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| Tuesday 14th April 2015 | ||
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| The highlight of the day - and the year so far - was the discovery of Britain's second
Great Blue Heron: in the same place as the first, at Lower Moors, St Mary's, Isles of
Scilly; and found by the same birder! It remained in Old Town Bay until dark. New rarities elsewhere comprised Gull-billed Tern, Red-rumped Swallow and now two Subalpine Warblers in Cornwall, an Alpine Swift in Leicestershire at Rutland Water, and Black-winged Stilts in both Kent (7) and Essex (2). Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Harlequin Duck, King Eider and two White-billed Divers in Aberdeenshire, Blue-winged Teal in Lincolnshire, Subalpine Warbler in County Waterford, Laughing Gulls in both County Cork and Merseyside, Lesser Yellowlegs in County Dublin, and Lesser Scaup on the Western Isles. Scarcities included 27 Hoopoes, 7 migrant Dotterel, three Wrynecks, Woodchat Shrike (Devon), Night Heron (Cornwall), Serin (Kent) and Purple Heron (Northumberland). |
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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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| Monday 13th April 2015 | ||
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| New discoveries included Western Subalpine Warbler in Cornwall,
Black Kite in Norfolk and Black-winged Stilt in West Sussex, whilst
Harlequin Duck (Aberdeenshire), Subalpine Warbler (Co Waterford),
Black Duck (Isles of Scilly), Lesser Scaup (Western Isles and
Ayrshire), Laughing Gull (Merseyside) and Blue-winged Teal
(Lincolnshire) all lingered.
The best of the rest included White-spotted Bluethroat (Hertfordshire), Woodchat Shrike (Co Cork), Glossy Ibis (Cambridgeshire), two Wrynecks (Pembrokeshire and Lancashire), two Cattle Egrets (Kent), two Night Herons (Isles of Scilly), ten Dotterel (Norfolk) and at least 16 Hoopoes. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 12th April 2015 | ||
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| New discoveries included Alpine Swift (Dorset), Blue-winged Teal
(Lincolnshire), Lesser Scaup (Western Isles) and Bee-eater (South
Yorkshire), whilst Harlequin Duck (Aberdeenshire), Subalpine Warbler
(Co Waterford), Blue-winged Teal (Orkney), Laughing Gull
(Wirral/Merseyside), Black Duck (Isles of Scilly) and White-billed
Diver (Aberdeenshire) all lingered.
The best of the rest included two Night Herons (Isles of Scilly), Serin (East Yorkshire), Glossy Ibises (Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire), Wryneck (Co Cork) and at least 23 Hoopoes. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 11th April 2015 | ||
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| Today's headline finds comprised a Scops Owl in Co Wexford and
Greater Yellowlegs in Hampshire. Elsewhere new discoveries included
Alpine Swift (East Yorkshire), Subalpine Warbler (Co Waterford),
Black Kite (Kent) and a Bee-eater was reported in Cleveland. The
Harlequin Ducks in Aberdeenshire and Highland, Laughing Gull in
Merseyside/Wirral, White-billed Diver in Aberdeenshire and American
Herring Gull in Cornwall all lingered.
Today's Hoopoe records included at least 11 in Co Cork, up to nine on Isles of Scilly, five in Cornwall, three in both Co Waterford and Co Wexford and singles in Pembrokeshire and Western Isles. The best of the rest included Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), Night Heron (Isles of Scilly), Serin (Norfolk) and Wryneck (Pembrokeshire). |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 10th April 2015 | ||
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| Apart from a reported Black Kite in Somerset, there were no new
rarities seen today. Scarce migrants continued to arrive in force, however, with
32 Hoopoes, six Wrynecks and three Great Grey Shrikes topping
the list.
