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| Wednesday 4th April 2012 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the confirmation of the identification a juvenile
Thayer's Gull in Lincolnshire, present again briefly in a field at Elsham. It follows strong candidates discovered in England, in Oxfordshire on 6th December 2007-6th January 2008, relocating to Derbyshire on 16th February-17th February 2008, and in Essex on 6th November
2010. In Ireland records of Thayer's Gulls have been accepted from County Cork (1990), County Antrim (1997), County Donegal (1998 and 2003) and County Mayo (1998-1999 and 2005), and more recently,
further birds have been located in County Galway (2010 and 2011), County Fermanagh (2012) and County Mayo (2012). Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Northern Waterthrush on the Isles of Scilly, Greater Yellowlegs, King Eider, Ross's Goose in Aberdeenshire, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset, Bonaparte's Gull in Gloucestershire, Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset, Black-winged Stilt in County Wexford, Long-billed Dowitchers in both Carmarthenshire and Somerset (2), Lesser Scaups in Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, Falcated Duck in County Mayo, Little Bunting in Devon, and Glossy Ibises in Essex and the Western Isles. Spring scarcities included a Purple Heron in Devon, four Hoopoes - in County Cork, Cornwall (2) and Devon - and four Green-winged Teals. |
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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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| Tuesday 3rd April 2012 | ||
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| A smart male Pallid Harrier flew over Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire
mid afternoon, but poor weather restricted viewing, and the bird was only
retrospectively identified from the single photo taken. A juvenile gull briefly
near Brigg, Lincolnshire looks very good for Thayer's Gull.
Lingering rarities seen today included the Falcated Duck in County Mayo, House Crow in County Cork, Black-winged Stilt in County Wexford, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset, Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire (with another of the latter in Glamorgan), Blue-winged Teal in Cornwall, King Eider in Aberdeenshire, two Long-billed Dowitchers and Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset, single Glossy Ibises in the Western Isles, Suffolk, Essex, Cleveland and County Cork, and Little Bunting in Devon. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Monday 2nd April 2012 | ||
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| In Co Mayo a drake Falcated Duck was discovered with Wigeon at Cross
Lough on The Mullet. Elsewhere in Ireland a Black-winged Stilt lingered
in Co Wexford and the Pallid Harrier reappeared in Co Galway.
Lingering rarities included Greater Yellowlegs and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Blue-winged Teals in Clyde and Cornwall, Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset (2) and Carmarthenshire, Bonaparte's Gull in Gloucestershire, Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset, Red-breasted Goose in Dumfries & Galloway, Northern Waterthrush on Isles of Scilly, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire and Little Bunting in Devon. Glossy Ibises were logged in Pembrokeshire (3), Dorset (2), Cleveland, Western Isles, Essex, Co Cork and Suffolk. A Bee-eater was reported in West Yorkshire and a Black Kite was reported over Surrey. The best of the rest included Night Herons in Cornwall and Co Cork, Richard's Pipit in Norfolk, Hoopoes in Co Cork, Cornwall (2) and Gloucestershire and Yellow-browed Warbler in Worcestershire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 1st April 2012 | ||
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| The highlights of the day were the discovery of a Blue-winged Teal in Clyde at Drumclog, a brief
Subalpine Warbler in London at Greenwich, and a Ross's Goose in Aberdeenshire at Rattray Head. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Northern Waterthrush on the Isles of Scilly, Greater Yellowlegs and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Black-winged Stilt in County Wexford, Blue-winged Teal in Cornwall, Spotted Sandpiper and two Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, Little Bunting in Devon, and Glossy Ibises in Cleveland, Conwy, Essex (2), Lancashire and Suffolk. Spring scarcities included a Purple Heron in County Waterford, Wryneck in Devon, two Night Herons (County Cork and County Durham), two Richard's Pipits (Dorset and Norfolk), three Green-winged Teals, and a totla of seven Hoopoes between County Cork and Hampshire. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 31st March 2012 | ||
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| A Red-flanked Bluetail was trapped and ringed at Uigen, Lewis early
afternoon, representing the first record for the Western Isles. Also in
Scotland, a Red-breasted Goose was seen in Perth and Kinross, at Upper
Rhynd.
