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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Wednesday 22nd April 2015  
  New discoveries today included an Alpine Swift over Meols, Wirral, a Subalpine Warbler at Land's End, Cornwall, a Red-rumped Swallow at Birling Gap, East Sussex and a Black Kite in the Spurn area, Yorkshire.

Lingering rarities included the Great Blue Heron on the Isles of Scilly, Harlequin Duck in Highland, Red-rumped Swallow in Dorset, King Eider and at least eight White-billed Divers in Aberdeenshire and Blue-winged Teal in Lincolnshire.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Tuesday 21st April 2015  
  New discoveries today included a Red-rumped Swallow at Wilmington, Sussex, a Bee-eater on Tresco then Bryher, Isles of Scilly and a Wilson's Petrel from a boat off County Galway.

Lingering rarities included the Great Blue Heron and Black Duck on the Isles of Scilly (the former visiting Bryher, Tresco and St Mary's), Harlequin Duck in Highland, Greater Yellowlegs in Hampshire, two Black-winged Stilts in Essex, White-billed Diver in Lothian, Blue-winged Teal in Lincolnshire and Lesser Scaup in Ayrshire.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Monday 20th April 2015  
  Lingering rarities included the Great Blue Heron and Black Duck (Isles of Scilly), Greater Yellowlegs (Hampshire), White-billed Diver and King Eider (Aberdeenshire), Black-winged Stilts (Essex), Eastern Subalpine Warbler and American Herring Gull (Cornwall), Blue-winged Teal (Lincolnshire), Harlequin Duck (Highland) and Laughing Gull (Wirral), whilst a Bee-eater was discovered in Cornwall.

The best of the rest included Purple Heron (Cornwall), Spotted Crake (Lancashire), Golden Oriole (Cornwall), Cattle Egret (Kent), two Dotterels, two Glossy Ibises, three Woodchat Shrikes, at least four Night Herons, four Wrynecks and five Hoopoes.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Sunday 19th April 2015  
  New discoveries comprised five Bee-eaters in Kent and East Sussex, Black Kite and Eastern Subalpine Warbler in Cornwall, Red-rumped Swallows in Essex, Isles of Scilly and Dorset [2] and two Black-winged Stilts in Cheshire.

The Great Blue Heron lingered on Isles of Scilly and the Greater Yellowlegs reappeared in Hampshire, whilst White-billed Diver (Lothian), Black-winged Stilts (Kent [2] and West Sussex), King Eider (Aberdeenshire), Harlequin Duck (Highland), American Herring Gull (Co Cork) and Black Duck (Isles of Scilly) all lingered.

The best of the rest included Glossy Ibis (Cambridgeshire), Night Heron (Isles of Scilly), Cattle Egret (Kent), Golden Oriole (Co Kerry), two Richard's Pipits, two American Wigeons, three Wrynecks, three Woodchat Shrikes, four Dotterels and nine Hoopoes.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Saturday 18th April 2015  
  New discoveries today included two Black-winged Stilts at Middleton Lakes RSPB, Staffordshire, a Red-rumped Swallow at Weir Wood Reservoir, Sussex, a Black Kite over the Hayle Estuary, Cornwall and a White-billed Diver off Thorntonloch, Lothian.

Lingering rarities included the Great Blue Heron in the Isles of Scilly, ten White-billed Divers and a King Eider in Aberdeenshire and Black-winged Stilts in Sussex and Kent (two).
-  Will Soar, RBA
Friday 17th April 2015  
  New discoveries today included two Red-rumped Swallows at Heaton Park, Greater Manchester, a Black Kite over Lower Test Marshes, Hampshire and two Black-winged Stilts at Dungeness RSPB, Kent.

The Great Blue Heron remained on Bryher, Scilly all day, whilst other lingering rarities included the Harlequin Duck in Highland, Great Spotted Cuckoo in Glamorgan, Subalpine Warbler in County Waterford, Black Duck in the Isles of Scilly, Black-winged Stilts in Sussex, Essex (two) and Kent (two), single White-billed Divers in Aberdeenshire, Orkney and the Western Isles, King Eider in Aberdeenshire and Lesser Scaup in the Western Isles.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 16th April 2015  
  The Great Blue Heron was relocated on Bryher, Isles of Scilly this evening, but flew off shortly before the boats from St Mary's arrived.

New discoveries today included a Red-rumped Swallow near Leighton Moss, Lancashire, a Snowy Owl at Ballyvaughan, County Clare, a Black Kite over Wyke Regis, Dorset, Black-winged Stilts at Northward Hill, Kent (two) and Nene Washes, Cambridgeshire (three) and three White-billed Divers off Skigersta, Lewis, Western Isles.

Other lingering rarities included the Great Spotted Cuckoo in Glamorgan, Subalpine Warblers in Cornwall and County Waterford, Black-winged Stilts in Kent (three), Sussex and Essex (two), Laughing Gull in Merseyside and Black Duck in the Isles of Scilly.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Wednesday 15th April 2015  
  On Scilly, the Great Blue Heron was found again on St. Mary's in the morning but proved difficult to catch up with for those that visited from the mainland, being last seen in a field at Holy Vale in the early afternoon.

Elsewhere a Great Spotted Cuckoo was found inland in the hills of Glamorgan this afternoon, whilst the other new rarities found were a Red-rumped Swallow briefly at Minsmere in Suffolk, a Lesser Yellowlegs in North Yorkshire, a new total of eight Black-winged Stilts at Higham Marshes in Kent and a new White-billed Diver near Ullapool in Highland.

Lingering rarities included a White-billed Diver in Aberdeenshire, Subalpine Warblers in Cornwall (2) and County Waterford, Black-winged Stilts in Essex (2) and Sussex, Laughing Gull on Merseyside and Lesser Scaups in Ayrshire and the Western Isles.
-  Pete Hayman, RBA
Tuesday 14th April 2015  
  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).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Monday 13th April 2015  
  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.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA