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| Sunday 23rd December 2007 | ||
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| Cattle Egrets remained in the headlines with at least 35 in Cornwall (at least fifteen at St Ives, thirteen at Sancreed, five at Breage and two at Constantine) and singles still in both Devon and Gloucestershire. Lingering rarities comprised, in Northern Ireland, the Barrow's Goldeneye in County Down and Great White Egret in County Londonderry, in England the Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Lesser Scaup in Wiltshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Suffolk and Falcated Duck in Staffordshire. In Scotland the Red-breasted Goose reappeared in Dumfries and Galloway and both King Eiders remained in Aberdeenshire. In Wales the Spotted Sandpiper was still in Glamorgan. Wintering scarcities recorded today included the Pallas's Warbler in Suffolk, Short-toed Lark in Northumberland and Lesser Snow Goose in Dumfries and Galloway. |
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| - Chris Batty, 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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| Saturday 22nd December 2007 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Black Duck near Millford, County Donegal. Single Great White Egrets were located at Staines Moor, Surrey and briefly at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. Record numbers of Cattle Egrets continued to be seen with at least 21, perhaps 30, in Cornwall, two on the Isles of Scilly and singles in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Other lingering rarities included the Barrow's Goldeneye in County Down, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Forster's Tern in County Galway, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Laughing Gull on Shetland Isles, Falcated Duck in Staffordshire and single Lesser Scaups in Warwickshire and the Western Isles. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Friday 21st December 2007 | ||
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| The first message of today was a Mega, a Sociable Plover in Kent.
Despite there being a few twitchable birds recently, this species remains much
sought after among birders, due to its rarity in a global perspective.
Unfortunately, this one did not hang around, and wasn't seen again after the
initial sighting. A Lesser Yellowlegs was found in Suffolk, at Southwold, on Town Marsh. The bird remained present all afternoon, until the news was released when it promptly flew off! In the Western Isles, a drake Lesser Scaup was on Benbecula, with the Warwickshire bird remaining at Draycote Water. Up to 22 Cattle Egrets remain in the southwest, although some seem to be slowly moving northeastwards. The Desert Wheatear was seen again in North Yorkshire, with other lingering rarities including two King Eiders in Aberdeenshire, Red-breasted Goose in Sussex, Great White Egret in Hampshire and a Wilson's Snipe on Scilly. The Pallas's Warbler was reported again in Warrenhouse Wood, Suffolk briefly, early morning. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 20th December 2007 | ||
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| A quiet day for new rarities still produced a fine selection of lingering
goodies, along with the excellent numbers of Cattle Egrets.
Highlights included the Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon and King Eider in Shetland. Cattle Egrets were represented by a party of eight near Drift, Cornwall, at least two birds on Isles of Scilly and lone individuals at Britford Water Meadows, Wiltshire, and Botallack, Cornwall. A probable juvenile American Herring Gull was observed in flight on Tresco, Isles of Scilly and in Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler reappeared near Gunton. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 19th December 2007 | ||
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| A Cattle Egret at Britford, Wiltshire was present for at least its
third day, whilst on Isles of Scilly, several sightings of Cattle Egrets
were reported from various locations on St Mary's.
Available rarities included White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus and Falcated Duck in Staffordshire. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 18th December 2007 | ||
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| Cattle Egrets continue to turn up left, right and centre - the
majority of today's egret action was on Isles of Scilly, with three discovered
on Tresco, two on St Martin's and one on St Mary's. Another was located in Essex
at Great Bentley.
The most excitement, however, was caused by the report of a possible Great Blue Heron near Hartland in Devon, apparently present for the last ten or so days - unfortunately the bird could not be found this afternoon. The Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Glossy Ibis in Lancashire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, King Eiders in Aberdeenshire, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire and White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire were all still available. The Thayer's or Kumlien's Gull was still at Dix Pit, Oxfordshire, the Pallas's Warbler continued to show in Gunton, Suffolk and in Staffordshire, the Falcated Duck lingered at Cop Mere. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Monday 17th December 2007 | ||
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| The long staying Desert Wheatear continued to perform at Cromer Point,
North Yorkshire and late news from Friday relating to a Desert Wheatear
in an area of no general access in Crewe, was no doubt very frustrating for
Cheshire birders.
Lingering rarities included six Cattle Egrets in southwest England, with another in Co Clare, the juvenile White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Red-breasted Goose in West Sussex, Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan and the Thayer's or Kumlien's Gull in Oxfordshire. In Scotland the Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Montrose Basin, Angus, and a couple of King Eiders were again noted off Girdle Ness, Aberdeenshire. In Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler was still at Gunton. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 16th December 2007 | ||
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| Today's highlights were the relocation of a Dusky Warbler in Nottinghamshire
this morning, originally seen in October, but unfortunately it did not show for
long disappointing many visiting birders this afternoon. The other news in
today was of a White-tailed Eagle for its second day on the Isle of May in Fife,
though this is likely to be a bird from the Fife reintroduction scheme.
Other than these two discoveries, lingering rarities that were seen today were a Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire, Desert Wheatear in North Yorkshire, two King Eiders Aberdeenshire, Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon, the Finnish White-tailed Eagle and Great White Egret in Hampshire and Red-breasted Geese in both Cumbria and West Sussex. Four counties held Cattle Egrets again today, with five birds in Dorset, at least 3 in Cornwal and singles in Devon and Gloscestershire. |
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| - Keith Langdon, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 15th December 2007 | ||
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| Lingering rarities included Red-breasted Geese at Newton Marsh,
Cumbria and West Wittering, West Sussex, Desert Wheatear at Burniston,
North Yorkshire, White-tailed Eagle near Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire,
Lesser Scaup at Draycote, Warwickshire and Cattle Egrets at four
sites in Cornwall, Devon and Gloucestershire. A drake Black Duck was seen
again at Ventry, County Kerry, and the long-staying Laughing Gull
reappeared on the Exe Estuary in Devon.
Iceland and Glaucous Gulls appeared at a number of Midlands waterbodies, the unseasonal Short-toed Lark and Pallas's Warbler remained in Northumberland and Suffolk respectively, and a late Richard's Pipit was a surprise in Aberdeenshire, but otherwise it was a quiet day and there was little to divert birders from their Christmas shopping. |
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| - Andy Symes, RBA | ||
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| Friday 14th December 2007 | ||
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| The only new rarity found today was, not surprisingly, a Cattle Egret.
This time one was found further north at Martin Mere in Lancashire, and may be
only the second record for the county. Elsewhere there were still ten Cattle
Egrets to be found in the west country. The Red-breasted Goose was
seen again this morning with the Barnacle Geese at Anthorn in Cumbria,
but could not be found later in the day. In Sussex, the Red-breasted Goose
remained at Chichester and in Suffolk the Pallas's Warbler remained
throughout the day just north of Lowestoft.
Other long-stayers included the Spotted Sandpiper in Glamorgan, the Lesser Yellowlegs in Angus, the Long-billed Dowitcher in Devon and the Lesser Scaup in Warwickshire. Also the Desert Wheatear continued it's sojourn in North Yorkshire and the Short-toed Lark was still to be found in Northumberland. |
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| - Pete Hayman, RBA | ||
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