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| Saturday 26th December 2009 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the reappearance - albeit brief - of the elusive
Killdeer in County Wicklow. Lingering rarities recorded elsewhere comprised the Black Duck still on the Isles of Scilly,
Red-breasted Goose in Devon, Baird's Sandpiper in Lothian, Spotted Sandpiper
in Essex, Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, King Eider in Moray,
Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, Ferruginous Ducks in both Norfolk and West Yorkshire,
Glossy Ibis in Worcestershire, Cattle Egrets in County Cork (3) and Devon and single
Great White Egrets in both Hampshire and Kent. Scarcities included eight Ring-billed Gulls, three each of Ring-necked Duck, Iceland Gull and Caspian Gull, two Great Grey Shrikes and single Little Bunting (Highland), Surf Scoter (Devon), Greater Snow Goose (Norfolk), Rough-legged Buzzard (Cambridgeshire), Richard's Pipit (Cornwall), Green-winged Teal (Greater Manchester), Yellow-browed Warbler (Somerset) and Lapland Bunting (Lincolnshire). |
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| - Chris Batty, 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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| Friday 25th December 2009 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was a Killdeer present at Greystones, County Wicklow briefly before flying off north. Elsewhere in Ireland, an
American Herring Gull was discovered at Portrush, County Antrim. Other rarities comprised the Snowy Owl still on the Western Isles, Red-breasted Goose and Cattle Egret still in Devon, Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, single Ferruginous Ducks in East Sussex, Somerset and West Yorkshire, Glossy Ibis in Worcestershire and single Great White Egrets in both Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Scarcities were represented by a Little Bunting (Highland), Richard's Pipit (Cornwall), Yellow-browed Warbler (Somerset), Greater Snow Goose (Norfolk), Ring-necked Duck (West Yorkshire), Green-winged Teal (Greater Manchester) and two Lapland Buntings (together in East Yorkshire) whilst scarce gull totals included three each of both Ring-billed and Iceland and two Caspian. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 24th December 2009 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the sighting, albeit brief, of a Greater Yellowlegs at Kinneil Lagoon, Forth. With the last easily twitchable Greater
Yellowlegs on the British mainland being in Cumbria in 1994, the current bird will prove
most popular if relocated. Elsewhere, rarities comprised the Black Duck still on the Isles of Scilly, Snowy Owl on the Western Isles, Siberian Stonechat in Nottinghamshire, Spotted Sandpiper in Essex, Glossy Ibis in Worcestershire, Ferruginous Ducks in both Norfolk and West Yorkshire, Great White Egret in Warwickshire and single Cattle Egrets in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Scarcities included 13 Lapland Buntings across three counties, 10 Waxwings in Merseyside, five Caspian Gulls, three each of both Ring-billed Gull and Iceland Gull, two each of Richard's Pipit and Ring-necked Duck, and single Little Bunting (Highland), Rough-legged Buzzard (Cambridgeshire), Great Grey Shrike (Hampshire) and Shorelark (Suffolk). |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 23rd December 2009 | ||
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| Lingering rarities included Siberian Stonechat in Nottinghamshire,
Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, Spotted Sandpiper in Essex,
Ferruginous Ducks in Norfolk, West Yorkshire and Co Down and Glossy Ibis
in Worcestershire. A Red-breasted Goose flew over Barnby
(Nottinghamshire) then Beckingham (Lincolnshire) with Pink-footed Geese and
Great White Egrets were recorded in Leicestershire, Somerset and
Warwickshire.
The Little Bunting remained in Highland, Richard's Pipits lingered in Glamorgan and Cheshire, Green-winged Teals accompanied Teal in Essex and Greater Manchester and a Ring-necked Duck was still in Ceredigion. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 22nd December 2009 | ||
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| Headline rarities came in the form of King Eider (Shetland),
Spotted Sandpiper (Essex), Siberian Stonechat (Nottinghamshire),
Red-breasted Goose (Devon) and Ferruginous Ducks (Norfolk and West
Yorkshire).
Great White Egrets were reported in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Somerset and a Glossy Ibis lingered in Worcestershire. Scarcities included Richard's Pipit in Cheshire, Common Crane in Somerset, Little Bunting in Highland and Surf Scoter in Orkney. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Monday 21st December 2009 | ||
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| Lingering rarities comprised Siberian Stonechat in Nottinghamshire,
Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, Baird's Sandpiper in Lothian and
Ferruginous Duck in West Yorkshire.
Great White Egrets were logged in Leicestershire, Aberdeenshire and Dorset, Richardson's Canada Geese joined Barnacle Geese on Islay and Tiree (Argyll) and the best of the rest included Rough-legged Buzzard in Cambridgeshire, Surf Scoter in Devon, Little Bunting in Highland, Richard's Pipits in Glamorgan and Cheshire, Taiga Bean Goose in Merseyside and Ring-necked Duck in Buckinghamshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 20th December 2009 | ||
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| Lingering rarities confirmed as still present today comprised the Siberian Stonechat
in Nottinghamshire, Baird's Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs in Lothian,
Spotted Sandpiper in Essex, Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, Richardson's Canada Goose in Argyll,
Red-breasted Goose in Devon, Ferruginous Ducks in both Somerset and West Yorkshire, three
Glossy Ibises together in Somerset, Cattle Egrets in County Cork (6) and Somerset (3) and single
Great White Egrets in Essex, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire, whilst in Cornwall the
Pacific Diver was probably seen again in Carbis Bay. Scarcities included five Ring-billed Gulls, four Balearic Shearwaters (together in Cornwall), three each of Richard's Pipit and Great Grey Shrike, two each of Green-winged Teal and Lapland Bunting and single Little Bunting (Highland), Serin (London), Surf Scoter (Devon), Ring-necked Duck (Buckinghamshire) and Black Brant (County Wexford). |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 19th December 2009 | ||
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| The stunning white morph Gyr remained on The Gower, Glamorgan, where
is showed on and off throughout the afternoon. Reports of Gyrs also came
from Co Durham and Northumberland.
The Siberian Stonechat in Nottinghamshire was a popular attraction - the bird showed intermittently throughout the day. Elsewhere lingering rarities included Pacific Diver (Cornwall), Lesser Yellowlegs and Baird's Sandpiper (Lothian), Glossy Ibis (Worcestershire), Ferruginous Ducks (Somerset and West Yorkshire) and Spotted Sandpipers (Essex and Devon). Three Cattle Egrets were in Co Cork, Great White Egrets were logged in Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Co Monaghan, a Richard's Pipit was discovered in Cornwall and the adult Rough-legged Buzzard lingered in Cambridgeshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 18th December 2009 | ||
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| In Glamorgan, the juvenile female white morph Gyr remained in the Port
Eynon /Scurlage area for much of the day. Mobile for the morning, it was found
sitting in a field, and later on a fencepost, in the afternoon, where it showed
well, before flying towards cliffs, possibly to roost.
In Nottinghamshire, the male Siberian Stonechat remained at Bevercotes Pit Wood. Lingering rare waders included the Lesser Yellowlegs and Baird's Sandpiper in Lothian, Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria and Spotted Sandpiper in Devon. The Red-breasted Goose was still in Devon, as was the Glossy Ibis in Worcestershire, Cattle Egrets in County Cork and Somerset (3), Ferruginous Duck in Dorset and Great White Egrets in Warwickshire, Somerset, Northamptonshire (2) and Essex. Scarcities included a Hoopoe on the Isle of Wight, Rough-legged Buzzard in Cambridgeshire and White Stork in County Durham. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 17th December 2009 | ||
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| A male Siberian Stonechat at Bevercotes, Nottinghamshire, this
afternoon is an excellent record. Inland birds are rare enough, but one inland
in mid December is unprecedented. A white morph Gyr is also noteworthy,
although it didn't linger as it flew over farmland near Port Eynon, Glamorgan.
Long staying rarities included the Brown Shrike in Surrey, Baird's Sandpiper in Lothian, three Penduline Tits in Kent, three Glossy Ibises in Somerset with another in Worcestershire, Long-billed Dowitcher in Cumbria, King Eider in Moray, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, single Spotted Sandpipers in Devon, Hampshire, Essex and Forth and Red-breasted Goose in Devon. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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