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| Thursday 6th September 2007 | ||
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| Nearctic waders were the flavour of the day, the highlight being a
Wilson's Phalarope discovered at Christchurch Harbour, Dorset this
afternoon. In southwest Ireland a juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper was
located in Ventry Harbour, Co Kerry and back in England an American Golden
Plover was near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, with another reported on Rousay,
Orkney. A Cattle Egret was briefly at Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, and
lingering rarities included the White-winged Black Tern at Dungeness,
Kent, Great White Egret at Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire, Blue-winged
Teal at Haverton Hole, Cleveland, Spotted Sandpiper on Isles of
Scilly, White-rumped Sandpiper at Breydon Water, Norfolk and Glossy
Ibis at Marshside RSPB, Merseyside. The juvenile Ferruginous Duck
reappeared on Hornsea Mere, East Yorkshire
A Woodchat Shrike made landfall on St Martin's, Isles of Scilly, at least two Ortolan Buntings were in Cornwall and a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers were fresh arrivals on South Uist, Western Isles. |
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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 5th September 2007 | ||
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| A Spotted Sandpiper showed well on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly; it has been present for a week but not identified for certain until yesterday. In Ireland the American Black Tern remained in County Galway as did the Citrine Wagtail in County Kerry and Spotted Sandpiper in County Cork. In England the Blue-winged Teal lingered in Cleveland as did the Glossy Ibis in Merseyside, White-winged Black Tern in Kent, Great White Egret in Lancashire and Ferruginous Duck in Somerset. Two Ortolan Buntings were seen in Dorset making a total of six present in that county this week. Today, in Cornwall an Ortolan Bunting and two Tawny Pipits were seen near Land's End. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 4th September 2007 | ||
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| Highlight of today was a Little Shearwater past Whitburn, Co Durham. Other new rarities included a
Great White Egret on the Isles of Scilly and a Citrine Wagtail in County Kerry. Lingering rarities were the
Blue-winged Teal at Haverton Hole, Cleveland, Great White Egret at Marshside,
Merseyside and the White-rumped Sandpiper at Breydon Water, Norfolk. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper showed well at Toft Newton Reservoir, Lincolnshire this afternoon, and there was a good showing of Ortolan Buntings in Dorset, with up to three birds being seen. The Night Heron at Fairburn Ings, West Yorkshire showed again and several Spotted Crakes were present in England. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Monday 3rd September 2007 | ||
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| Seawatching was productive from several coasts today with Wilson's Petrels off the Isles of Scilly and Co Mayo headlining a cast that included multiple
Sabine's Gulls, Long-tailed Skuas and Pomarine Skuas off
both the English and Scottish east coasts. Single Great Shearwaters were recorded at Lossiemouth, Moray and Spurn, East Yorkshire. In Ireland the American Black Tern remained in Co Galway as did the Spotted Sandpiper in Co Cork. In England the Blue-winged Teal continued to linger in Cleveland and likewise the White-winged Black Tern in Kent, Marbled Duck in Leicestershire, White-rumped Sandpiper in Norfolk, Ferruginous Duck in Somerset and single Great White Egrets in Lancashire, Merseyside and Wiltshire. |
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| - Chris Batty and Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 2nd September 2007 | ||
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| Ireland produced most of the action, with a mouth watering selection of birds
spread around the country. New discoveries included a juvenile American Black
Tern at Rahasane Turlough, Co Galway, juvenile Spotted Sandpiper at
Ballycotton, Co Cork and Fea's Petrel past Downpatrick Head, Co Mayo,
whilst the Wilson's Phalarope remained at Lady's Island Lake, Co Wexford.
A Pectoral Sandpiper was at nearby Tacumshin and a Buff-breasted
Sandpiper was discovered at Doonbeg, Co Clare.
In Cleveland the Blue-winged Teal remained at Haverton Hole, Great White Egrets were still at Cotswold Water Park, Wiltshire, Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire and Marshside RSPB, Merseyside, where the long-staying Glossy Ibis was also on show. A 'new' Great White Egret flew over Wernffrwd, Glamorgan, this morning. Marbled Ducks were still present at Leathes Ham, Suffolk and Rutland Water, Leicestershire, the White-winged Black Tern was still at Dungeness and the Bonaparte's Gull remained on South Uist, Western Isles. Spotted Crakes graced Farlington Marshes, Hampshire, Ladywalk NR, Warwickshire and Coombe Hill Meadows, Gloucestershire, a Kentish Plover visited Brownsea Island, Dorset, an Ortolan Bunting was on St.Mary's, Isles of Scilly for its second day and a Wryneck was at Thurlestone Marsh, Devon. Scarce herons were represented by two long-stayers and a new discovery - a Purple Heron was flushed near Oath Sluice, Somerset and the Purple Heron in Surrey and Night Heron in East Sussex were both still available. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 1st September 2007 | ||
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| A very quiet day today in respect of new rarities to report, though there was
a fair selection of other rarities and a few scarcities available around the
country. Only two new rarities were reported, the first a brief juvenile
Lesser Yellowlegs on South Uist at Peninerine and then another Marbled
Duck at Rutland Water at the Egleton Reserve. Also, there was belated news
of an Aquatic Warbler trapped & ringed in Devon at South Milton Ley on
Tuesday.