Lingering rarities included the Common Yellowthroat in Gwent, Northern Waterthrush in the Isles of Scilly, Greater Yellowlegs in Aberdeenshire, Black-winged Stilt in County Wexford, Lesser Yellowlegs and Blue-winged Teal in Cornwall, two Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset, King Eider in Aberdeenshire and Little Bunting in Devon. Spotted Sandpipers were present in Somerset and Dorset, whilst Lesser Scaups were in Gloucestershire and Glamorgan, Bonaparte's Gulls were in Gloucestershire and Glamorgan and Glossy Ibises were in the Western Isles, Cleveland, Dorset, Essex and Pembrokeshire (2). |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Friday 30th March 2012 | ||
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| Spring rarities discovered today were headlined by a Black-winged Stilt
in County Wexford, which spent the evening at Tacumshin. A Black Kite
flew north over Wallington, London whilst in Gloucestershire a Bonaparte's
Gull was found at Newnham, together with two adult Ring-billed Gulls. An
Alpine Swift was present yesterday on Lundy, Devon, for its second day.
Long staying winterers still present included the Common Yellowthroat in Gwent, Northern Waterthrush in the Isles of Scilly, Greater Yellowlegs in Aberdeenshire, Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset and Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan. More recent arrivals included the two Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset, Blue-winged Teal in County Dublin, King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Little Bunting in Devon and single Glossy Ibises in Cleveland and Suffolk. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 29th March 2012 | ||
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| An Alpine Swift at Havant, Hampshire was just a brief encounter, but
elsewhere lingering rarities comprised the Common Yellowthroat still in Gwent,
Greater Yellowlegs and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Blue-winged Teal
and Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, Spotted Sandpiper and two
Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset, single Lesser Scaups in both Glamorgan or Highland,
Richardson's Canada Goose in Argyll, and Glossy Ibises in Cleveland, Dorset (2), Essex, Lancashire, Suffolk and Western Isles. Additional notables included seven Hoopoes recorded between Co Cork (2), Co Kerry and Cornwall (4), a Night Heron in Cornwall, and a Purple Heron in County Waterford. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 28th March 2012 | ||
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| In Devon a Little Bunting was trapped and ringed at South Milton Ley,
confirming that two different Little Buntings are currently present at the site;
a Little Bunting was also trapped and ringed there on 19th March.
Lingering rarities included Northern Waterthrush on Isles of Scilly, Greater Yellowlegs and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset (2) and Dumfries & Galloway, Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset, Lesser Scaup in Somerset and Highland and Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset. A Blue-winged Teal was in Co Dublin (whilst another remained in Cornwall) and Glossy Ibises lingered in Cleveland, Lancashire, Dorset (2), Suffolk, Essex and Western Isles. Scarcities were represented by two Night Herons (Cornwall), at least eleven Hoopoes, Richard's Pipit (Dorset), Pectoral Sandpiper (Ayrshire), Purple Heron (Co Waterford) and Rose-coloured Starling (Hampshire). |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 27th March 2012 | ||
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| In Aberdeenshire a King Eider was discovered on the Ythan Estuary this
afternoon.
Lingering rare passerines included Common Yellowthroat in Gwent, Little Bunting in Devon, Northern Waterthrush on Isles of Scilly and Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset. Waders were represented by Greater Yellowlegs in Aberdeenshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, two Long-billed Dowitchers and Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset. A Lesser Scaup lingered in Glamorgan, a Red-breasted Goose reappeared in Essex and a Blue-winged Teal was still in Cornwall. Glossy Ibises were logged in Cleveland, Essex, Suffolk, Dorset, Western Isles and Co Galway. Scarcities included Yellow-browed Warbler in Devon, Night Heron in Cornwall, three Purple Herons (Pembrokeshire, Co Wicklow and Co Waterford), two Cattle Egrets (Berkshire and Devon) and four Hoopoes. Late news from yesterday related to another sighting of the Scops Owl on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Monday 26th March 2012 | ||
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| A Red-flanked Bluetail discovered on Galley Head, Co Cork today
represented only the third Irish record.
In Britain birders twitching the Common Yellowthroat in Gwent reported a Short-toed Eagle over Rhiwderyn this afternoon. Lingering rarities comprised Blue-winged Teal in Cornwall, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, two Long-billed Dowitchers in Somerset, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Dorset, Spotted Sandpiper in Somerset, Richardson's Canada Goose in Argyll, Bonaparte's Gull in Glamorgan, three White-billed Divers off Western Isles and Little Bunting in Devon. Glossy Ibises were logged in Norfolk (4), Anglesey, Suffolk, Cleveland and Essex. The best of the rest included three Hoopoes in Cornwall, Serin in East Yorkshire, Pectoral Sandpiper in Ayrshire and Night Heron in Devon. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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