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| Thursday 28th December 2006 | ||
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| A fine selection of rarities were available today. In London the Penduline
Tit was still present at Rainham Marshes RSPB, whilst in Norfolk the
Black-eared Kite continued to entertain in the Cley/Blakeney area. In
Shetland, the white morph Gyr was seen again on Fetlar and further south
in Scotland the Ross's Gull in Argyll, Barrow's Goldeneye in
Forth, Bonaparte's Gull in Angus and King Eider in Aberdeenshire
were all on show.
In England the two Red-breasted Geese were still on the Lincolnshire coast, the Bonaparte's Gull reappeared on Isles of Scilly and the first-winter drake Falcated Duck remained at Exminster Marshes, Devon. The Red-throated Pipit was still at Rogerstown, County Dublin and the Blue-winged Teal remained in the same county. Bonaparte's Gull, Barrow's Goldeneye, Ferruginous Duck and Lesser Scaup were all also available in Ireland. |
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| - Stuart Piner, 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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| Wednesday 27th December 2006 | ||
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| A Gyr was again reported in the Shetlands, this time a white morph at
Funzie, on Fetlar, but typically this spectacular raptor is proving hard to pin
down. The other highlight today was a Penduline Tit at Rainham Marshes in
London, confirmed this morning, but first reported last Friday. Rainham
certainly seems to be the place to find this species at the moment. In Ireland
there were 6 different Ring-necked Ducks reported, including two together
inland in County Tipperary and the Red-throated Pipit was again at the
Rogerstown Estuary in County Dublin. The drake King Eider was seen again
at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.
In Norfolk the Black-eared Kite was again in the Cley and Blakeney areas, and again was seen to go to roost near Walsey Hills. Other popular long stayers included the Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth and the Ross's Gull in Argyll. The Bonaparte's Gull put in another brief appearance on St.Mary's in The Scillies, Falcated Ducks remained in Devon and Kent and the Pallas's Warbler continued to show intermittently at Hightown in Merseyside. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 26th December 2006 | ||
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| The reappearance of the juvenile Black-eared Kite, this time at Cley
NWT, Norfolk, was the highlight of Boxing Day. Supporting cast in the
surrounding area included White-rumped Sandpiper, Shorelarks and a
couple of Tundra Bean Geese.
In Argyll the Ross's Gull continued to show extremely well and in nearby Forth the Barrow's Goldeneye was again mobile in the Callander area. The Ferruginous Duck remained at Threipmuir Reservoir, Lothian, the Spotted Sandpiper was still in Cornwall, Surf Scoter was still off Beer, Devon and in Merseyside the Pallas's Warbler remained faithful to Hightown Dunes. The first-winter drake Falcated Duck was still at Exminster Marshes RSPB, Devon. Across the Irish Sea, the Red-throated Pipit showed well on and off in the stubble field by Rogerstown Estuary, Co Dublin and not too far away the female Blue-winged Teal reappeared on North Bull Island. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Monday 25th December 2006 | ||
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| There were plenty of goodies available for those who ventured out on
Christmas Day. In Scotland the Ross's Gull was still showing well in
Argyll and the Bonaparte's Gull continued to come and go from the
Ferryden area. Unfortunately, yesterday's star bird, the Ivory Gull, could not be
found in the Troon area of Ayrshire.
In Merseyside the Pallas's Warbler was still in Hightown Dunes. The best of the rest came from southwest England, in the form of the Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Falcated Duck in Devon and a new wintering Yellow-browed Warbler at Helston, Cornwall. In Ireland the Red-throated Pipit was at Rogerstown, favouring a stubble field on the north side of the outer estuary for its second day. With only a handful of previous winter records and considering its location, this really was a star find. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 24th December 2006 | ||
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| A fine selection of rarities were on display on Christmas Eve, with the
rediscovery of the juvenile Ivory Gull in Ayrshire stealing the show. The
bird was relocated just east of Troon, by the same observer who initially
found the bird about ten miles to the south at Greenan, just over a week ago.
Elsewhere in Scotland the first-winter Ross's Gull in Argyll, adult
Bonaparte's Gull in Angus, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in
Aberdeenshire and adult drake Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth all continued
to perform.
A Red-throated Pipit at Rogerstown Estuary, Co Dublin, was a fabulous find and in Co Down the drake Barrow's Goldeneye was still at Quoile Pondage and the female Lesser Scaup remained at Clea Lakes. On Isles of Scilly the first-winter Bonaparte's Gull made another brief appearance on St Mary's. Both the drake Falcated Ducks (in Kent and Devon) remained at their respective sites and in Merseyside the Pallas's Warbler continued its unseasonal stay in Hightown Dunes. Late news from yesterday concerned a White-rumped Sandpiper at Freiston Shore, Lincolnshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 23rd December 2006 | ||
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| The two main discoveries today were of a Cattle Egret at Hengistbury
Head in Dorset and a female type Ferruginous Duck at Threipmuir
Reservoirs in Lothian. In Merseyside, the Pallas's Warbler near Hightown
continued to be a popular attraction, and the Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler
remained at Donmouth in Aberdeenshire. Other long staying rarities in
Scotland included the Ross's Gull in Argyll, the Barrow's Goldeneye in
Forth and the Bonaparte's Gull in Angus. Elsewhere, a female Ring-necked
Duck was found at Hawkridge Reservoir in Somerset, Falcated Ducks
remained in Kent and Devon, the White-rumped Sandpiper was again at
Salthouse in Norfolk and the Spotted Sandpiper continued its sojourn at
Hayle, in Cornwall, although it seemed a little more elusive.
Norfolk continued to host at least one Snow Goose with the Pinkfeet as well as Shorelarks at Holkham and Caister. An unusual number of inland Knot in Cambridgeshire were presumably brought down in foggy conditions |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Friday 22nd December 2006 | ||
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| In Argyll the first-winter Ross's Gull continued to show extremely
well at the mouth of Loch Caolisport, feeding on the beach by the fish farm. In
Forth the adult drake Barrow's Goldeneye was still in the Callander area,
but remained frustratingly mobile.
Other long-staying rarities included the Black Scoter in Conwy, Bonaparte's Gull in Angus, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Ferruginous Duck in Kent, Lesser Scaup on North Uist, Western Isles and Long-billed Dowitcher on Anglesey. In Merseyside the Pallas's Warbler continued to attract plenty of attention near Hightown and drake Falcated Ducks remained in Kent and Devon. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 21st December 2006 | ||
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| A White-billed Diver located near Gairloch, Highland was the most notable discovery of the
day. Given that White-billed Divers have been recorded in this area in the late winter
or spring of 2002, 2004 and 2006, previous British White-billed Divers have shown significant site fidelity, and that the bird seen today was an adult, it seems quite plausible that this
is a returning bird. Elsewhere, popular attractions included the lingering first-winter Ross's Gull in Argyll, Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth, Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, Bonaparte's Gull in Angus, Pallas's Warbler in Merseyside and Falcated Ducks in both Devon and Kent. In Dorset the suspected Ferruginous Duck was relocated at Abbotsbury Swannery where the identity was confirmed. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 20th December 2006 | ||
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| A Pallas's Warbler near Hightown, Merseyside, was today's star find,
the second to be found in the Northwest this week. Otherwise it was long staying
rarities that created the headlines. The Ross's Gull and Bonaparte's Gull
both remained in Scotland, in Argyll and Angus respectively and the Barrow's
Goldeneye was still in Forth. On Shetland the Bufflehead was still on
Unst and in Cornwall the Spotted Sandpiper continued its stay on the
Hayle Estuary. The Kent and Devon Falcated Ducks both remained in-situ and on Anglesey the Long-billed Dowitcher was again on the Alaw Estuary.
Yellow-browed Warblers were at Poole Park, Dorset, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, Polgigga, Cornwall and Beer, Devon. In Wirral a Richard's Pipit was seen in flight at Heswall, an area which has held this species in previous winters. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 19th December 2006 | ||
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| Scotland continued to be play host to a fine selection of quality rarities
today, including the stunning first-winter Ross's Gull at the mouth of
Loch Caolisport, Argyll, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler at Donmouth,
Aberdeenshire, Barrow's Goldeneye at Callander, Forth, and Bonaparte's
Gull at Ferryden, Angus.
In the south of England two Falcated Ducks were on the go, the long-stayer in Devon and a drake associating with Mallards and Gadwall in Kent. In Devon, Beer hosted a notable duo in the form of a Surf Scoter and Yellow-browed Warbler and over in Ireland a Long-billed Dowitcher joined the long-staying White-rumped Sandpiper at Ballycotton, County Cork. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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