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
Friday 8th May 2015  
  An Alpine Swift was seen over Ilkley town centre, Yorkshire this evening.

Lingering rarities still present today included the Harlequin Duck and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Squacco Heron in Cornwall, Bonaparte's Gull in Hampshire, White-billed Diver in Moray and Lesser Scaup in Yorkshire.

Scarcity highlights included a Kentish Plover, a Short-toed Lark, a Wryneck, two Woodchat Shrikes, three Hoopoes, five Night Herons, six Golden Orioles (including a flock of five in the Isles of Scilly), seven Temminck's Stints and 33 Dotterels.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 7th May 2015  
  New discoveries included Alpine Swift in East Yorkshire, Red-rumped Swallows in Lincolnshire and West Sussex and Snowy Owl in Co Fermanagh, whilst Lesser Scaup (West Yorkshire), Harlequin Duck, White-billed Diver and King Eider (Aberdeenshire), Red-rumped Swallow (East Yorkshire), Bonaparte's Gull (Hampshire) and Squacco Heron (Cornwall) all lingered. The Great Blue Heron was also reportedly still present on Isles of Scilly.

The best of the rest included White Stork (North Yorkshire), Woodchat Shrike (Co Cork), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), Kentish Plover (Highland), Red-backed Shrike (Highland), Hoopoe (Warwickshire), two Golden Orioles, three Serins, three Grey-headed Wagtails, five Temminck's Stints and 30 Dotterel.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 6th May 2015  
  The highlight of the day was a Squacco Heron in Cornwall, at Polgigga, where it present for it's second day. In County Dublin a Gull-billed Tern was present on Swords Estuary in the evening.

Lingering rarities confirmed as still present comprised the Great Blue Heron on the Isles of Scilly, Harlequin Duck and King Eider in Aberdeenshire, Bonaparte's Gull in Hampshire, Red-rumped Swallow in East Yorkshire, and the Lesser Scaup in West Yorkshire.

Scarcities included Surf Scoter (Lothian), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), Honey Buzzard (Dumfries and Galloway), two each of both Golden Oriole and Temminck's Stint, three Lapland Buntings, four Night Herons, and 16 migrant Dotterel.

Pomarine Skuas were on the move with 181 recorded, including 42 off Gwynedd, 20 off Ayrshire, 18 passing Gloucestershire, 13 from Scillonian III, and one inland; at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Tuesday 5th May 2015  
  New discoveries included a brief Western Bonelli's Warbler in Dorset and a Black-winged Stilt at an undisclosed site in Lincolnshire, whilst Great Blue Heron (Isles of Scilly), Lesser Scaup (West Yorkshire), Tawny Pipit (Shetland), Harlequin Duck (Aberdeenshire), Red-rumped Swallow (East Yorkshire), Bonaparte's Gull (Hampshire) and King Eider (Aberdeenshire) all lingered.

The best of the rest included Spotted Crake (Lancashire), Pectoral Sandpiper (Norfolk), Long-tailed Skua (Dorset), Wryneck (Shetland), Golden Oriole (Isles of Scilly), Woodchat Shrike (Co Cork), Temminck's Stint (Cleveland), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), two Green-winged Teals and 15 Dotterels.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Monday 4th May 2015  
  New discoveries included Tawny Pipit (Fair Isle), Red-rumped Swallows (East Sussex and East Yorkshire), Black Kite (Oxfordshire) and Lesser Scaup (West Yorkshire), whilst Great Blue Heron (Isles of Scilly), Pied-billed Grebe (Lancashire), Red-throated Pipit (Derbyshire/ Greater Manchester), Pacific Diver (Cornwall), Red-rumped Swallow (East Sussex, briefly joined by the second bird referred to above), Bonaparte's Gull (Hampshire), two Black-winged Stilts (Kent) and King Eider and two White-billed Divers (Aberdeenshire) all lingered.

