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| Friday 4th July 2008 | ||
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| New rarities discovered today were both in East Anglia, with an adult female
Red-footed Falcon at Sculthorpe, Norfolk, and a Great White Egret
at Brantham, Suffolk.
Longer staying rarities included the adult Lesser Yellowlegs at Cley NWT, Norfolk, Glossy Ibis again at Martin Mere WWT, Lancashire, female Snowy Owl at Aird an Runair, North Uist, Western Isles and the very showy White-billed Diver on South Ronaldsay, Orkney. Scarcities included a new Melodious Warbler on Portland, Dorset, the long staying Red-backed Shrike at Sea Palling, Norfolk, two Rose-coloured Starlings on Orkney and Common Rosefinch at Tyndrum, Forth. |
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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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| Thursday 3rd July 2008 | ||
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| Unfortunately the Little Swift failed to reappear in South Yorkshire but lingering rarities elsewhere comprised the
White-billed Diver on the Orkney Isles, Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk,
Forster's Tern in County Wexford and Hooded Merganser in Dorset. Single Rose-coloured Starlings in Moray and the Orkney Isles headlined the scarcities whilst a Marsh Warbler was a new arrival on the Shetland Isles. Seawatching produced Cory's Shearwater in Cornwall, County Durham and County Cork (3) whilst 40 Balearic Shearwaters passed Portland Bill, Dorset. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 2nd July 2008 | ||
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| The 'midsummer quiet period' was broken today by the discovery of a Little
Swift at Old Moor RSPB reserve in South Yorkshire. The bird was found at
7.47am but was only present for about 20 minutes before disappearing. But, to
the delight of many, it re-appeared in the early afternoon and remained around
the wader scrape until soon after 5pm when it disappeared as rain came in.
Another excellent find was a summer-plumaged White-billed Diver on South
Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands. This bird, which was first seen yesterday,
remained all day and gave some excellent views at times. The only other new
rarity found was a Black Stork which circled over an industrial estate
near Stow Longa in Cambridgeshire.
Long staying rarities included the Hooded Merganser in Dorset and the Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk. Three Rose-coloured Starlings remained today: two in the Orkneys and one in Aberdeenshire, and a number of Spoonbills remained around the country. A Temminck's Stint was at Loch of Strathbeg in Aberdeenshire and the Short-toed Lark was still on North Ronaldsay in Orkney. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 1st July 2008 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Red-footed Falcon on Stronsay, Orkney Isles. Elsewhere, lingering rarities comprised the
Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Glossy Ibis in Merseyside and Hooded Merganser in Dorset. Rose-coloured Starlings continue to be found with news today of new birds in Moray and the Orkney Isles, with three present around this archipelago today bringing the national tally to 33 this summer. Scarce migrants included a Golden Oriole in Kent, Common Rosefinch in Forth and Pectoral Sandpiper in Carmarthenshire. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 30th June 2008 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a pair of Black-winged Stilts in Hampshire. It seems likely they are the pair that made a failed breeding attempt at Neumann's Flash, Cheshire on 25th April-21st June before relocating to the adjacent Ashton's Flash on 27th-29th June and then migrating 175 miles to the south southeast to arrive at Beaulieu within twenty hours. The identification of the Balearic Woodchat Shrike in Somerset was confirmed this morning, just as the bird disappeared from view. Whilst in Lincolnshire another suspected Balearic Woodchat Shrike was discovered this evening at Saltfleet Haven. Other lingering rarities were the Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk and the Hooded Merganser in Dorset. Two Wilson's Petrels off the Isles of Scilly were the first recorded in the British Isles this summer. Scarcities included Short-toed Lark on the Orkney Isles, Common Rosefinch in Forth and two Rose-coloured Starlings on the Orkney Isles - there have now been at total of 31 Rose-coloured Starlings recorded from twenty British counties so far this summer. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 29th June 2008 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Woodchat Shrike that
is strongly suspected to be of the form badius - Balearic Woodchat Shrike - at Minehead, Somerset.
Elsewhere, a Great White Egret was found at Lurgangreen, County Louth and a
Black Kite showed at Wykeham Forest, North Yorkshire. Lingering rarities consisted of the Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Hooded Merganser in Dorset and the pair of Black-wingesd Stilts in Cheshire. Scarcities included Common Rosefinch in Forth, single Red-backed Shrikes both in Berkshire and Norfolk and Rose-coloured Starlings in Lancashire, Lincolnshire and the Orkney Isles (2). |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 28th June 2008 | ||
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| A Cattle Egret at Leighton Moss RSPB was an excellent Lancashire
discovery and the only new rarity found today. A Lesser Yellowlegs at
Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk was present for its second day and in neighbouring Norfolk the
Lesser Yellowlegs continued to frequent Cley NWT. In Dorset the drake
Hooded Merganser was still in Weymouth and the pair of Black-winged
Stilts were again at Ashton's Flash, Cheshire.
Five Rose-coloured Starlings included popular birds in Lancashire and Lincolnshire and in Forth the Common Rosefinch was still in Tyndrum. Green-winged Teals were in Cheshire and Cambridgeshire and fourteen Roseate Terns were logged at various sites, including four together in Lincolnshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 27th June 2008 | ||
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| The highlights of the day were lingering rarities: Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk,
American Golden Plover on Anglesey, two Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire and the
Hooded Merganser in Dorset. Brief encounters included a Gull-billed Tern in Conwy,
Red-footed Falcon in Essex and Black Kite in Hampshire. Scarcities included Rose-coloured Starlings in Highland, Lancashire and the Orkney Isles (2), Common Rosefinches in Forth and Highland, Red-backed Shrike in Norfolk and Hoopoe in Hampshire. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 26th June 2008 | ||
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| Birders at Spurn, East Yorkshire scored a remarkable double this afternoon.
The Pacific Swift first seen on Sunday made another appearance, this time
flying south then back north and then within a matter of minutes a Little
Swift flew south over The Triangle. Large numbers of Swifts have been
moving south in recent days, with at least 11,500 logged over Spurn yesterday.
A singing male Eastern Subalpine Warbler was discovered on Portland, Dorset and in Hampshire a Black Kite flew over Overton. In Anglesey the American Golden Plover remained on the Alaw Estuary and in Norfolk the Lesser Yellowlegs was still at Cley NWT. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 25th June 2008 | ||
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| New arrivals today include an adult American Golden Plover on
Anglesey, on the Alaw Estuary, two Black Kites in Yorkshire, at Grimston
and Knaresborough, and a Cattle Egret at Cley NWT, Norfolk. The adult
Lesser Yellowlegs remained at the same site, but the Lesser Grey Shrike
nearby appears to have departed.
A Bee-eater was seen once again in the Coventry area of Warwickshire, briefly over Radford, the first-summer drake Hooded Merganser remained in Weymouth, Dorset, and a probable Black-browed Albatross was seen on the Pembrokeshire coast. Scarcities included Red-backed Shrike in Norfolk, Common Rosefinch in Forth, Rose-coloured Starling in Orkney and an inland Roseate Tern at Broom Gravel-pits, Bedfordshire, with several other individuals at the coast. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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