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| Tuesday 29th May 2007 | ||
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| After a disappointingly damp Bank Holiday weekend, today saw the injection of
a little excitement into proceedings. The highlight was the
discovery of a male Little Crake on Unst, Shetland, but far more popular
amongst the masses was a Squacco Heron at Erith Marshes, London. Earlier
in the day a Purple Heron had been seen at the same site - quite a pair
for Capital City! Other new rarities came in the form of Great White Egret
at Bough Beech Reservoir, Kent, White-winged Black Tern at Loch of
Kinnordy RSPB, Angus and three Cattle Egrets at Lewes Brooks RSPB, East
Sussex.
Birders on the east coast enjoyed some long-awaited drift migrants, with East Anglia producing the majority of scarcities. The Norfolk coastline hosted an Icterine Warbler, Bluethroat, Common Rosefinch and five Red-backed Shrikes whilst in neighbouring Suffolk an Icterine Warbler was trapped and ringed at Landguard NR, the second to be caught there this month. Further north a Hoopoe was at Gibraltar Point NNR, Lincolnshire, three Red-backed Shrikes were in East Yorkshire and another was on St.Mary's, Isles of Scilly. In West Sussex a Red-necked Phalarope was at Pagham Harbour this evening and a Kentish Plover on Anglesey was an excellent North West record. The Rose-coloured Starling remained on South Uist. Lingering rarities included the Iberian Chiffchaff in Norwich, Lesser Grey Shrike on Fair Isle, pair of Lesser Scaup in Northumberland, Subalpine Warbler on Bardsey Island and Squacco Heron on Isles of Scilly. |
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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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| Monday 28th May 2007 | ||
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| Heavy rain in southern Britain ensured today was far from a vintage Bank
Holiday Monday, but a few rarities gave themselves up to those who braved the
elements. A male Rustic Bunting was located at Spurn Point, East
Yorkshire, early evening and a male Red-backed Shrike and Bluethroat
were also on the famous peninsula. Elsewhere new discoveries included Great
White Egret in the Slimbridge area, Gloucestershire, Bee-eater in
Worcestershire (only the third county record), Red-rumped Swallow at
Baron's Haugh RSPB, Clyde and Squacco Heron in Dorset at Lodmoor RSPB.
Popular attractions included the Broad-billed Sandpiper at Back Saltholme Pool, Cleveland (which was joined by a Temminck's Stint, one of four available in the country today), male Snowy Owl on North Uist, pair of Lesser Scaup in Northumberland and Scops Owl in Oxfordshire. On Fair Isle the Lesser Grey Shrike remained in situ and was joined on the island by a Rose-coloured Starling. At the other end of Great Britain, the Squacco Heron remained on Isles of Scilly. The best of the rest included Red-backed Shrikes on Dartmoor, Devon and Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire and Bluethroat on Isle of May, Fife. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 27th May 2007 | ||
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| Persistent rain in many areas hampered birders' chances of finding a weekend
mega, but even so, the odd rarity was still discovered. A Lesser Grey Shrike
on Fair Isle was probably the star find, but a Broad-billed Sandpiper at
Back Saltholme Pool, Cleveland was obviously more popular. In Kent a
Bee-eater was mobile in the Dungeness area and in Suffolk a Great White
Egret was seen in flight at Minsmere RSPB, where at least three Purple
Herons still remain. Yesterdays pair of Lesser Scaup were relocated
at Cresswell Pond, then later in the day at Bothal Pond, Northumberland.
Other rarities up for grabs included the Iberian Chiffchaff in Norfolk, Laughing Gull in Devon, Squacco Heron on Isles of Scilly and Subalpine Warbler on Bardsey Island. In Lancashire the immature Glossy Ibis was once again relocated at yet another site on the Fylde coast, this time at Newton Marsh, and the county also hosted Common Crane, Temminck's Stint, Spoonbill and the popular family of Eagle Owls. The Isle of May, Fife, held two Bluethroats, whilst another was on Mainland Shetland and a Red-breasted Flycatcher was on Unst. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 26th May 2007 | ||
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| There was a good scattering of new rarities on another productive spring day
today. The accolade for find of the day must go to the summer plumaged Spotted
Sandpiper discovered at Skelton Lake, West Yorkshire. Other good finds were
a Cattle Egret at at Pulborough Brooks RSPB, West Sussex, a pair of Lesser
Scaup on Linton Pond, Northumberland and a White-billed Diver which
flew past West Burra, Shetland. A Great White Egret was a surprise for
sea-watchers at Hengistbury Head when it flew in off the sea, and a news of
another bird present yesterday at Helston Loe Pool in Cornwall also emerged.
A Woodchat Shrike at Portland, Dorset was only seen briefly but presumably arrived due to the same conditions which produced more than 70 Spotted Flycatchers there today The Squacco Heron was still on Scilly, the Laughing Gull seen again in Devon, and the Subalpine Warbler still in Gwynedd. Long-stayers still present included the Iberian Chiffchaff in Norfolk and belated news of the Scops Owl in Oxfordshire still yesterday. Exciting news of a Great Black-headed Gull which flew north at Cap Gris Nez in France combined with another report of a Masked Booby past Porthgwarra, Cornwall yesterday should provide plenty of incentive for south coast birders to get out tomorrow's rain and search. North-easterly winds also mean that the East coast may also be treated to a few drift migrants tomorrow. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Friday 25th May 2007 | ||
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| A slight drop in pace compared to recent days, but new rarities were still
found. The main news of the day was a sighting of 14 Glossy Ibises which
flew over Addleston in Surrey. These birds may perhaps be the 14 individuals
which disappeared from Glostershire (leaving 3 individuals behind) on 7th May.
