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
Wednesday 11th December 2013  
  The highlight of the day was the discovery of a male Desert Wheatear in Gloucestershire at Severn Beach, whilst in Lothian a King Eider was located at Gullane.

Elsewhere, rarities comprised the Baikal Teal still in Merseyside, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northamptonshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Two-barred Crossbills in Gloucestershie (17), South Yorkshire (7) and Shropshire (2), and Glossy Ibises in County Kerry, Isles of Scillt and County Waterford.

Scarcities included Hoopoe (Conwy), Cattle Egret (Buckinghamshire), Dotterel (Cornwall), Surf Scoter (Dorset), and Yellow-browed Warbler (Devon and Dorset), with 13 Parrot Crossbills and a Yellow-browed Warbler in Nottinghamshire, and in Norfolk, Parrot Crossbill, Rose-coloured Starling, Richard's Pipit, Yellow-browed Warbler and two Rough-legged Buzzards.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Tuesday 10th December 2013  
  Rarities today comprised the Baikal Teal still in Merseyside, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northamptonshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Glossy Ibis in both Kent and Pembrokeshire, with Two-barred Crossbills in Gloucestershire (17), South Yorkshire (5), Shropshire (2) and Surrey.

Scarcities included a flock of 14 Parrot Crossbills in Nottinghamshire, Rose-coloured Starling (Norfolk), Hoopoe (Conwy), Rough-legged Buzzard (Essex), Surf Scoter (Fife), Cattle Egret (Buckinghamshire), Sabine's Gull (Pembrokeshire), two Yellow-browed Warblers, four each of both Ring-billed Gull and Green-winged Teal, and five Great Grey Shrikes.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Monday 9th December 2013  
  Lingering rarities included the Baikal Teal in Merseyside, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northamptonshire, Pied-billed Grebe on Western Isles, Bonaparte's Gull in Devon, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire and Two-barred Crossbills in South Yorkshire (9), Gloucestershire (6) and Kent. In West Sussex the probable Pacific Diver was again off Worthing.

Scarcities included Hoopoe in Conwy, Cattle Egret in Buckinghamshire, Parrot Crossbills in Suffolk (2), Nottinghamshire (1+) and Kent, Yellow-browed Warblers in Devon and Scilly and Melodious Warbler in Dorset.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Sunday 8th December 2013  
  A King Eider was off Nairn, Highland, whilst four newly reported Glossy Ibises were in Cornwall, one at Marazion, one at Helston and two on the Hayle Estuary (where there were four yesterday).

The Baikal Teal remained in Merseyside, with other lingering rarities including Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northamptonshire, Two-barred Crossbills in Kent, Surrey, Norfolk, Yorkshire (eight) and Shropshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Black Duck in County Mayo, Blue-winged Teal in Orkney, Bonaparte's Gull in Devon and Glossy Ibis in the Isles of Scilly.

Scarcity highlights included a Melodious Warbler, six Yellow-browed Warblers, a Hoopoe, a Rose-coloured Starling, four Great Grey Shrikes, four Rough-legged Buzzards and at least 35 Parrot Crossbills.
-  Will Soar, RBA
Saturday 7th December 2013  
  Highlight of the day was the discovery of three Ivory Gulls - two together at Seahouses (Northumberland) and one at Boddam (Aberdeenshire). Elsewhere a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northamptonshire was present for its second day (having previously been misidentified as a Yellow-browed Warbler) and two Richardson's Cackling Geese were in Co Clare, whilst lingering rarities included Baikal Teal in Merseyside, Two-barred Crossbills in Gloucestershire (7+), South Yorkshire (7), Shropshire/Worcestershire (4), Kent and Norfolk, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Bonaparte's Gull in Devon, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan and Glossy Ibises in Scilly, Co Cork and Kent.

The best of the rest included Cattle Egrets (Norfolk and Buckinghamshire), Parrot Crossbills (9 in Norfolk and 1 in Kent), Yellow-browed Warblers (Hampshire, Devon, Scilly and Dorset), two Serins (Scilly), Rose-coloured Starling (Norfolk), Melodious Warbler (Dorset) and Kumlien's Gull (East Yorkshire).
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Friday 6th December 2013  
  The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Pied-billed Grebe on the Western Isles; at Balranald, North Uist.

Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Baikal Teal in Merseyside, Bonaparte's Gull in Devon, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Blue-winged Teal in the Orknry Isles, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, Black Kite in Kent, Glossy Ibis in Gloucestershire, with Two-barred Crossbills in Kent, Norfolk, Shropshire (2) and South Yorkshire (7).

Scarcities included Melodious Warbler (Dorset), Rose-coloured Starling (Norfolk), Cattle Egret (Buckinghamshire), Pectoral Sandpiper (County Armagh), Surf Scoter (two together in Gwynedd), Lesser Snow Goose (two together in Argyll), a total of four Yellow-browed Warblers, and nine Parrot Crossbills: two in Derbyshire, seven in Norfolk.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Thursday 5th December 2013  
  Highlight of the day was a flyby Ivory Gull logged off Tarbat Ness (Highland). Elsewhere a Blue-winged Teal was on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and lingering rarities included American Golden Plover in Cornwall, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Lesser Scaup in Co Galway and Two-barred Crossbills in Gloucestershire (3) and Surrey. Glossy Ibises were in Norfolk and Kent.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA
Wednesday 4th December 2013  
  The highlight of the day was the discovery of a juvenile Ivory Gull on the Western Isles, at Baleshare, North Uist. Another northern visitor was a white morph Gyr in County Clare at Clahane, although in North Yorkshire the Brunnich's Guillemot could not be found at Filey.

Rarities elsewhere comprised the Baikal Teal still in Merseyside, Forster's Tern in County Galway, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Lincolnshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, American Golden Plover on Cornwall, and Black Kite in Kent, with Two-barred Crossbills still in Kent, Shropshire (2) and South Yorkshire (5).

Scarcities included Rose-coloured Starling (Norfolk), Cattle Egret (Buckinghamshire), American Wigeon (County Leitrim), Rough-legged Buzzard (Cleveland), Yellow-browed Warbler (Devon), Surf Scoter (2 together in Norfolk), three each of Lesser Snow Goose and Ring-billed Gull, four Great Grey Shrikes, and 13 each of both Parrot Crossbill and Shorelark.
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Tuesday 3rd December 2013  
  The highlight of the day was a Brunnich's Guillemot in North Yorkshire; photographed late in the afternoon at Filey. Previously, there is only one accepted record of a live Brunnich's Guillemot seen in England - on the Farne Islands, Northumberland on 13th July 1977. Furthermore, of the 42 accepted British records only 16 have been seen alive, and only five of these have ever been successfully twitched from afar: all on the Shetland Isles.

Rarities elsewhere comprised the Baikal Teal still in Merseyside, American Robin and Lesser Scaup on the Western Isles, Caspian Stonechat on the Isles of Scilly, Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Lincolnshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, American Golden Plover in Cornwall, Glossy Ibis in both Essex and the Western Isles, and 15 Two-barred Crossbills; three in Gloucestershire, singles in Kent and Norfolk, three in Shropshire and seven in South Yorkshire.

Scarcities included Rose-coloured Starling (Norfolk), Richard's Pipit (Cornwall), Surf Scoter (Dorset), Cattle Egret (Buckinghamshire), Ring-billed Gull (Hampshire), two American Wigeons, four each of both Yellow-browed Warbler and Great Grey Shrike, nine Shorelarks (together in Lincolnshire), and 22 Parrot Crossbills (including 21 together in Norfolk).
-  Chris Batty, RBA
Monday 2nd December 2013  
  Highlight of the day was the continued presence of the drake Baikal Teal at Crossens Outer Marsh (Merseyside). Elsewhere lingering rarities included Two-barred Crossbills in Gloucestershire (9), South Yorkshire (7), Shropshire/Worcestershire border (4), Surrey and Kent, American Golden Plover in Cornwall, Lesser Yellowlegs in Hampshire, Glossy Ibises in Essex and Co Wexford and Bonaparte's Gull in Devon. In Lincolnshire a probable Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler was at Gibraltar Point NNR for its sixth day.

The best of the rest included Rose-coloured Starlings in Cornwall and Norfolk, Yellow-browed Warblers in Devon and Co Cork, Parrot Crossbills in Norfolk (23), Shropshire/Worcestershire border and Kent and Cattle Egret in Buckinghamshire, whilst a Wryneck was reported in Cornwall.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA