshire, Great White Egrets in Cambridgeshire and Hampshire and Richard's Pipit in Norfolk. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 27th December 2007 | ||
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| Possibly as many as 57 Cattle Egrets were recorded today, with new
birds arriving in Co Cork (a flock of nine roosted at Clonakilty), Cornwall (at
a handful of new sites) and in Hampshire (a single near Fordingbridge). Cornwall
continued to host the lion's share of egrets but singles in Cambridgeshire,
Dumfries and Galloway, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and West Sussex and six in
Dorset were all well received.
Lingering rarities included the American Buff-bellied Pipit at Red Barn Strand, Co Cork, Wilson's Snipe on Isles of Scilly, Desert Wheatear at Cromer Point, North Yorkshire, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Cornwall, Spotted Sandpiper in Forth, two King Eiders in Aberdeenshire and Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus. A Hoopoe remained near Alton, Hampshire, the Short-toed Lark continued its stay in Northumberland and in Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler was still in Gunton. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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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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| 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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