Lingering rarities seen today included the Harlequin Ducks in both Aberdeenshire and Highland, American Herring Gull in Cornwall, Laughing Gull in Merseyside, Bonaparte's Gull in Glamorgan, Black-winged Stilt in Dorset and White-billed Diver in Orkney. At least 250 migrant Ring Ouzels were seen, as well as 44 Redstarts, 37 Garganey, 20 Ospreys, five Pied Flycatchers, four Black Terns, two Whinchats and a Wood Sandpiper. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 9th April 2015 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was an arrival of Mediterranean species, with a Black Kite in Lincolnshire at Donna Nook,
Red-rumped Swallow in County Cork at Mizen Head, a total of 23 Hoopoes
(6 in County Cork, 2 in County Wexford, 2 in Pembrokeshire, 7 on the Isles of Scilly, 5 in Cornwall, and 1 in Kent),
seven Wrynecks, the Black-winged Stilt still in Dorset. and a Night Heron
still on the Isles of Scilly. Elsewhere, rarities comprised the Harlequin Duck and two White-billed Divers still in Aberdeenshire, the American Herring Gull still iin Cornwall, Laughing Gull in Merseyside/Wirral, Bonaparte's Gull in Glamorgan, Lesser Scaup in County Sligo, and single White-billed Divers in both Moray and on the Western Isles. Migrants included a total of 118 Ring Ouzels, 40 Garganey, 23 over-flying Ospreys, four new Great Grey Shrikes, and a single Dotterel (Isles of Scilly). |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 8th April 2015 | ||
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| Lingering rarities seen today included the Harlequin Ducks in both
Aberdeenshire and Highland, Black-winged Stilt in Dorset, two Laughing
Gulls in Wirral/Merseyside and County Cork, Bonaparte's Gull in
Glamorgan, Black Duck in the Isles of Scilly and two White-billed
Divers in Aberdeenshire.
Scarce migrant arrivals included at least seven Hoopoes, at least seven Wrynecks, a Bluethroat, a Serin and a White Stork. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 7th April 2015 | ||
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| A very brief Crag Martin over Bonchurch, Isle of Wight mid afternoon
was the highlight of the day. Suffolk's third Lesser Scaup was found at
Trimley Marshes, and a white Gyr flew over Inishbofin, County Galway.
Lingering rarities seen today included the Harlequin Duck in Aberdeenshire, Black-winged Stilt and Bonaparte's Gull in Dorset (with another of the latter in County Waterford), Laughing Gull in Wirral (again visiting Merseyside), Lesser Yellowlegs in County Dublin, King Eider in Fife and Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Monday 6th April 2015 | ||
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| Lingering rarities seen today included the Harlequin Duck in
Aberdeenshire, Black-winged Stilt in Dorset, Black Duck in the
Isles of Scilly, American Herring Gull in Cornwall, single Laughing
Gulls in Wirral and County Cork (the former individual also visiting
Merseyside again), single Bonaparte's Gulls in Dorset, Argyll and County
Waterford, King Eider and three White-billed Divers in
Aberdeenshire and Lesser Scaup in Ayrshire.
Scarcities included four Night Herons, a Little Bunting, two each of American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and Cattle Egret, three Lapland Buntings, four each of Ring-necked Duck, Rough-legged Buzzard and nine Great Grey Shrikes. There was a significant movement of Ospreys today, with 30 counties recording up to 58 migrating birds, although some overlap in individuals reported must have taken place. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 5th April 2015 | ||
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| Rarities today comprised the Harlequin Ducks still in Aberdeenshire and Highland, the
Black-winged Stilt in Dorset, the Laughing Gull on the Wirral (and briefly visiting Merseyside today), two
Penduline Tits in Devon, King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Bonaparte's Gulls in Dorset and County Waterford,
White-billed Diver on the Western Isles, and Lesser Scaups in both Glamorgan and County Sligo. Scarce migrants were headlined by a total of six Night Herons on the Isles of Scilly, Little Bunting (Glamorgan), two each of American Wigeon, Cattle Egret and Waxwing, three of Surf Scoter, Rough-legged Buzzard and Lapland Bunting, four Ring-necked Ducks (together in Oxfordshire), five Green-winged Teals, and eight each of Shorelark and Great Grey Shrike. Gull totals included 23 Iceland, 11 Glaucous, three Kumlien's, and single Caspian and Ring-billed. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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