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| Friday 8th December 2006 | ||
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| The day's only new rarity was a Marbled Duck found at Holland Haven,
Essex. This is probably the same individual that was recently in neighbouring Suffolk.
The other main news was the re-surfacing of the Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth and the Black-eared Kite in Norfolk. The drake Falcated Duck in Devon continues to moult into adult plumage and is already becoming a stunning bird. The Leach's Petrel influx continues, and though there are now fewer wrecked birds inland, impressive totals were still recorded in the South West, most notably 155 past Hartland Point, Devon. With strong southerly wind predicted again on Sunday, there may yet be more to come. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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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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| Thursday 7th December 2006 | ||
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| The continuing south-westerly gales deposited a couple of Bonaparte's
Gulls in the south-west region today, near Plymouth, Devon, and on St
Mary's, Isles of Scilly.
However, the spotlight was again on Leach's Petrels, with larger numbers wrecked than yesterday in south-west England and Wales and several individuals made it much further inland. At least three were seen at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire during the morning, whilst two were at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire and another was at nearby Dix Pit. Several reservoirs in the south-east region played host to singletons and in Leicestershire individuals were at Swithland Reservoir and Watermead Country Park. At least one was seen at Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire. A count of over 80 was made at Kenfig Pool NNR, a truly remarkable figure for a freshwater location. Sadly, virtually all of these inland visitors are likely to succumb to exhaustion (and that is if they avoid the attention of gulls and corvids). It was not just Leach's Petrels making it to inland locations - one of the best finds of the day was an adult pale morph Pomarine Skua at Belvide Reservoir. The Oceanodroma show somewhat overshadowed today's rarities, but long stayers included the Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, Bufflehead on Shetland, two Lesser Scaups in County Donegal and the Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall. A female Blue-winged Teal was located at North Bull Island, County Dublin, probably the same bird that spent last winter in the area. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 6th December 2006 | ||
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| Leach's Petrels once again created the headlines in an otherwise quiet
day. Numbers were lower than in previous days, but south west England and Wales
still produced some decent totals. The most popular Leach's Petrel was an
individual found at Startop's End Reservoir, where it spent all afternoon
straddling the Hertfordshire/ Buckinghamshire border. Another was at Farmoor
Reservoir, Oxfordshire, but was sadly attacked and killed by a Carrion Crow. The
supporting cast along the coast came in the form 7 Little Auks, a Grey
Phalarope. 3 Pomarine Skuas, a couple of Sabine's Gulls and impressive December totals of
Balearic Shearwaters off the Cornish coast.
In Devon both the Falcated Duck and Cattle Egret were still present, and on Lewis, Western Isles, the Snowy Owl reappeared outside Oceancrest. The White-rumped Sandpiper continued its (long) stay at Cley NWT, Norfolk and what was thought probably to be the juvenile Black-eared Kite was once again seen briefly at Snettisham RSPB. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 5th December 2006 | ||
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| With sustained strong winds the wreck of Leach's Petrels continued with
reports from eighteen counties including 100 at Black Rock Sands, Gwynedd, 56 at Porthcawl, Glamorgan, 50 off Chesil Cove, Dorset,
twelve at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire and eleven off Saltcoats, Ayrshire. Associated arrivals included
Sabine's Gulls in both Dorset and Hamphire, an unseasonal Roseate
Tern in Co Dublin and Long-tailed Skua and 67 Balearic Shearwaters passing St Ives Island, Cornwall. Other than the wintering Barrow's Goldeneye in Co Down and Lesser Scaup in Dumfries and Galloway all other rarity reports came from southwest England where the Falcated Duck and Cattle Egret remained in Devon and the Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 4th December 2006 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the widespread influx of Leach's Petrels with birds reported in twenty counties from Co Cork to Aberdeenshire, Co Fermanagh, Essex and North Yorkshire. The peak count was of 102 in Galway Bay, Co Galway with other highs of 93 at Porthcawl, Glamorgan, 47 off Heysham, Lancashire and 36 over the Severn Estuary at Sharpness, Gloucestershire. Otherwise, lingering rarities included the Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Cattle Egret in Devon, Lesser Scaup in Co Dublin, White-rumped Sandpiper in Norfolk and Great White Egret in Hampshire. The first-winter male Falcated Duck remained at Bowling Green Marsh, Devon as did the Red-breasted Goose at Arne, Dorset. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 3rd December 2006 | ||
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| Leach's Petrels were definitely the flavour of the day, with at least
150 being recorded. Strong westerly/south westerly winds pushed the majority past
the south and west coast,
but several found refuge on coastal pools and a scattering of individuals were
found further inland. Long-tailed Skuas were noted off Minehead, Somerset,
Llanelli, Carmarthenshire and Chesil Cove, Dorset and a Pomarine Skua flew
past Whitburn, County Durham. A Red-necked Phalarope past Hartlepool
Headland, Cleveland, was an excellent record and a Grey Phalarope was
briefly at inland West Hartford, Northumberland.
