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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Thursday 15th May 2008  
  A Red-throated Pipit in Burnham Overy Dunes, Norfolk flew inland early afternoon and a Subalpine Warbler and Hoopoe were also at the same site. Subalpine Warblers were also noted on Ramsey Island, Pembrokeshire and Fair Isle. New Red-footed Falcons at the Lee Valley Country Park, Essex, Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk and in Co Dublin joined the six others lingering across the country.

A Snowy Owl was discovered on Lewis, Western Isles, the pair of Black-winged Stilts remained at Neumann's Flash, Cheshire, the Lesser Yellowlegs was still in Northumberland and the Whiskered Tern reappeared at Inner Marsh Farm RSPB, Cheshire. The Red-rumped Swallow on Isles of Scilly, King Eider in Ayrshire, American Golden Plover in Devon and Cattle Egret in Greater Manchester all lingered.

Scarcities included Red-breasted Flycatcher in East Yorkshire, Tawny Pipit in Cornwall, Short-toed Lark on Isles of Scilly, Bluethroat on Isle of May and Night Heron in Pembrokeshire.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 14th May 2008  
  New discoveries included Subalpine Warblers on Calf of Man, Shetland and in Co Mayo, Great White Egret at Pennington Flash Country Park, Greater Manchester, three Bee-eaters in Kent and another on Western Isles, Red-breasted Flycatcher at Spurn, East Yorkshire and Red-spotted Bluethroat at Filey, North Yorkshire.

Seven Red-footed Falcons were available; three at Thorne Moors, South Yorkshire, two at Lakenheath Fen RSPB, Suffolk and singles at Shapwick Heath NNR, Somerset and Coronation Pit, Bedfordshire. The Ross's Gull in Lancashire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Northumberland, Snowy Owl on Western Isles, Red-rumped Swallow, four Cattle Egrets, Bee-eater and Red-spotted Bluethroat on Isles of Scilly, American Golden Plover in Devon, Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire, Subalpine Warbler in Cornwall, Glossy Ibis in Merseyside and Cattle Egret in Greater Manchester all remained on show.

A female Red-necked Phalarope at The Hythe, Essex, proved to be particularly popular.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Tuesday 13th May 2008  
  New discoveries today included, on the Isles of Scilly Red-rumped Swallow on St Agnes and four Cattle Egrets on St Mary's, in County Londonderry a Blue-winged Teal at Lough Beg, in Gwynedd a Subalpine Warbler on Bardsey Island, on the Western Isles a Bee-eater on Barra and in London what was presumed to be a Spanish Wagtail. Elsewhere, reports of briefly encountered rarities consisted of a Marsh Sandpiper in Essex, White-rumped Sandpiper in Gloucestershire, Black Kite in Cornwall and Bee-eaters in both Hertfordshire and Kent.

Lingering rarities comprised the Ross's Gull in Lancashire, Whiskered Tern in Gloucestershire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Northumberland, Glossy Ibis in Merseyside, two Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire, Bee-eater on the Isles of Scilly and Great White Egret in County Cork.

Red-footed Falcons continued to be discovered with ten seen today; two each in both South Yorkshire and Suffolk and singles in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and West Yorkshire

Notable scarcities included a Red-necked Phalarope in Essex, Woodchat Shrike in Pembrokeshire, Night Heron in Suffolk and a Serin and two Golden Orioles in East Yorkshire. Twelve Temminck's Stints were recorded from seven counties.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Monday 12th May 2008  
  Several more new discoveries were made today including two Red-footed Falcons together in Suffolk at Lakenheath Fen with another in Kent on the Isle of Sheppey, single Great Reed Warblers in Somerset at Chew Valley Lake and Argyll at Seil Island, single Red-rumped Swallows in County Cork at Great Saltee Island and Cornwall at Lizard, a Red-throated Pipit in Highland on Handa Island, a Great White Egret in County Cork at Balinspittle and a brief Bee-eater in Staffordshire at Doxey Marshes.

Lingering rarities comprised a Snowy Owl on the Western Isles, Ross's Gull in Lancashire, both Citrine Wagtail and Subalpine Warbler on the Shetland Isles, single Whiskered Terns in each of Cheshire, Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Northumberland, two Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire, Bee-eater on the Isles of Scilly and Red-footed Falcons in both Bedfordshire and West Yorkshire.

Scarcities were represented by Woodchat Shrike and Short-toed Lark on the Isles of Scilly, two Hoopoes in Bedfordshire and one in County Down, a Pectoral Sandpiper in County Mayo and Temminck's Stints in Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, London (3), Lothian, Norfolk (3) and Suffolk.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Sunday 11th May 2008  
  A good number of Red-footed Falcons were seen again today, including birds in Essex, Dorset, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Bedfordshire, with several 'possibles' also seen around the country, including one as far north as Merseyside. Other notable sightings include an adult summer Franklin's Gull, seen in flight over Stithians Reservoir, Cornwall, a Great Reed Warbler at Lakenheath RSPB, Suffolk and a Citrine Wagtail on Fair Isle, Shetland.

Other rarities seen included Whiskered Terns in Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, Lesser Yellowlegs' in Northumberland and Suffolk, Bee-eaters on Scilly and in Cornwall, Ross's Gull and Bonaparte's Gull in Lancashire, but the male Spectacled Warbler in Suffolk presumably moved off over night.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Saturday 10th May 2008  
  Headline news today concerned a male Spectacled Warbler in Suffolk. Initially identified as a Subalpine Warbler, it was later reidentified, enabling good numbers of local birders to connect before dark.