The other headline birds were two Bee-eaters present briefly off the
Devon coast on Lundy. A new Kentish Plover was also discovered in
Ceredigion.
With a good supply of rarities remaining from previous days there way plenty to keep birders occupied. The Bonaparte's Gull, Iberian Chffchaff in Norfolk, Purple Herons in Suffolk, Killdeer on Shetland and Squacco Heron on Scilly were all available for those taking extended Bank Holidays. Also remaining were the Citrine Wagtail in Wexford and the Subalpine Warbler in Gwynedd An intriguing report of a Masked Booby, seen south of Portland off the Channel Light Vessel on 17th May will only add to hopes among south coast sea-watchers that a colossal mega is still lurking out there somewhere. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 24th May 2007 | ||
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| The Little Swift reappeared on the Isles of Scilly this
afternoon, this time on St Mary's, but once again it didn't hang around. A male
Subalpine Warbler on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd was a new discovery, whilst
another was on Fair Isle for its second day. The island also hosted
Bluethroat, Red-backed Shrike and female Surf Scoter and on
Orkney a showy male Red-spotted Bluethroat graced South Ronaldsay.
A Bee-eater flew north over Filey, North Yorkshire this morning, a Black Kite flew south over Saltfleetby NNR, Lincolnshire this evening and an adult drake King Eider was off the Kintyre Peninsula, Argyll. Elsewhere the American Golden Plover in Hampshire, Squacco Heron on Isles of Scilly and Scops Owl in Oxfordshire were all still up for grabs. Other bits and pieces included an adult male Common Rosefinch on Isle of May, Fife, Kentish Plover at Pagham Harbour, West Sussex and Rose-coloured Starling on South Uist, Western Isles. Belated news from yesterday related to a Citrine Wagtail at Tacumshin, Co Wexford and a couple of Great White Egrets at Paull Holme Strays, East Yorkshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 23rd May 2007 | ||
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| A Little Swift made a brief appearance on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly,
before flying towards Gugh. This is the third record for the archipelago,
following singles in May 2002 and April 2003. The islands also continued to host
the Squacco Heron on St Mary's.
In Cornwall a drake Black Duck accompanied Mallards at Colliford Lake on Bodmin Moor. Elsewhere Bee-eaters were seen at Reculver, Kent and Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire and a Black Kite was near Aldbrough St John, North Yorkshire. Lingering rarities included Laughing Gull in Devon, King Eider in Moray, Iberian Chiffchaff and Bonaparte's Gull in Norfolk and American Golden Plover in Hampshire. In Suffolk an Icterine Warbler was trapped and ringed at Landguard NR and in Devon a male Red-backed Shrike was by the Kingsbridge Estuary. A Woodchat Shrike was trapped and ringed at Dungeness, Kent and the Kentish Plover reappeared at Pagham Harbour, West Sussex. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 22nd May 2007 | ||
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| A quieter day than of late with a brief Great White Egret at Burton Marsh, Cheshire and a flyover
Bee-eater at Winterton, Norfolk being the most notable discoveries. Elsewhere in Norfolk the
Broad-billed Sandpiper remained at Breydon Water in the morning, the Black Kite
showed again at North Creake, the Iberian Chiffchaff remained on territory at Colney and a male
Red-backed Shrike showed well at Weybourne Camp. Other lingering rarities included the Scops Owl at Thrupp Oxfordshire, Snowy Owl on North Uist Western Isles, Squacco Heron on St Mary's Isle of Scilly and American Golden Plover at Farlington Marshes, Hampshire. Other notables included the Woodchat Shrike still at Sidlesham, West Sussex, four Purple Herons remaining at Minsmere, Suffolk and a Night Heron present at Castleford, West Yorkshire. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Monday 21st May 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Broad-billed Sandpiper at Breydon Water, Norfolk. Elsewhere, a
White-billed Diver was off Unst, Shetland Isles. Two Bee-eaters briefly joined the
Squacco Heron on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly and single flyover Black Kite and
Cattle Egret were noted in Lincolnshire and Berkshire respectively. The American Golden Plover remained at Farlington Marshes, Hampshire as did the Cattle Egret at Rainham Marshes, London. The Glossy Ibis reappeared at Marshside, Merseyside and on the Western Isles both the Snowy Owl and Rose-coloured Starling were still on North Uist and the American Herring Gull was seen again at Stornoway, Lewis. Otherwise, a Kentish Plover arrived at Dawlish Warren, Devon, three Purple Herons continued at Minsmere, Suffolk and the Woodchat Shrike was seen again at Sidlesham, West Sussex. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 20th May 2007 | ||
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| Today was quite exciting with a handful of new rarities being found around
the country. A Pallid Swift was found on Bryher, Isles of Scilly but
did not linger. A Cattle Egret was found at Rainham Marshes in
London and showed well throughout the day whereas a Caspian Tern found at
Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire was present for less than an hour. This afternoon a Great
Reed Warbler was found singing at Barton, Staffordshire and was seen on and off
until dusk. Additional news included a Baird's Sandpiper this afternoon briefly on
Unst, Shetand Isles.
Lingering rarities today included an American Golden Plover in Hampshire, originally seen on the 11th of May, which performed well all afternoon and evening. The Scops Owl was again in Oxfordshire this evening, while in Norfolk at least one Black Kite was seen today as well as the Bonaparte's Gull again at Hickling Broad. On North Uist, Western Isles the Snowy Owl was seen again as was the the American Herring Gull on Lewis. In Kent the Savi's Warbler was on show again this morning. In Lancashire the Glossy Ibis was seen once again as was the Squacco Heron on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. Also of note today were three Woodchat Shrikes found in Merseyside, Dorset and West Sussex and up to four Purple Herons all at Minsmere, Suffolk. |
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| - Keith Langdon, RBA | ||
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