The best of the rest included Cattle Egret (Kent), American Wigeon (Northumberland), Honey Buzzard (Kent), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), Shorelark (Cleveland), Woodchat Shrike and Golden Oriole (Cornwall), two Rough-legged Buzzards, two Pectoral Sandpipers, three Wrynecks and 29 migrant Dotterel.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Sunday 3rd May 2015  
  New discoveries included a Red-throated Pipit on the Derbyshire/ Greater Manchester border and Bonaparte's Gull in Hampshire, whilst the Hudsonian Godwit (Somerset), Great Blue Heron (Isles of Scilly), Pied-billed Grebe (Lancashire), White-rumped Sandpiper and White-billed Diver (Orkney), Lesser Scaup (Glamorgan), American Herring Gull and Pacific Diver (Cornwall) and Harlequin Duck and White-billed Diver (Aberdeenshire) all lingered.

The best of the rest included Kentish Plover (Somerset), Pectoral Sandpipers (Norfolk and Essex), Purple Heron and two Night Herons (Isles of Scilly), Hoopoe (Isles of Wight), Shorelark (Cleveland), Wrynecks (Fair Isle and Isles of Scilly) and American Wigeon (Northumberland).
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Saturday 2nd May 2015  
  New discoveries included Red-rumped Swallow in East Sussex and White-billed Diver in Shetland, whilst the Hudsonian Godwit (Somerset), Great Blue Heron (Isles of Scilly), Pied-billed Grebe (Lancashire), Harlequin Duck, King Eider and White-billed Diver (Aberdeenshire) and White-rumped Sandpiper (Orkney) all lingered.

The best of the rest included Night Heron (Isles of Scilly), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), Shorelark (Cleveland), Cattle Egret (Kent), Wryneck (Co Durham), Kentish Plover (Somerset), Hoopoe (Co Donegal) and Pectoral Sandpipers (Norfolk and Merseyside).

A Bufflehead in Cheshire and Snowy Owl in Highland today both turned out to be escaped birds, whilst a Scops Owl was found dead on St Kilda (Western Isles) yesterday.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Friday 1st May 2015  
  New discoveries today included a Red-rumped Swallow at Shoeburyness, Essex, a White-rumped Sandpiper on North Ronaldsay, Orkney and a White-billed Diver off Esha Ness, Shetland.

Lingering rarities included the Hudsonian Godwit at Meare Heath, Somerset, Great Blue Heron at Lower Moors, Isles of Scilly, Harlequin Duck in Aberdeen, three White-billed Divers off Portsoy and King Eider at Newburgh, all Aberdeenshire, Pied-billed Grebe at Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire, American Herring Gull near St Just, Cornwall and four Black-winged Stilts at Cliffe, Kent.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 30th April 2015  
  Today's highlights included the lingering mega-rare American non-passerines - Great Blue Heron on Isles of Scilly, Hudsonian Godwit in Somerset and Pied-billed Grebe in Lancashire, as well as Pacific Diver and American Herring Gull in Cornwall, a report of a Red-footed Falcon in Oxfordshire, Lesser Scaup in Ayrshire, Laughing Gull in Co Cork, Harlequin Duck in Highland and Red-rumped Swallow in East Yorkshire.

The best of the rest included Purple Heron and Woodchat Shrike (Cornwall), Spotted Crake (Lancashire), Grey-headed Wagtail (North Yorkshire), Cattle Egret (East Sussex), Hoopoe (Co Mayo), two Pectoral Sandpipers, two American Wigeons and eight Dotterel.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 29th April 2015  
  The highlight of the day was the reappearance of the female Hudsonian Godwit at Meare Heath, Somerset; relocated late morning the bird showed into the evening when it departed to the west with Black-tailed Godwits.

Rarities elsewhere comprised the Great Blue Heron still on the Isles of Scilly, Pied-billed Grebe in Lancashire, single Harlequin Ducks in both Aberdeenshire and Highland, a Spotted Sandpiper new in Powys at Neuadd Reservoirs, four Black-winged Stilts together in Kent, King Eider still in Aberdeenshire, and a brief Red-rumped Swallow at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire.

Scarities included Purple Heron (County Wicklow), Pectoral Sandpiper (London), Grey-headed Wagtail (North Yorkshire), American Wigeon (Northumberland), Glossy Ibis (Nottinghamshire), two each of Night Heron, Hoopoe, Rough-legged Buzzard and Shorelark, and 16 migrant Dotterel.
-  Chris Batty, RBA