Saturday 19th August 2023
	Seabirds again proved to be the highlight of the day with a Brown Booby in Norfolk passing both Cley and Sheringham, a Scopoli's Shearwater and six Wilson's Petrels at sea off the Isles of Scilly, Fea's/Desertas Petrels in County Cork and Devon, a Gull-billed Tern in County Wexford at Hook Head, three Sabine's Gulls, 14 Long-tailed Skuas, 48 Great Shearwaters, and a total of 1,171 Cory's Shearwaters. Landbirds from the east included a Booted Warbler on the Orkney Isles on North Ronaldsay, Greenish Warbler and Common Rosefinch on Orkney, Greenish Warbler and Blyth's Reed Warbler on the Shetland Isles, Ortolan Bunting in Suffolk, two each of both Marsh Warbler and Barred Warbler, seven Wrynecks, 14 Icterine Warblers, and 15 Red-backed Shrikes. Other discoveries incluted a White-rumped Sandpiper in Northumberland at Boulmer, a Bonaparte's Gull in County Down at Holywood, an Alpine Swift in County Antrim at Rathlin Island, and a Ferruginous Duck in Cambridgeshire at Needingworth. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Hudsonian Godwit on Shetland, Stejneger's Scoter and King Eider together in Lothian, Forster's Tern in Dorset, Black Storks in Kent and Lincolnshire, Long-billed Dowitcher in Norfolk, Bonaparte's Gull in Kent, and Black-winged Stilts in Lincolnshire (6) and South Yorkshire (4), whilst further scarcities were Short-toed Lark (Pembrokeshire), White-winged Black Tern (Western Isles), Red-necked Phalarope (Nottinghamshire), Surf Scoter (Lothian), Dotterel (Norfolk), Ring-necked Duck (Suffolk), two Pectoral Sandpipers, and two Glossy Ibises.
-  Chris Batty, RBA