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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Sunday 7th July 2019  
  A Lesser Yellowlegs was found at Cley NWT, Norfolk today.

Lingering rarities included the Gull-billed Tern in Wirral, which appeared to become much more mobile, being seen at Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire and Shotwick, Flintshire, before returning to Thurstaston, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, White-rumped Sandpiper in County Wexford, Black Duck in Highland, Lesser Scaup in Borders, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Baikal Teal in Northumberland and two Black-winged Stilts in Norfolk.

Scarcity highlights included a Serin, a Hoopoe, a Red-backed Shrike, two Rose-coloured Starlings, a Grey Phalarope, a Temminck's Stint, a White-winged Black Tern, two Honey Buzzards, two Glossy Ibises, a Balearic Shearwater and a Ring-necked Duck.
Will Soar, RBA
Saturday 6th July 2019  
  A White-rumped Sandpiper at Tacumshin, Wexford was the only new rarity discovered today.

Lingering rarities were the Squacco Heron in Lincolnshire, Gull-billed Tern in Wirral, two Black-winged Stilts in Norfolk, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Lesser Scaup in Borders and Savi's Warbler in Anglesey.

Scarcity highlights included a Serin, two Rose-coloured Starlings, a White-winged Black Tern, a Pomarine Skua, a Pectoral Sandpiper, a Temminck's Stint, three Glossy Ibises, two Honey Buzzards, a Green-winged Teal, a Balearic Shearwater and two Glaucous Gulls.
Will Soar, RBA
Friday 5th July 2019  
  New discoveries today included a Squacco Heron at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, a Black-eared or Pied Wheatear at Shanklin, Isle of Wight and a Bee-eater sp over Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire.

Lingering rarities included the Gull-billed Tern in Wirral, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, Blyth's Reed Warbler in Shetland, two Black-winged Stilts in Norfolk, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Lesser Scaup in Borders and Baikal Teal in Northumberland.

Scarcity highlights included two Serins, four Rose-coloured Starlings, a Night Heron, a Purple Heron, four Glossy Ibises, a White-winged Black Tern, two Honey Buzzards and a Green-winged Teal.
Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 4th July 2019  
 

A female Two-barred Crossbill arrived in Shetland on Out Skerries. There was a possible sighting of the Giant Petrel sp passing Dunbar in the morning, and late news emerged of a Roller on a boat off Lundy on Sunday.

Among the rarities still in place were the Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Collared Pratincole in Carmarthenshire, Gull-billed Tern in Wirral, Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Savi's Warbler in Anglesey, Blyth's Reed Warbler in Shetland and two Black-winged Stilts together in Norfolk.

The best of the rest included Red-breasted Flycatcher (trapped and ringed in Northamptonshire), White-winged Black Tern (Cleveland), Purple Heron (Somerset), two Serins (together in Dorset), six Rose-coloured Starlings, Temminck's Stint (Cleveland), Marsh Warbler (Shetland), Green-winged Teal (Norfolk) and two Glossy Ibises.
David Campbell, RBA
Wednesday 3rd July 2019  
  The highlight of the day was the arrival of a Collared Pratincole in Carmarthenshire at Llanelli whilst other discoveries included a Gull-billed Tern on the Wirral at Thurstaston and in Norfolk two Black-winged Stilts at Potter Heigham.

Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Snowy Owl in County Kerry, Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk, Blue-winged Teal in Clyde, Baikal Teal in Northumberland, Blyth's Reed Warbler on the Shetland Isles and the territorial Savi's Warbler on Anglesey.

Scarcities included Night Heron (Isles of Scilly), Red-backed Shrike (Suffolk), Purple Heron and Green-winged Teal (Norfolk), Glossy Ibis (Merseyside), three Serin and four Rose-coloured Starlings.
Chris Batty, RBA
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