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.

Choose a starting date
Friday 28th January 2011  
  Lingering rarities confirmed as present today included the Pacific Diver at Marazion, Cornwall, American Coot at Termoncarragh Lake, County Mayo, Northern Harrier at Thornham, Norfolk, five Northern Long-tailed Tits at Dymchurch, Kent, Red-breasted Goose at Titchfield Haven, Hampshire, Coues's Arctic Redpoll at Rainton, County Durham and single Lesser Scaups in Cornwall and Gloucestershire.

Scarcity highlights included two Rose-coloured Starlings, an American Wigeon, a White-tailed Eagle, two Ring-necked Ducks, two Surf Scoters, two Ring-billed Gulls, five Great Grey Shrikes and 12 Great White Egrets.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 27th January 2011  
  The Pacific Diver and Lesser Scaup in Cornwall, Ross's Goose and Northern Harrier in Norfolk, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire and two Northern Long-tailed Tits in Kent were all confirmed as still being present today.

Three each of American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck and Great White Egrets were also recorded, in addition to two Surf Scoters.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 26th January 2011  
  On Shetland a White-billed Diver was seen from the Fetlar ferry early this afternoon.

Lingering rarities included Pacific Diver, Lesser Scaup and  probable Northern Harrier in Cornwall, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk and Northern Harrier and Ross's Geese (2) in Norfolk.

In Ireland a Lesser Scaup was in Co Limerick and a Forster's Tern lingered in Co Galway.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Tuesday 25th January 2011  
  Lingering rarities included Pacific Divers in Cornwall and Co Clare, Lesser Scaups in Gloucestershire and Cornwall, Northern Harrier, Ross's Geese (2) and Ferruginous Duck in Norfolk, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, three Coues's Arctic Redpolls in Co Durham and three Northern Long-tailed Tits in Kent.

The best of the rest included American Wigeons in Ayrshire, Shetland and Leicestershire, Great White Egrets in Hampshire and Suffolk, White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire and Ring-necked Duck in Cleveland.

Late news from yesterday related to an American Purple Gallinule picked up dead in a Dartmoor garden (Devon). This is third British record, following one picked up exhausted on Isles of Scilly in November 1958 and another found dead in Southill Park (Bedfordshire) in April 2008.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Monday 24th January 2011  
  Lingering rarities included Pacific Diver and Lesser Scaup in Cornwall, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Northern Harrier, Ferruginous Duck and Ross's Goose in Norfolk, five Northern Long-tailed Tits in Kent, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire and two King Eiders in Shetland. Coues's Arctic Redpolls were again logged in Bedfordshire and Co Durham.

Ireland produced the American Coot in Co Mayo, Forster's Tern in Co Galway, Northern Harrier in Co Wexford and Ferruginous Duck in Co Armagh.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Sunday 23rd January 2011  
  Lingering rarities confirmed as present today comprised the Pacific Diver still in Cornwall, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Northern Harrier and Ferruginous Duck all in Norfolk, Pied-billed Grebe and House Crow in County Cork, American Herring Gull in County Londonderry, Red-breasted Geese in both Hampshire and Lancashire, Coues's Arctic Redpolls in County Durham (2) and Bedfordshire, Lesser Scaups in Cornwall and Gloucestershire, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk and five Northern Long-tailed Tits together in Kent.

Scarcities included 23 Shorelarks, 13 Lapland Buntings, 12 each of both Great Grey Shrike and Tundra Bean Goose, 11 Iceland Gulls, nine Glaucous Gulls, seven each of Rough-legged Buzzard, Ring-billed Gull and Great White Egret, four Caspian Gulls, three Surf Scoters, two each of both American Wigeon and Ring-necked Duck, and single White-tailed Eagle (Hampshire), Great Shearwater (North Yorkshire), Snow Goose (County Down), Little Auk (County Cork) and Black Brant (Norfolk).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Saturday 22nd January 2011  
  In County Clare, the Pacific Diver reappeared at Finvarra Point, where it showed well off the Martello tower. An adult Franklin's Gull was seen briefly at Birkdale, Merseyside and a White-billed Diver was off Skigersta, Western Isles.

Lingering rarities today included Lesser White-fronted Goose, two Ross's Geese, Northern Harrier and Ferruginous Duck in Norfolk, Pacific Diver and Lesser Scaup in Cornwall, American Coot in County Mayo, House Crow in County Cork, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, seven Northern Long-tailed Tits in Kent, three Coues's Arctic Redpolls in County Durham, King Eider in Moray, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire and Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Friday 21st January 2011  
  In West Yorkshire, a Coues's Arctic Redpoll was found at Fairburn Ings RSPB, but none of the other wintering birds were reported.

Lingering rarities confirmed as still present included Lesser White-fronted Goose and Northern Harrier in Norfolk, Pacific Diver in Cornwall, House Crow in County Cork, Red-breasted Goose in Hampshire, all five Northern Long-taailed Tits in Kent, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire and Richardson's Canada Goose in Argyll.

Scarcity highlights included an unseasonal Great Shearwater off Flamborough, East Yorkshire, a probable eastern form Lesser Whitethroat in County Louth and a flock of six Great White Egrets in Somerset.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Thursday 20th January 2011  
  The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Red-breasted Goose amongst Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Hill Head, Hampshire.

Elsewhere, lingering rarities comprised the Pacific Diver still in Cornwall, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Northern Harrier and Ross's Goose in Norfolk, Pied-billed Grebe and House Crow in County Cork (both on Great Island), Long-billed Dowitcher in Dorset, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire, and five Northern Long-tailed Tits together in Kent.

Scarcities included 32 Shorelarks, 17 Tundra Bean Geese, nine Great Grey Shrikes, four each of Great White Egret, Glaucous Gull and Caspian Gull, three each of American Wigeon, Rough-legged Buzzard and Ring-billed Gull, two each of Ring-necked Duck and Black Brant, and single Lesser Snow Goose (Somerset), Green-winged Teal (Gloucestershire), Little Auk (Ayrshire) and Iceland Gull (Suffolk).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Wednesday 19th January 2011  
  In Highland, a grey morph Gyr Falcon was seen over the moor near Dalwhinnie this afternoon. In East Anglia, at least three Coues's Arctic Redpolls were reported from Martham Ferry, Norfolk, and a Ferruginous Duck was seen at Needham Market, Suffolk, although the identity of the latter was questioned this afternoon, with the bird possibly being a hybrid.

Also in Norfolk, both the Lesser White-fronted Goose and the Northern Harrier remained in-situ, with another of the latter still in County Wexford, together with another Ferruginous Duck at the same site. Five Northern Long-tailed Tits were once again present in Dymchurch, Kent, with other lingering rarities including Glossy Ibis in Kent, Forster's Tern in County Galway, Pacific Diver in Cornwall, Lesser Scaup in Gloucestershire and three Coues's Arctic Redpolls in County Durham.
-  Will Soar, RBA