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| Friday 16th January 2009 | ||
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| A first winter Franklin's Gull was a good find at Barassie Shore in
Ayrshire but the only other new rarities found today were five Cattle Egrets
near Truro in Cornwall. Around 15 other Cattle Egrets were reported, from
Scilly, Devon, Cornwall and County Cork.
The Penduline Tit could still be found at Clennon Valley in Devon and the Snowy Owl remained in residence near St.Ives in Cornwall. Also in Cornwall the Rose-coloured Starling could still be found at Newquay. In Kent, the Night Heron remained near West Hythe. Three King Eiders were seen today: two still in County Sligo, with one still in Fife. Elsewhere, the Lesser Scaup remained in Nottinghamshire, the Great White Egret was still to be found at Blashford Lakes in Hampshire and a goodly scattering of Waxwings were again reported. |
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| - Pete Hayman, 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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| Thursday 15th January 2009 | ||
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| In Devon, the male Penduline Tit continued to show well at Clennon
Valley, south of Paignton. Nearby, a Cattle Egret remained on St Mary's,
Isles of Scilly, with a further 13 in County Cork. Also on St Mary's, an adult
Night Heron was seen in flight over Lower Moors, whilst the long staying
bird remained in Kent.
In Norfolk, the wintering Black-bellied Dipper reappeared at Natural Surroundings NR, and the adult white morph Ross's Goose was seen at Waxham. Scarcities included Common Rosefinch in County Durham, Rose-coloured Starling in Cornwall, American Wigeon in Berkshire, two Surf Scoters in Devon and Todd's Canada Goose in Argyll. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 14th January 2009 | ||
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| A Penduline Tit was discovered in Paignton, Devon, whilst in London
the pair of Penduline Tits remained at Rainham Marshes RSPB. In addition
to the Penduline Tits, the Snowy Owl in Cornwall, Cattle Egrets in
Cornwall (4) and Isles of Scilly, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, King
Eider in Fife and Ferruginous Duck in Lincolnshire were the headline
rarities.
The Night Heron was still in Kent, the American Wigeon showed again in Berkshire and three Green-winged Teals and a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards were logged. Poor photos of a reported Dusky Thrush in Gloucestershire appeared to show a Redwing, and the Canvasback in Derbyshire is thought to be an escape. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 13th January 2009 | ||
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| New rarities today consisted of a female Blue-winged Teal, reported
from Alvecote Pools, Warwickshire, where it flew around Teal Pool early
afternoon but was unfortunately not relocated, a Ferruginous Duck was at
Oxford Island, County Armagh and a Great White Egret was seen from a
train near Westbury, Wiltshire.
Elsewhere, lingering rarities consisted of American Herring Gull at Bantry, County Cork, Snowy Owl near St Ives, Cornwall, two Penduline Tits at Rainham Marshes RSPB, London, Red-breasted Goose at Keyhaven, Hampshire, King Eider at Earlsferry, Fife and single Lesser Scaups at Cardiff, Glamorgan and Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire. News regarding the female Steller's Eider, reported from Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd on 4th January was negative, as the record has been found to be a hoax. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Monday 12th January 2009 | ||
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| Lingering rarities confirmed as still present today comprised the Snowy Owl in Cornwall, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire,
Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, King Eiders in Fife and County Sligo (2) and
Cattle Egrets in the Isles of Scilly, Devon (2) and County Cork (13). Scarcities included a Rose-coloured Starling in Cornwall, Night Heron in Kent, Surf Scoter in Devon, Rough-legged Buzzards in Cambridgeshire and Cleveland, along with four Ring-billed Gulls, six Green-winged Teals and seven Ring-necked Ducks. Waxwing reports totaled 488 in 23 counties with maximums of 66 in Lothian, 58 in Leicestershire, 51 in West Yorkshire, 50 in County Antrim and 37 in Suffolk. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 11th January 2009 | ||
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| Find of the day was a Killdeer at Saddle Bow in Norfolk - the bird
frequented a ditch for around forty minutes early afternoon before flying off.
Elsewhere a drake King Eider was a superb discovery off Pett, East Sussex
and in London two Penduline Tits remained at Rainham Marshes RSPB.
Lingering wildfowl included the Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, Ross's Goose in Norfolk, Ferruginous Duck in Lincolnshire, Hooded Merganser in Dorset, King Eider in Fife and Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan. At least sixteen Cattle Egrets were logged, the majority in Co Cork and in Galway the American Herring Gull was still on show. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 10th January 2009 | ||
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| The Glaucous-winged Gull performed well again, spending most of the
morning on Saltholme Pool, Cleveland, although it was not seen in the afternoon.
Other lingering rarities included the Snowy Owl in Cornwall, two
Penduline Tits in London, King Eider in Fife, Red-breasted Goose
in Hampshire and Ferruginous Duck in Lincolnshire. A possible Wilson's
Snipe was on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly late morning.
Four Canada Geese forms were seen in Dumfries and Galloway, including Cackling, Richardson's and Taverner's. Cattle Egrets remained in Devon, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, County Waterford, County Cork and County Wexford, totalling at least 29 birds. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Friday 9th January 2009 | ||
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| A male Pine Bunting was seen briefly in the Nanjizal Valley area of
Cornwall today, which may prove popular if relocated, as the Snowy Owl
remains nearby at Zennor. Five Cattle Egrets were also in the Nanjizal
area, with at least one on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, and nine are in County
Cork.
Another Snowy Owl was seen this morning, on Westray, Orkney. Also in Scotland, a new Lesser Scaup was found on Islay, Argyll, although there was no sign of the female Canvasback on the same island. Lingering rarities included the Glaucous-winged Gull, three King Eiders, two Penduline Tits, Ferruginous Duck and Red-breasted Goose. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 8th January 2009 | ||
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| The headline bird was once again the adult Glaucous-winged Gull in
Cleveland - it showed on and off throughout the day in the Dorman's Pool area.
On Islay, Argyll, the female Canvasback was again present on Loch Indaal
early in the morning.
Elsewhere Penduline Tits remained in London (2) and Devon, Great White Egrets were noted in Cambridgeshire and Somerset and Cattle Egrets were recorded in Co Cork (5), Cornwall (5), Devon and Isles of Scilly. Rare wildfowl came in the form of the Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan and the pair of King Eiders in Sligo. In Co Galway the adult American Herring Gull was still in Galway Docks. |
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| - Stuart Piner, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 7th January 2009 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was a female Canavasback on Islay, Argyll. First located amongst a flock of Scaup on Loch Indaal yesterday, the bird was not confidently identified until this morning, before it promptly disappeared. Other mega news concerned the continued presence of the Glaucous-winged Gull between Cowpen Bewley and Dorman's Pool, Cleveland and the, disappointing, continued absence of the Steller's Eider at Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd. A Penduline Tit was a new arrival at Slapton Ley, Devon whilst lingering rarities were represented by the Snowy Owl in Cornwall, American Herring Gull in County Galway, two Penduline Tits in London, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan and Hooded Merganser in Dorset. Cattle Egret reports totaled seventeen birds in four counties comprising eight on County Cork, four in Devon, two on the Isles of Scilly and one in Hampshire. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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