 |
|
|
| Tuesday 2nd July 2019 | ||
|
||
| The highlight of the day was an unidentified Northern or Southern Giant Petrel passing north at Whitburn, County Durham
before then reappearing later in the evening at Cullernose Point, Northumberland. There is only one accepted record of Southern Giant Petrel in the Western
Palearctic: at sea off Italy seen from a ferry crossing the Adriatic Sea between Greece and Ancona on 2nd September 1991. In addition an unidentified Northern or Southern Giant Petrel is accepted
as having passed Ouessant, Finistere, France on 2nd November 1967 whilst unaccepted records of Giant Petrels from Britain
were seen at sea near Wolf Rock, Cornwall on 20th October 1967, passing Rubha na Faing, Islay, Argyll on 6th June 1976 and
from Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire on 4th July 1988. A Southern Giant Petrel submitted from Skokholm, Pembrokeshire on 16th August 2000 was found not
proven by the British Birds Rarities Committee. Other new rarities today were a Bonaparte's Gull discovered in County Wexford at Tacumshin, a Red-rumped Swallow briefly in Cornwall at Polgigga whilst in Norfolk two Black-winged Stilts at Wells were presumably the same pair as present there on 22nd May 2019, with one there again on 27th May and then at nearby Burnham Norton and Burnham Overy on 16th June, suggesting that they attempted to breed nearby but failed. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were both Squacco Heron and Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Black Duck in Highland, territorial Savi's Warbler on Anglesey and Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham. Scarcities included Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), White-winged Black Tern (Buckinghamshire), Serin (Dorset), Temminck's Stint (North Yorkshire), Spotted Crake (Gloucestershire) and Rose-coloured Starling (Shetland Isles), the latter being 41st of this species to be located across Britain and Ireland since 24th May. |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
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.
|
|
|
| Monday 1st July 2019 | ||
|
||
| Rarities today comprised the Gull-billed Tern still on the Shetland Isles,
Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, territorial
Savi's Warbler on Anglesey and Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham. Scarcities included Rose-coloured Starling (Cornwall), Night Heron (Gloucestershire), Glossy Ibis (Merseyside), Spotted Crake and Green-winged Teal (both Norfolk). |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Sunday 30th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| All the new rarities today were brief encounters with a Black Stork flying over Titchwell, Norfolk, a
Red-footed Falcon in Kent at St Margaret's at Cliffe, and in Cornwall up to six
Bee-eaters passing over Porthgwarra then Penzance. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were both Terek Sandpiper and Black Duck in Highland, Squacco Heron and Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Gull-billed Tern and Blyth's Reed Warbler on the Shetland Isles, Great Reed Warbler and Ferruginous Duck in West Yorkshire, territorial Savi's Warbler on Anglesey, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde and Lesser Scaup in Borders. Scarcities included White-winged Black Tern (Suffolk), Night Heron (Gloucestershire), Purple Heron (Kent), Marsh Warbler (Shetland Isles), Ring-necked Duck (Essex), Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), two each of both Rose-coloured Starling and Glossy Ibis. |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Saturday 29th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| A Squacco Heron spent a few hours at Cley, Norfolk today, with a Lesser Yellowlegs nearby at Titchwell, whilst a Gull-billed Tern was at Esha Ness, Shetland, a Savi's Warbler was at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk, an Alpine Swift was over Lizard, Cornwall and there were four sightings of up to two Bee-eaters in Suffolk.
Lingering rarities included the Pied-billed Grebe in Argyll, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Terek Sandpiper and Black Duck in Highland, Great Reed Warbler in Yorkshire Savi's Warblers in Suffolk and Anglesey and Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham. Scarcity highlights included a Rose-coloured Starling, a Serin, White-winged Black Tern, a Ring-necked Duck, a Green-winged Teal, two Surf Scoters, three Honey Buzzards, two Purple Herons, two Glossy Ibises, a Pomarine Skua, two Long-tailed Skuas, two Balearic Shearwaters and a Glaucous Gull. |
||
| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Friday 28th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| A Terek Sandpiper was found at Dornoch Point, Highland, whilst Bee-eaters were at Froggatt, Derbyshire and Byfield, Norfolk.
