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.

Choose a starting date
Thursday 3rd December 2009  
  A quiet day was headlined by lingering rarities, which included Brown Shrike in Surrey, Spotted Sandpipers in Devon and Forth, Pacific Diver in Cornwall and Ferruginous Duck in Co Down. In Worcestershire a Glossy Ibis called in at Holt Fleet and in Kent two Glossy Ibises and a Great White Egret remained at Dungeness RSPB.

Elsewhere the best of the rest comprised Green-winged Teal in Nottinghamshire, Serin in London and Yellow-browed Warbler in Glamorgan.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 2nd December 2009  
  Lingering rarities comprised the Brown Shrike in Surrey, Baird's Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs in Lothian and Spotted Sandpipers in Devon, Hampshire, Essex and Forth. In Kent, Dungeness RSPB continued to host two Penduline Tits, a Great White Egret and two Glossy Ibises whilst a Cattle Egret remained nearby. Ferruginous Ducks were recorded in West Yorkshire and Berkshire and in Ireland the Wilson's Phalarope was still in Co Donegal.

The best of the rest included two American Wigeons in Dumfries & Galloway, a Yellow-browed Warbler in Glamorgan and Green-winged Teals remained in Warwickshire, Merseyside and North Yorkshire.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Tuesday 1st December 2009  
  The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Wilson's Phalarope at Inch Island, County Donegal. Rarities elsewhere comprised the Brown Shrike still in Surrey, Penduline Tit and two Glossy Ibises together in Kent, Baird's Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs in Lothian, Spotted Sandpipers in Devon, Essex, Forth and Hampshire, Ferruginous Duck in West Yorkshire, two Cattle Egrets together in Hampshire and single Great White Egrets in Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk.

The best of the rest included 15 Little Auks, three Pomarine Skuas, two each of Green-winged Teal, Grey Phalarope and Caspian Gull, and single Serin (London), Rose-coloured Starling (Pembrokeshire), Yellow-browed Warbler (Glamorgan), Sabine's Gull (Isle of Scilly), Ring-billed Gull (Derbyshire), Black Brant (Essex) and Leach's Petrel (Devon).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Monday 30th November 2009  
  Rarities recorded today comprised the Brown Shrike still in Surrey, Baird's Sandpiper showing again in Lothian, Spotted Sandpipers in Devon, Forth and Hampshire, Ferruginous Duck in County Down, Hooded Merganser in Cleveland, two Glossy Ibises and a Cattle Egret together in Kent and single Great White Egrets in Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk. In Essex a Franklin's Gull flew past Canvey Island again, and in North Yorkshire a Laughing Gull flew past Filey Brigg.

Seawatching produced 31 Little Auks in nine counties, 18 Pomarine Skuas in eight counties (including one inland in Somerset), at least 13 Leach's Petrels in five counties and four Balearic Shearwaters passing Kent.

Scarcities included five Green-winged Teals, two each of Shorelark, Black Brant and Grey Phalarope and single Serin (London), Rose-coloured Starling (Oxfordshire), Greater Snow Goose (Norfolk), Great Grey Shrike (Cumbria) and Ring-billed Gull (Derbyshire).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Sunday 29th November 2009  
  A second-winter Franklin's Gull flew south across the River Thames viewed from Canvey Island (Essex) this morning, but sadly the bird was not relocated. On Shetland a late Blyth's Reed Warbler was at Quendale, Mainland and a Spotted Sandpiper was identified near Killearn (Forth), having been found yesterday.

Lingering rarities included Brown Shrike (Surrey), Pacific Diver (Cornwall), Penduline Tit and two Glossy Ibises (Kent), Lesser Yellowlegs (Lothian) and Spotted Sandpipers remained in Devon, Hampshire and Essex.

An incredible wreck of Leach's Petrels occurred along the English south coast, with a minimum of 1,446 birds recorded at 34 sites, mainly in Hampshire, Dorset and to a lesser extent, Devon and Cornwall. Peak counts included a minimum of 600 passing through Chesil Cove and at least 582 flying past Portland Bill, whilst smaller numbers were scattered along the coast and several individuals found their way to inland.

In Ireland the American Herring Gull was still in Galway and an American Golden Plover lingered in Co Down.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Saturday 28th November 2009  
  Lingering rarities present today included Brown Shrike in Surrey, Forster's Tern in County Galway, Penduline Tit and two Glossy Ibises in Kent, single Spotted Sandpipers in Essex, Hampshire and Devon, Lesser Yellowlegs in Lothian and single Ferruginous Ducks in County Down and Somerset. The Azorean Yellow-legged Gull reappeared at Didcot, Oxfordshire late afternoon.

