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| Thursday 5th April 2007 | ||
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| At 10.50pm news broke of possible Scops Owl singing at Landguard NR,
Suffolk - even after the long staying bird in Oxfordshire last year, if this
firms up, it will surely draw some sizeable nightime crowds to Suffolk. The only
other new rarity was located in the far north, in the form of a drake King
Eider off Mainland Shetland.
In Surrey, a Hoopoe was present for its third day in Oxted and in Dorset the Serin made another appearance at Hengistbury Head. On the Western Isles, the male Snowy Owl was present on North Uist for its second day and long-stayers included the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, three Long-billed Dowitchers (in Kent, Co Louth and Suffolk/Essex) and Black-eared Kite in Norfolk, whilst the southwest continued to host Spotted Sandpiper, Cattle Egret and Laughing Gull. A (very early) Honey Buzzard was reported over Pagham Harbour, West Sussex this afternoon and in Angus the Common Crane remained in fields just south of Montrose. |
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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 4th April 2007 | ||
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| There were two new rarities today. On the south coast a Great White Egret was
discovered in the evening at Lytchett Bay, Dorset. A Snowy Owl found on
North Uist could be one of the two bird seen recently on Lewis. However, this is
deceptively far away (at least 90 miles as the owl flies) so this bird may in
fact be a third individual! A good inland find was a Stone Curlew in
Hertfordshire.
Migrants continued to trickle in, despite the northerly airflow. Sixty-five Wheatears and two Redstarts at Portland were among the most significant numbers, and a Serin seen briefly at Christchurch Harbour may have been associated with similar arrivals along the south coast. Long-staying rarities included the Franklin's Gull and Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, though the Dusky Warbler was not reported. Elsewhere the Black-eared Kite was a bonus for some those who went to see the Serin at Heacham, Norfolk, and the Little Bunting remained at Amwell in Bedfordshire. Late news from yesterday was received that the Red-flanked Bluetail had been present on the Out Skerries, but there was no sign of it today. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 3rd April 2007 | ||
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| New wildfowl were the theme of the day with a 1st-summer drake King Eider
found on North Ronaldsay, Orkney and Wales's 2nd ever Lesser Scaup
discovered in Carmarthenshire. A Ring-necked Duck was also found in
County Tipperary. The chances of spring overshoots remained slim due to the
North-easterly winds though new common migrants included large numbers of Ospreys,
two Hobbys and single Grasshopper Warbler and Redstart.
Long-stayers included the Spotted Sandpiper and Dusky Warbler in Cornwall together with the recently discovered Franklin's Gull. The Long-billed Dowitcher was still in Essex, and the Glossy Ibis remained in Lancashire |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Monday 2nd April 2007 | ||
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| Unbelievably the second Red-flanked Bluetail of the spring was
discovered today on the Out Skerries, Shetland. With three excellent eastern
vagrants already found on the east coast so early in the spring there could yet
be more to come. The other main news involved what was presumably yesterday's Laughing
Gull, which was re-identified as a Franklin's Gull. A Cattle Egret
was also found in Essex at Clacton-on-sea.
Other long-staying rarities included the Dusky Warbler and Spotted Sandpiper in Cornwall, the Black Scoter in Conwy and the Long-billed Dowitcher in Essex. The Lesser Scaup was also re-located in Somerset, and the Red-breasted Geese were seen again in Norfolk. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 1st April 2007 | ||
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| A Laughing Gull at Crowdy Reservoir, Cornwall was a new rarity discovered today with other rarities remaining in Cornwall including
Dusky Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper and American Herring Gull. Elsewhere in England the Black-eared Kite and two Red-breasted Geese remained at Snettisham, Norfolk, the Red-rumped Swallow in Bedfordshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Cattle Egret in Devon and Long-billed Dowitcher in Essex. In Scotland the Barrow's Goldeneye was seen again in Forth as was the Lesser Scaup in Lothian and Great White Egret on Orkney. In Wales the Black Scoter lingered off Conwy and the Long-billed Dowitcher remained on Anglesey. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 31st March 2007 | ||
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| A Red-flanked Bluetail in an Easington garden, East Yorkshire was
the highlight of the day. Amazingly, this bird was present in the same 'magic garden' that has also
played host to White's Thrush and Pine Grosbeak in recent years. This is only the third time this species has been recorded in
spring, following individuals on Holy Island in April 1995 and on Fetlar in May
1971. The East Yorkshire coast is currently enjoying somewhat of a purple patch
for eastern vagrants, with the Bluetail being found less than a week after the
Black-throated Thrush in Buckton. However, there was a rather sad end to
proceedings this evening; after showing well from late afternoon into the
evening, the bird was picked up dead at around 7pm.
