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| Thursday 28th October 2021 | ||
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The Varied Thrush stuck around to delight the first crowds onto Papa Westray, showing well throughout the day. The pick of the day's discoveries included a Semipalmated Plover at Black Rock in Co.Kerry, Blue-winged Teal on The Mullet in Co.Mayo, White-rumped Sandpiper at Bannow Bay in Co.Wexford, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll on North Ronaldsay, Olive-backed Pipit on St.Mary's (Scilly), King Eider on Mainland Shetland and a male Subalpine Warbler at Landguard in Suffolk. Continuing rarities included White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, Semipalmated Plover in Co.Cork, Western Bonelli's and Hume's Warbler in Shetland, Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire, Lesser Scaup in Somerset and Scilly, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Spotted Sandpiper on Scilly and Bonaparte's Gull in Co.Cork. Scarcities included up to three Black Brant (Dorset), Todd's Canada Goose (Argyll), three Snow Geese (Moray), two Tundra Bean Geese (Shetland), 48 Taiga Bean Geese (Clyde), four American Wigeon, five Green-winged Teal, nine Ring-necked Ducks, two Surf Scoters, three Pectoral Sandpipers, Ring-billed Gull (Co.Louth), 11 Glossy Ibises, four Hoopoes, two Great Grey Shrikes, four Shorelarks, two Rose-coloured Starlings, Bluethroat (Shetland), Red-breasted Flycatcher and Richard's Pipit (both Scilly) and Common Rosefinch (Shetland). |
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| - David Campbell, 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 27th October 2021 | ||
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An American passerine of the highest calibre was found on Papa Westray, Britain's second Varied Thrush. The previous British record famously involved a colourless individual at Nanquidno, Cornwall, in 1982—widely considered a one-off. Non-birder residents reported the bird to have already been present for several days. The only other significant find of the day was a Red-flanked Bluetail at Swining on Mainland Shetland. Meanwhile, lingering rarities included the Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Brown Shrike in Cornwall, White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, King Eider in Moray, Lesser Scaup and Spotted Sandpiper on Scilly, the other Lesser Scaup in Somerset; Red-flanked Bluetail, Hume's Warbler and Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll in Shetland; Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire and Snowy Owl on St.Kilda. The Taiga/Red-breasted Flycatcher remained on Westray, Orkney. The best of the rest included two Black Brants (Dorset), Snow Goose (Merseyside), 86 Taiga Bean Geese (Clyde), American Wigeon (Lincolnshire), five Green-winged Teal, seven Ring-necked Ducks, two Surf Scoters, two American Golden Plovers, four Pectoral Sandpipers, Sabine's Gull (Cornwall), seven Little Auks, six Glossy Ibises, four Hoopoes, Wryneck (Scilly), Great Grey Shrike (Norfolk), nine Shorelarks, Red-breasted Flycatcher (Scilly), and Richard's Pipit and Serin (both Scilly). |
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| - David Campbell, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 26th October 2021 | ||
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| New discoveries today included single Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls at Northdale, Unst and Burn of Sound, Lerwick, both Shetland, a White-billed Diver off Cley, Norfolk and the White-winged Scoter reappeared off Musselburgh, Lothian.