In Cornwall, there was no sign of the adult Pacific Diver on the Hayle Estuary, and there was no news on the Pacific Diver on the Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Friday 27th November 2009  
  Pacific Divers were once again the main focus of the day, with the two adults lingering in Cornwall and Gloucestershire. The former remained on the Hayle Estuary, whilst the latter was seen off Severn Beach late morning. A Lesser Yellowlegs was seen in Yorkshire, perhaps being the same individual that was seen on the 13th November. The adult also remained at Aberlady Bay, Lothian.

In Surrey, the Brown Shrike was confirmed as still present, whilst other lingering rarities included single Spotted Sandpipers in Devon, Hampshire and Essex, Penduline Tit and two Glossy Ibises in Kent and single Ferruginous Ducks in Essex and Somerset.

Belated news concerned a remarkable record of a Crested Lark in Wiltshire on the 15th and 16th November at a private site in the south of the county.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 26th November 2009  
  Rarities confirmed as present today comprised the Pacific Diver in Cornwall, the Brown Shrike in Surrey, Penduline Tit in Kent, Wilson's Phalarope and Lesser Yellowlegs in Lothian, Spotted Sandpipers in both Devon and Hampshire, King Eider in Moray, Glossy Ibises in Somerset (3) and Kent (2), Ferruginous Duck in Somerset, single Cattle Egrets in both Dorset and Kent and Great White Egrets in Suffolk and Warwickshire.

Scarcities included 15 Leach's Petrels across seven counties, 14 Balearic Shearwaters passing Cornwall, eight each of Grey Phalarope and Shorelark, three each of Ring-necked Duck and Sabine's Gull, two Serins (together in London) and singles of Surf Scoter (Glamorgan), Red-necked Phalarope (Lincolnshire), Yellow-browed Warbler (Isles of Scilly), Green-winged Teal (Warwickshire), Ring-billed Gull (County Cork) and Lapland Bunting (East Yorkshire).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Wednesday 25th November 2009  
  The strong southwesterly winds continued and delivered an outstanding rarity in the form of a White-bellied Storm Petrel or Black-bellied Storm Petrel in Gloucestershire. Present on the Severn Estuary off Severn Beach intermittently for over an hour in the early morning, over thirty birders watched this first for Britain before finally losing it from view.

Seawatching elsewhere produced single Sabine's Gulls in Devon and the Isles of Scilly, 26 Balearic Shearwaters, a Pomarine Skua in Gloucestershire, seven Little Auks across six counties, 19 Grey Phalaropes across seven counties and 59 Leach's Petrels across nineteen counties, with additional Leach’s Petrels inland in both Cambridgeshire and Surrey.

Otherwise, rarity news was headlined by the identification of single Spotted Sandpipers in both Devon at Topsham and in Hampshire at Mottisfont, whilst the lingering bird remained in Essex. The Brown Shrike was still in Surrey as were the Pacific Divers in both Cornwall and Gloucestershire, and the Great White Egret in Leicestershire.

Scarcities comprised two each of Serin, Ring-necked Duck and Ring-billed Gull and single Surf Scoter (Glamorgan), Red-necked Phalarope (Lincolnshire), Snow Goose (Lothian), Lapland Bunting (Essex) and Green-winged Teal (Warwickshire).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Tuesday 24th November 2009  
  The highlight of the day was an unidentified frigatebird watched flying southwest over Huddersfield, West Yorkshire early in the morning. Other storm induced refugees included 20 Balearic Shearwaters off Dorset, at least fifteen Leach's Petrels across seven counties, five Grey Phalaropes, two Little Auks, a Pomarine Skua and single Sabine's Gulls in Anglesey, County Cork, County Waterford and the Isles of Scilly.

Other rarities comprised the Pacific Diver still in Cornwall, the Brown Shrike still in Surrey, a Red-rumped Swallow in Borders, Wilson's Phalarope in Lothian, Spotted Sandpiper in Essex, King Eider in Moray, Ferruginous Duck in Somerset, Cattle Egret in Kent and single Great White Egrets in Kent, Lancashire and Norfolk.

Significant scarcities comprised a Serin in London, Rose-coloured Starling in Pembrokeshire, Surf Scoter in Glamorgan, Snow Goose in Lothian, Red-necked Phalarope in Lincolnshire, Black Brant in Dorset, Lapland Bunting in Essex and Ring-necked Duck, Great Grey Shrike and Green-winged Teal all in Norfolk.
-  Chris Batty, RBA