An influx of Red-footed Falcons into Bedfordshire occurred, with birds at Broom GPs, Sandy and Coronation Pit, with further sightings in Hampshire, West Yorkshire and Kent. A Red-throated Pipit was seen briefly on the Isle of May, Fife, and a female Citrine Wagtail was seen at Spurn. Bee-eaters flew over Horsey, Norfolk, (two), Beeston Bump, Norfolk, St.Agnes, Scilly, Arthurstown, County Wexford and Lade GPs, Kent.

Other new rarities included a White-winged Black Tern at Draycote Water, Warwickshire, Bonaparte's Gull at Stocks Reservoir, Lancashire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Northumberland, Black-winged Stilt at Ibsley Water, Hampshire, Glossy Ibis in County Wexford and a second Snowy Owl on North Uist, Western Isles.

The Whiskered Tern remained in Cheshire, with another bird at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire, American Herring Gull and Forster's Tern in County Galway and County Down respectively, and an eagle species was seen a few times over the New Forest, Hampshire, but remained distant.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Friday 9th May 2008  
  Eagle sightings was today's main talking point - a probable Lesser Spotted Eagle was claimed flying over Glanford, Norfolk, then a further three sightings of an eagle species followed in the county. In Dorset a probable White-tailed Eagle flew over Hartland Moor then Bestwall.

Red-footed Falcons were discovered at Northward Hill RSPB and Oare Marshes RSPB, Kent, Pugneys Country Park, West Yorkshire and on the Nottinghamshire/ Derbyshire border, near Selston. These may just be the forerunners of what could a significant invasion of this species given the numbers currently on the near continent and the weather forecast for the weekend ahead.

An amazing sixteen Bee-eaters were briefly on the cliff at Beachy Head early afternoon and in Conwy a Whiskered Tern was at Conwy RSPB early afternoon, before relocating to Inner Marsh Farm RSPB, Cheshire, this evening. Black Kite sightings came from Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, Kent and Shetland and a Subalpine Warbler was on Fair Isle. Twenty three Cattle Egrets flew over Polgigga, Cornwall. In Norfolk the Baikal Teal remained on Blakeney freshmarsh, but unfortunately a colour-ring appeared to be just about visible on the right leg.

In Ireland Mizen Head hosted an impressive selection of rarities and scarcities - two Subalpine Warblers, Ortolan Bunting, Woodchat Shrike, Short-toed Lark and Golden Oriole.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Thursday 8th May 2008  
  A fine selection of rarities discovered today included a Collared Pratincole on Isle of Sheppey, Kent, three Red-footed Falcons (two in Kent and one in Lancashire), Savi's Warbler briefly on Brean Down, Somerset, Alpine Swift over Great Ormes Head, Conwy, Whiskered Tern at Lower Tamar Lake, Devon, Black Kite in Wiltshire, Bee-eater in Devon, and a drake Baikal Teal on Blakeney freshmarsh, Norfolk, for its second day.

Lesser Scaup in North Yorkshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Black-winged Stilts in Gwent and Cheshire, American Golden Plover in Devon, Whiskered Tern in Dorset, three Red-rumped Swallows in Dorset, Black Kite on Fair Isle and Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk were all lingerers

Short-toed Larks in Glamorgan and Dorset, Woodchat Shrikes in East Yorkshire and Devon, Icterine Warbler in Cornwall, Night Heron on North Uist, Pallas's Warbler in Hampshire, Hoopoes in Essex and Pembrokeshire and numerous Temminck's Stints were the scarcity highlights.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 7th May 2008  
  The highlights of another busy day were the discoveries of a Broad-billed Sandpiper in Gwent at Goldcliff, a Lesser Scaup in North Yorkshire at Cleasby, Subalpine Warblers in Norfolk at Sea Palling and in Cornwall at Nanjizal (2) and, on the Western Isles, an American Herring Gull and at least two White-billed Divers on Lewis.

The more aerial migrants were well represented with eight Red-rumped Swallows (five together in Dorset and singles in County Cork, Devon and Wirral), single Black Kites in Hampshire, Kent and the Shetland Isles and Bee-eaters in Berkshire, Cornwall, Dorset and Norfolk.

Lingering rarities comprised the Snowy Owl on the Western Isles, both Ross's Gull and Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Whiskered Tern in Dorset, American Herring Gull in County Galway and two Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire. Cattle Egret reports consisted of nine in Cornwall and singles in Ceredigion, Nottinghamshire and Wirral.

Black Terns were again in evidence in England and Wales with 353 recorded from 25 counties including maximums of 52 in Norfolk, 46 in Cambridgeshire, 42 in Gloucestershire and 42 in Hertfordshire.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Tuesday 6th May 2008  
  The highlight of the day was a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (Pic1) (Pic2) trapped and ringed at Heysham, Lancashire although, disappointingly, it was not seen after release. Other discoveries included a Snowy Owl (Pic) on North Uist Western Isles, single Red-rumped Swallows in both County Cork and Dorset with brief encounters with a Black Stork at Scaling Dam Reservoir, Cleveland, Whiskered Tern at Hurst, Hampshire and Black Kite at Dungeness, Kent.

Lingering rarities comprised the Upland Sandpiper still in Aberdeenshire, Ross's Gull in Lancashire, Black Duck in County Donegal, American Golden Plover in Devon, Whiskered Tern in Dorset, American Herring Gull in County Galway, Subalpine Warbler in Cornwall, Black-winged Stilts in both Cheshire (2) and Gwent, two Black Kites in Hampshire, Great White Egret on the Isle of Man and Cattle Egrets in Cornwall (9) and Nottinghamshire.

Black Terns were again in evidence with 269 reported from 26 counties in England and Wales including highs of 59 in Hertfordshire, 29 in Warwickshire, 22 in Oxfordshire and twenty in Cambridgeshire.
-  Chris Batty, RBA