Lingering rarities still present included the White-tailed Lapwing in Yorkshire, Brown Shrike in Cornwall, Red-flanked Bluetail in Shetland, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire, Lesser Scaup in Scilly and Richardson's Cackling Goose in Argyll. Scarcity highlights included a Richard's Pipit, a Wryneck, a Marsh Warbler, a Rose-coloured Starling, a Great Grey Shrike, two Little Buntings, three Hoopoes, four Red-breasted Flycatchers, ten Lapland Buntings, 11 Yellow-browed Warblers, three Pectoral Sandpipers, four Grey Phalaropes, a Surf Scoter, an American Wigeon, three Green-winged Teals, eight Ring-necked Ducks, a Todd's Canada Goose, a Black Brant, a Snow Goose, a Tundra Bean Goose, nine Glossy Ibises, a Leach's Petrel, a Pomarine Skua, ten Little Auks, five Balearic Shearwaters and an Iceland Gull. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Monday 25th October 2021 | ||
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| The highlight of the day was the discovery of a Horned Lark on Dursey Island, County
Cork; the seventeenth Nearctic landbird to be located between Britain and
Ireland since 25th September. Other rarities in Ireland today comprised a Bonaparte's Gull in County Cork, Black Duck in County Mayo, and
Long-billed Dowitcher and Lesser Yellowlegs together in County Wexford. Rarities elsewhere included the White-tailed Lapwing still in East Yorkshire, Brown Shrike and Blyth's Reed Warbler in Cornwall, three Penduline Tits and a Lesser Scaup in Somerset, Arctic Warbler still in Cleveland, Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire, King Eiders in both Lothian and Moray, and at least five White-billed Divers along the coast between Lothian and Norfolk. On the Isles of Scilly the Lesser Scaup relocated to Tresco and the Hoopoe to Bryher, whilst on St Mary's Spotted Sandpiper, Red-throated Pipit, Red-breasted Flycatcher, two Little Buntings, and a total of six Yellow-browed Warblers. On the Shetland Isles Hume's Warbler, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, American Golden Plover, and Red-breasted Flycatcher all remained on Mainland, and a Little Bunting was on Fair Isle. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Sunday 24th October 2021 | ||
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A Blyth's Pipit and an Olive-backed Pipit were found on St.Mary's, Scilly, while a Lesser Scaup appeared off Gugh briefly. Another Lesser Scaup, presumably the regular Somerset drake returning, was identified at Chew Valley Lake. Northumberland had a Lesser Yellowlegs at Monks House Pool and a White-billed Diver past Ross Back Sands. Another White-billed Diver flew past St.Andrews in Fife. Continuing rarities comprised the Brown Shrike in Cornwall, White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Pacific Golden Plover in Co.Kerry, Forster's Tern in Co.Louth, King Eider in Moray, Richardson's Cackling Goose on Islay, Spotted Sandpiper on Scilly, Hume's Warbler and Red-flanked Bluetail in Shetland, and Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire. Other notable reports included Black Brant (Dorset), Todd's Canada Goose (Angus), four Snow Geese, three Green-winged Teal, 11 Ring-necked Ducks, Surf Scoter (Lothian), two American Golden Plovers, three Pectoral Sandpipers, 12 Glossy Ibises, four Hoopoes, Wryneck (Ceredigion), two Shorelarks, Short-toed Lark (Scilly), Pallas's Warbler (Suffolk), three Rose-coloured Starlings, Bluethroat (Shetland), five Red-breasted Flycatchers, three Richard's Pipits, Serin (Scilly), three Little Buntings. |
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| - David Campbell, RBA | ||
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| Saturday 23rd October 2021 | ||
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| New rarities today comprised in Cornwall a Brown Shrike at Pendeen and a
Radde's Warbler at Cadgwith, a Pallid Harrier in Kent at Abbot's Cliff, a
Radde's Warbler in Suffolk at Shingle Street, a King Eider in Lothian at Ravesheugh Bay, a
Ferruginous Duck briefly in Cambridgeshire at Needingworth Quarry, and White-billed Divers
in both County Durham and Fife (2). Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, Semipalmated Plover in County Cork, Forster's Tern in County Louth, both Hume's Warbler and Red-flanked Bluetail on the Shetland Isles, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, King Eider in Moray, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, Ross's Goose in Angus, and Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire. Scarcities included Little Bunting (Shetland), Common Rosefinch and Black Brant (Dorset), Surf Scoter (Lothian), two each of Red-breasted Flycatcher, Rose-coloured Starling, Hoopoe, and Green-winged Teal, three of Pectoral Sandpiper and Sabine's Gull, four of American Golden Plover and Long-tailed Skua, eight Ring-necked Ducks, 11 Glossy Ibises, and 13 Lapland Buntings. Significant late news from Shetland yesterday concerned a Black-throated Thrush at Compass Head, Mainland. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Friday 22nd October 2021 | ||
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| Discoveries today included a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll on the Orkney Isles on North Ronaldsay, a
Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire at Belvide Reservoir, a Dusky Warbler
in Cornwall at Cagdwith, and and at least five White-billed Divers between Norfolk and the Orkney Isles. On the Shetland Isles Red-flanked Bluetail, Hume's Warbler, Western Bonelli's Warbler, and two Yellow-browed Warblers were all on Mainland, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll on Unst, Little Bunting on Fair Isle, and Lapland Bunting on Out Skerries. On the Isles of Scilly Spotted Sandpiper and Lapland Bunting were both on St Mary's, Hoopoe on St Agnes, Red-breasted Flycatcher on Tresco, and Red-backed Shrike on Bryher, with two Richard's Pipits and eight Yellow-browed Warblers around the islands. Elsewhere lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, Semipalmated Plover in County Cork, Pacific Golden Plover in County Kerry, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Blue-winged Teal in Cheshire, Long-billed Dowitcher in County Londonderry, Ross's Goose in Angus, and Dusky Warblers in both Fife and Lothian. Whilst scarcities included Little Bunting (East Yorkshire), Common Rosefinch (County Cork), Rough-legged Buzzard (Essex), Surf Scoter (Western Isles), Sabine's Gull (Cornwall), two American Golden Plover, Rose-coloured Starling, Great Shearwater and Green-winged Teal, three Shorelarks, four Pectoral Sandpipers, seven Ring-necked Ducks, and a total of 21 Glossy Ibises. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Thursday 21st October 2021 | ||
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| White-billed Divers were seen off Newbiggin, Northumberland, Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland and Winterton, Norfolk. A Ross's Goose was present for a 2nd day at Montrose Basin, Angus.
