Daily News Summaries
This page gives you access to all of RBA's daily news summaries (since April 13, 2006), 10 days at a time. The most recent are shown, or you can select a specific date to show (along with the previous 10 days). Prior to April 13, 2006 you can find weekly reviews, located in articles.
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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
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
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