In Bedfordshire the Red-rumped Swallow at Brogborough Lake remained on show all day and entertained an appreciative weekend crowd. Elsewhere, long stayers were represented by the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Lesser Scaup in Somerset, Black-eared Kite and pair of Red-breasted Geese in Norfolk, Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth and Dusky Warbler in Cornwall, whilst the Lesser Scaup in Edinburgh continued to show well. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Friday 30th March 2007 | ||
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| A Red-rumped Swallow was discovered at Brogborough Lake, Bedfordshire
this evening. This third for Bedfordshire was on show for about an hour until
7.38pm, when it appeared to roost at the west end of the lake. The only other
new discovery today was a drake Lesser Scaup in Edinburgh, Lothian.
Elsewhere long stayers included the Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Black-eared Kite and at least one of the Red-breasted Geese at Snettisham, Norfolk, Dusky Warbler, Laughing Gull and Spotted Sandpiper in the southwest and White-billed Diver and American Herring Gull on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 29th March 2007 | ||
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| Although no new rarities graced our shores today there were still plenty of
long stayers, and reasonable numbers of summer migrants to keep most people
entertained. Twitchable rarities included Dusky Warbler, Spotted
Sandpiper, Laughing Gull and Cattle Egret in the Southwest,
Long-billed Dowitchers in Kent and Anglesey, Glossy Ibis in
Lancashire and Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth. Mainland Orkney continued to
host the Great White Egret, and nearby a Turtle Dove on South
Ronaldsay was an excellent March record.
Other early summer migrant reports included a Wood Sandpiper in Cornwall and Yellow Wagtail in Oxfordshire whilst recent days have produced reports of Reed Warbler in West Sussex, Garden Warbler in Norfolk, Whitethroat in Dorset, Hobby in Warwickshire, along with a scattering of Garganey, Ospreys, Ring Ouzels, Willow Warblers and Tree Pipits. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 28th March 2007 | ||
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| Both of today's new discoveries were both on Scottish islands - a Great
White Egret on Mainland Orkney and an adult White-billed Diver off
Berneray, Western Isles.
Elsewhere long staying rarities included that Spotted Sandpiper, Dusky Warbler and American Herring Gull in Cornwall, Barrow's Goldeneye in Forth and Red-breasted Geese and Black-eared Kite in Norfolk. In Hertfordshire, the male Little Bunting was heard singing at Amwell Gravel Pits. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 27th March 2007 | ||
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| The first-winter female Black-throated Thrush continued to show well throughout the day at Buckton, East Yorkshire. In Cornwall the
White-billed Diver reappeared alongside the Spotted Sandpiper at Hayle, Cornwall with
Dusky Warbler and two American Herring Gulls remaining elsewhere in the county. Elsewhere the Black Scoter remained in Conwy, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Red-breasted Geese in Norfolk, White-billed Diver and Snowy Owl on Western Isles, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cork, Laughing Gull and Cattle Egret in Devon, Single Long-billed Dowitchers were still in Anglesey, Louth and Essex. Several Black Redstarts and Firecrests were noted on the east coast of England and Scotland. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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