Lingering rarities still present today included the White-tailed Lapwing in Yorkshire, Semipalmated Plover in County Cork, Hume's Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler and Hornesmann's Arctic Redpoll in Shetland, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland, Dusky Warblers in Lothian and Fife, Spotted Sandpiper in Scilly, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall and County Wicklow and Blue-winged Teal in Cheshire. Scarcity highlights included a Red-backed Shrike, a Hoopoe, a Wryneck, a Waxwing, two Shorelarks, two Rose-coloured Starlings, two Lapland Buntings, eight Yellow-browed Warblers, a Surf Scoter, two American Wigeon, eight Ring-necked Ducks, two Todd's Canada Geese, three Snow Geese, a Rough-legged Buzzard, 19 Glossy Ibises, a Ring-billed Gull, two Iceland Gulls, eight Glaucous Gulls, ten Sabine's Gulls, an American Golden Plover, three Pectoral Sandpipers, ten Grey Phalaropes, two Long-tailed Skuas, c49 Pomarine Skuas, two Great Shearwaters, four Balearic Shearwaters, four Leach's Petrels and 33 Little Auks. |
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| - Will Soar, RBA | ||
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| Wednesday 20th October 2021 | ||
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| Rarities today included Two-barred Greenish Warbler and White-tailed Lapwing
both still in East Yorkshire, Greater Yellowlegs still in Aberdeenshire,
American Buff-bellied Pipit on the Western Isles, Semipalmated Sandpiper
in Cornwall, Spotted Sandpiper on the Isles of Scilly, Arctic Warbler in Cleveland,
Cackling Goose in Argyll, and Dusky Warblers in both Fife and Lothian. On the Shetland Isles Hume's Warbler, Greenish Warbler, and Yellow-browed Warbler were all on Mainland, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll and Yellow-browed Warbler on Unst, Surf Scoter on Fair Isle, and Ring-necked Duck on Yell. In Ireland Semipalmated Plover and Red-breasted Flycatcher were both in County Cork, Long-billed Dowitcher remained in County Londonderry, Lesser Yellowlegs in County Wicklow, Glossy Ibis in County Waterford, and three American Golden Plovers. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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| Tuesday 19th October 2021 | ||
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| The Shetland Isles provided the highlights today with a White's Thrush on Out Skerries, a
Hume's Warbler on Mainland (at Boddam) along with Radde's Warbler,
Red-breasted Flycatcher, Great Grey Shrike, three Blyth's Reed
Warblers, and three Little Buntings, on Fair Isle Red-flanked
Bluetail, Olive-backed Pipit, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Little
Bunting, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Surf Scoter, and Spotted
Crake, and on Unst a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll. Discoveries elsewhere included an Eastern Stonechat species on the Orkney Isles on Eday, a Dusky Warbler in Fife at Kilminning, and in County Waterford a Lesser Yellowlegs at Tramore. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were both the Two-barred Greenish Warbler and White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire, Semipalmated Plover in County Cork, American Buff-bellied Pipit and two Cackling Geese on the Western Isles, Baird's Sandpipers in both Nottinghamshire and Somerset, Wilson's Phalarope in County Wexford, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, Dusky Warbler in Lothian, and Lesser Yellowlegs in both Couty Clare and County Wicklow. |
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| - Chris Batty, RBA | ||
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