Still on offer today were yesterdays Blue-winged Teal in Cleveland at Haverton Hole and White-winged Black Tern in Kent at Dungeness. Also, Citrine Wagtail remained on Fair Isle, Wilson's Phalarope was still in Co Wexford at Lady's Island Lake, White-rumped Sandpiper reappeared in Norfolk again at Breydon Water and the Marbled Duck was still in Suffolk at Lowestoft. The three Great White Egrets were all seen today at Cotswold Water Park in Wiltshire, Leighton Moss in Lancashire and at Marshside in Merseyside. The Glossy Ibis was also again present at the latter. Also of interest today there were at least five Spotted Crakes around the country, four Red-backed Shrikes and singles of other scarce birds such as Melodious Warbler, Rose-coloured Starling, Wryneck, Barred Warbler, Sabine's Gull, Pectoral Sandpiper & Purple Heron. |
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| - Keith Langdon, RBA | ||
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| Friday 31st August 2007 | ||
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| County Wexford was still the centre of attention, although the news today was disappointing, as there was no sign of the Red-necked Stint at Carne Harbour all day. The county did continue to host a Wilson's Phalarope at Lady's Island Lake and a new Buff-breasted Sandpiper was at Tacumshin. In England, an eclipse drake or female Blue-winged Teal was found at Haverton Hole in Cleveland and there was a juvenile White-winged Black Tern on 'The Patch' off the power station at Dungeness, although it is impossible to know if this is a different bird to the one which frequented the reserve a few days ago. In Shetland, the Hudsonian Whimbrel spent another day on Fair Isle and there was a Melodious Warbler on Unst. The Black Stork was seen again over the Alaw Estuary in Anglesey and Great White Egrets remained in Lancashire and Wiltshire. Spotted Crakes were in Essex and Gloucestershire and a popular Red-backed Shrike remained at Rainham in London. | ||
| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 30th August 2007 | ||
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| The Red-necked Stint remained in County Wexford, although it was not
relocated until the evening when it again returned to Carne harbour at high tide
and showed very well to a small crowd. Nearby the Wilson's Phalarope was
still at Lady's Island Lake. A Great White Egret was found at Marshside
Marsh RSPB Lancs, the Hudsonian Whimbrel was relocated and photographed
on Fair Isle, Shetland, and a Baird's Sandpiper was reported at Irvine,
Ayrshire.
Lingering birds included single Great White Egrets at Cotswold Water Park, Wilts, and at Leighton Moss RSPB Lancs, the Bonaparte's Gull on South Uist and the Glossy Ibis at Marshside Marsh Lancs, as well as belated news of the summering Killdeer still at Virkie, Shetland yesterday, but there was no sign today of the Franklin's Gull at Braunton, Devon. |
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| - Dick Filby, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 29th August 2007 | ||
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| The undoubted highlight of the day came when an adult Red-necked Stint
was discovered at Carne Harbour, near Rosslare, Co.Wexford. The bird was watched
until dusk as it fed over the high tide with Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and
Sanderling. Supporting cast nearby was nicely provided by the Wilson's
Phalarope which moved from Lady's Island Lake to Nethertown Strand.
Other new rarities were a Franklin's Gull at Braunton Marsh, Devon, a White-winged Black Tern which flew through Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, a possible Little Shearwater past Flamborough Head and a probable Hudsonian Whimbrel flew by near the observatory on Fair Isle. There were also several new scarcities discovered: a Barred Warbler at Hauxley NR, Northumberland; a Red-backed Shrike at Rainham Marshes, Greater London; an Ortolan Bunting at Portland, Dorset and a Melodious Warbler on St Mary's, Scilly. Other rarities still present from previous days were rather thin on the ground: the Marbled Duck moved back to Normanston Park, Lowestoft and the Great White Egret performed well in Lancashire. The King Eider at Wester Quarff, Shetland was seen for the first time in a few days and the eclipse drake American Wigeon on the Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire was picked out amongst its Eurasian counterparts again. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 28th August 2007 | ||
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| The best new rarity of the day was a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope
discovered at Lady's Island Lake, County Wexford. The only other new rarity
reported was a belated report of a Cattle Egret near Seaton in
Devon yesterday, but there was no further sign today.
In East Anglia the juvenile Marbled Duck relocated from Lowestoft to Minsmere and a Sacred Ibis in Norfolk baring a red colour-ring on it's right leg provoked much debate as to it's origins. If it proves a wandering individual from the French feral population in may well be popular as many would then consider this a 'tickable' individual. A Gull-billed Tern reported past Cley may hopefully be picked up again elsewhere along the well-watched Norfolk Coast. The best rarities were rather inaccessible; the Solitary Sandpiper remained on St Kilda as did the juvenile Pallid on Shetland Mainland. Elsewhere the Black Stork remained on Anglesey as did the Great White Egrets in Lancashire and Glostershire and the White-winged Black Tern in Essex. The good spell for sea-watching continued but most of the action was further north with Northumberland and Durham both scoring high-prized North Sea records of Great Shearwater and Orkney fairing even better with a single Cory's and 21 Greats recorded altogether today. |
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| - Simon Mitchell, RBA | ||
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