Lingering rarities included the Caspian Tern in Devon, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, Great Reed Warbler in Yorkshire, Blyth's Reed Warbler and Citrine Wagtail in Shetland, Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Black Duck in Highland and Ferruginous Duck in Yorkshire. Scarcity highights included a Marsh Warbler, a Rose-coloued Starling, a Purple Heron, a Green-winged Teal, two Roseate Terns, two Honey Buzzards and three Glossy Ibises. |
||
| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Thursday 27th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| Rarities discovered today comprised a Caspian Tern in Devon on the Exe Estuary and a
Citrine Wagtail on Fair Isle, Shetland Isles. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Marsh Sandpiper in Kent, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Black Duck in Highland, territorial Savi's Warbler on Anglesey, Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham, and in West Yorkshire both Great Reed Warbler and Ferruginous Duck. Scarcities included Rose-coloured Starling (Shetland Isles), Serin (Kent), Cory's Shearwater (Isles of Scilly), Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (both Norfolk), Red-necked Phalarope and American Wigeon (together in Northumberland). |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Wednesday 26th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| The highlight of the day was the reappearance of the Laughing Gull in Pembrokeshire on Skokholm. Rarities elsewhere comprised the elusive
Little Bustard still in Gloucestershire, Great Spotted Cuckoo still in Argyll, Marsh Sandpiper in Kent,
Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Long-billed Dowitcher
in County Antrim, Blyth's Reed Warbler on the Shetland Isles, territorial Great Reed Warbler
in West Yorkshire, Savi's Warbler on Anglesey and Iberian Chiffchaff
in County Durham whilst in Cornwall a Bonaparte's Gull was seen briefly at Penzance and a
Red-footed Falcon flew over near St Columb Major. Scarcities included Short-toed Lark (Pembrokeshire), White-winged Black Tern (Dorset), Hoopoe (Anglesey), Red-backed Shrike (Gloucestershire), Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (both Norfolk), Golden Oriole (County Kerry), Ring-necked Duck (Essex) and Long-tailed Skua (Highland). Significant late news concerned the reidentification of the Greenish Warbler present at Lizard, Cornwall on 10th June 2019 as a Green Warbler based on DNA analysis. |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Tuesday 25th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| Rarities today comprised the elusive Little Bustard still in Gloucestershire, the
Great Spotted Cuckoo still in Argyll, Baikal Teal in Northumberland,
Marsh Sandpiper in Kent, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Long-billed Dowitcher
in County Antrim, Blyth's Reed Warbler on the Shetland Isles,
territorial Savi's Warbler on Anglesey, Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham and Ferruginous Duck still in West Yorkshire, whilst in Cornwall a
Tawny Pipit was new at Porthgwarra. Scarcities included Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), Glossy Ibis (Dorset) and three Rose-coloured Starlings (Cornwall (2) and Highland). |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Monday 24th June 2019 | ||
|
||
| The highlight of the day was a Sooty Tern first located in East Yorkshire at Bempton Cliffs before heading north
at Filey Brigg, North Yorkshire. It seems likely to be the individual present last year in Northumberland between 7th and 19th July and then on the Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire on 20th July-5th August. Rarities elsewhere comprised the Little Bustard still in Gloucestershire, Great Spotted Cuckoo still in Argyll, Marsh Sandpiper in Kent, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, a Subalpine Warbler new in East Yorkshire at Flamborough Head, Blyth's Reed Warblers in Lothian at Livingston and on the Shetland Isles, Long-billed Dowitcher still in County Antrim, territorial Great Reed Warbler in West Yorkshire, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, Iberian Chiffchaff in County Durham, two Blue-winged Teals in Clyde, and two Bee-eaters flew over both Landguard, Suffolk and Dungeness, Kent. Scarcities included Marsh Warbler (Dorset), Serin (Kent), Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), two Glossy Ibises, and four Rose-coloured Starlings brought the total for the summer influx of this species to 37 birds. |
||
| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
|
||
|
|
|
| Sunday 23rd June 2019 | ||
|
||
The national picture sprung to life with a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater near Ullapool at Achnahaird in Highland and a Little Bustard at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire. The bee-eater soon vanished but WWT staff ensured access was arranged for the bustard to be successfully twitched. Another associated arrival was a Great Spotted Cuckoo on Iona in Argyll. Other finds during the day were Blyth's Reed Warbler on Unst in Shetland and two Bee-eaters over Northrepps in Norfolk, while the Iberian Chiffchaff at Swalwell in Co.Durham was confirmed. Late news emerged of a South Polar Skua yesterday 110 miles south of Mizen Head, Co.Cork, from the legendary RV Celtic Explorer. Among existing rarities seen today were the Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Black-headed Bunting in Shetland, Marsh Sandpiper in Kent, Great Reed Warbler in West Yorkshire, Long-billed Dowitcher in Co.Antrim, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, Iberian Chiffchaff in Lancashire, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Lesser Scaup in Borders and Ferruginous Duck in West Yorkshire. Scarcities included Short-toed Lark (Pembrokeshire), Marsh Warbler (Dorset), Hoopoe (Suffolk), Night Heron (Essex), Purple Heron (Norfolk), Montagu's Harrier (West Sussex), Rose-coloured Starling (Western Isles), two Serins (Dorset and Kent), Common Rosefinch (Western Isles), Spotted Crake (Norfolk), Glossy Ibis (Dorset), two American Wigeon (both Co.Wexford), Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), Ring-necked Duck (Denbighshire), Red-necked Phalarope (Co.Antrim), two Roseate Terns (Cornwall), two Iceland Gulls, Glaucous Gull and singles of Cory's Shearwater (Cornwall) and Balearic Shearwater. |
||
| - David Campbell, RBA | ||
|
||