The only new rarity came in the form of a Falcated Duck at Helston Loe Pool, Cornwall, but information about the bird is somewhat limited at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a week go by without a notable bird being found at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire - today a Yellow-browed Warbler joined the Siberian Chiffchaff by the Barclay Hide. Elsewhere many of the long-staying favourites such as Barrow's Goldeneye, Glossy Ibis, Falcated Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Great White Egret and Spotted Sandpiper remained in-situ. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 2nd December 2006 | ||
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| A Pallas's Warbler at Hengistbury Head, Dorset and the Falcated
Duck at Bowling Green Marsh, Devon were both popular attractions today but
new rarities were thin on the ground, with only a two drake Lesser Scaup
in County Donegal (for their second day) and a drake Ferruginous Duck at
Arundel WWT, West Sussex being reported.
Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Long-billed Dowitcher in Kent and Cattle Egret in Devon were ever present and the Bonaparte's Gull made another brief appearance at Lunan Bay, Angus. Caspian Gulls were well represented, especially in the Midlands and excellent numbers of Great Northern Divers are currently residing on inland waters, with at least 14 reported around the country today. An adult 'Common Gull' at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, was intriguingly believed to show some features indicative of Mew Gull. |
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| - Keith Langdon and Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 1st December 2006 | ||
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| The first day of December produced little to shout about and once again no new rarities were discovered. The first-winter drake Falcated Duck remained in situ at Bowling Green Marsh RSPB, and this delightful duck will surely attract a significant amount of attention tomorrow. The drake Barrow's Goldeneye was still in Forth and female Lesser Scaups remained at Caerlaverock WWT, Dumfries and Galloway and Knock Lake, County Dublin. Other long-stayers were headlined by the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire and Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall. Rough-legged Buzzards were noted at Horsey and Holkham, Norfolk whilst Yellow-browed Warblers were still at Marazion, Cornwall, Beer, Devon and Kenfig, Glamorgan. The juvenile Rose-coloured Starling continued its stay at Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire. | ||
| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 30th November 2006 | ||
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| A very quiet day today with no new rarities being reported. The
Falcated Duck at Bowling Green Marsh in Devon was perhaps the most
noteworthy sighting of the day but other species of interest were the adult
drake Barrow's Goldeneye on the River Teith at Callander,
first-winter female Lesser Scaup still in County Dublin on Knock Lake and
Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall on the Hayle Estuary.
Belated news from 7th October related to a juvenile Pallid Harrier at Blythburgh, Suffolk, almost certainly the same individual that visited neighbouring Norfolk in late September/early October. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 29th November 2006 | ||
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| The only potential new rarities today were a very late Alpine Swift
reported over Kenfig NR in Glamorgan and a belated report of a White-tailed
Eagle yesterday at Hickling in Norfolk. Otherwise, the day was very quiet,
with the pick of the long-staying rarities being the drake Barrow's Goldeneye
in Forth, the first winter drake Falcated Duck in Devon, the Snowy Owl
on Lewis and Lesser Scaups in County Dublin and Dumfries and
Galloway.
The Long-billed Dowitcher was again on the Alaw Estuary in Anglesey and the unseasonal Dotterel was reported again at Cley in Norfolk. A notable number of Great Northern Divers were at inland waters. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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