Weekly birding round-up: 11 - 17 Feb 2020
Another winter week, another storm whipping in from the Atlantic, complete with accompanying torrential rain and lashings of misery. What it did not, however, presage were vast numbers of interesting new birds…
The ink had barely dried on last week’s Round Up with the breaking, belated, news that a Tengmalm’s Owl had been seen in Shetland just before Christmas last year, before the pagers were chiming to announce that it was still present, two months down the line.
I’d been hoping to find a moment to go and have a look for it myself, on the offchance, but others were quicker than me out of the blocks. Immense kudos to Phil Harris for relocating the bird so quickly in the plantations at Kergord on 11th – where it remained until 15th at least, allowing a number of Shetland birders to remake their acquaintance with it. Phil, to be fair, has some form with relocating lost Tengmalm’s Owls as it was him who re-found last year’s bird when it moved a mile or two away from the initial garden in which it had been seen.
We infer that it’s a familiar bird for Shetland birders, but it’s impossible to be certain that this is one and the same individual that graced the Central Mainland and Unst last year. However, the coincidence of the two records coming so close to one another both in location and timing is certainly striking; but then again, multiple birds are also a possibility in the wake of a year in which we know several of their kind were on the move across the North Sea and into Orkney and Shetland alike.
The storms of the past week are unlikely to have unduly bothered it, tucked deep inside the larches of Lindsay Lea plantation, so we’d assume it’s probably going to be available there for anyone interested in the weeks to come, given a decent window in the weather.
Predicting another American Herring Gull would be found this past week always had something of the air of shooting fish in a barrel about it – it just felt likely, given the time of year, precedence, and recent weather conditions. That said, there’s a yawning gulf between what should be out there and somebody actually finding it.
Happily, though, one was unearthed on 14th at Seaton (Devon) – a dark chocolatey brown example, at that. Devon’s last bird was over a decade ago, the long-staying individual that haunted Budleigh Salterton in February and March 2009. Unfortunately this latest bird wasn’t proving so confiding, as it wasn’t seen after 14th, but I’d not be in the least bit surprised if it crops up again in the southwest in the days to come.
For good measure, last week’s new bird remained in Ireland at Castletown Bearhaven (Co.Cork), being seen again there on 16th.
Had things only firmed up a little, we might have seen Pacific Diver returning to the headlines this week. A bird found in the waters off Southampton at Weston Shore on 12th was initially considered a possible, with feelings towards it firming up to a probable status by 14th, though matters weren’t helped by it remaining distant and the lingering presence of a handful of Great Northern Divers causing confusion for some. Were it to be confirmed, this would be Hampshire’s first record, so there’s plenty to play for.
Confirmed Pacific Divers remained in Co.Cork at Crookhaven on 13th and in Cornwall at Pentewan Beach on 16th.
A White-billed Diver was again seen off Papa Westray (Orkney) on 12th.
A Pomarine Skua was logged at Pilling Lane (Lancashire) on 12th, with another seen on 16th in Devon from Berry Head; and, on 17th, back in Lancashire another singleton was noted at Morecambe, while in Devon a dark morph was seen near Dawlish.
The week’s sole Little Auk was one noted on 16th off Berwick-upon-Tweed (Northumberland).
A probable and unseasonal Cory’s Shearwater was logged heading south off Dungeness (Kent) on 17th.
Reported only intermittently now, the juvenile Purple Heron was once more seen at Eagland Hill (Lancashire) on 11th-15th.
Sightings of Glossy Ibises dried up somewhat this week, with just the regular bird again noted at Newport Wetlands RSPB (Gwent) on 11th.
Away from Norfolk Common Crane sightings peaked in Cambridgeshire once more, with a top count at Knarr Fen on 15th of 13 birds. Elsewhere, two were seen in East Yorkshire at Goole on 13th still.
Moving on to our honkers and quackers, usually by some margin the busiest section of proceedings at this time of year. After a bit of a hiatus last week, The Goose Formerly Known As Canada was back with a vengeance this week. Starting in North Uist (Western Isles), the two hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Geese remained on the island on 13th; nearby, on Lewis, a probable interior Todd’s Canada Goose was seen on 13th also. Another interior Todd’s Canada Goose was noted on 14th-17th at Marshside RSPB (Lancashire); and a further sighting came on 17th in Cumbria at Campfield Marsh RSPB.
Marshside RSPB also contributed a possible Grey-bellied Brant again on 14th-15th and again on 17th, also seen at Banks Marsh NNR on 16th.
Black Brants, meanwhile, were seen this week at Wyke Regis (Dorset) on 11th; Falkenham Marsh (Suffolk) on 12th-17th; Swale NNR (Kent) on 14th; Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex) on 14th; and again at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) on 14th. Loads on 14th, then. Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like a bunch of Black Brants, does it?
Scotland remained where it was at for decent ducks, and they come no better than the Orcadian juvenile drake Steller’s Eider still present at Papa Westray on 12th.
Lothian’s scoters remained in situ too – the drake White-winged Scoter and his drake Surf Scoter counterpart both still hanging around in the waters off Fisherrow until 17th.
In Northumberland the drake Black Scoter remained off Cheswick on 12th.
A particular feature of this week were sightings of Ferruginous Ducks, with a decent scatter of records away from the regular drake at Blashford Lakes HWT (Hampshire) still on 14th. Further drakes were noted at Seeswood Pool (Warwickshire) still on 11th-14th; Abberton reservoir (Essex) still on 12th-17th; Frickley CP (South Yorkshire) on 13th-15th; and Johnny Brown’s Common (West Yorkshire) on 15th-17th.
Three Lesser Scaups remained on offer too – one still on Loch Ryan (Dumfries & Galloway) on 12th-17th; the female in Cornwall on Stithians reservoir on 13th; and one in Co.Antrim at Portmore Lough RSPB still on 15th-16th; a further unconfirmed report of a female was made from Slapton Ley (Devon) on 16th.
Numbers of Ring-necked Ducks noted this week dropped back to 15 birds, amongst which the reappearance of the quartet on the Devon/Cornwall border at Upper Tamar Lake on 13th-14th were most notable.
In Highland, our resident drake Black Duck was once more seen in Strontian on 17th. It won’t be long now before he’s making overtures to the lady Mallards…
In Devon the young drake Blue-winged Teal remained at Man Sands on 11th-17th – looking particularly dapper now, it has to be said.
Sightings of Green-winged Teals fell through the floor this week, with just three birds reported. One remained at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) until 17th; the Blennerville (Co.Kerry) individual was still present on 15th; and one remained on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 16th-17th.
And so to the shorebirds, where not a lot new was occurring again this week. Pick of the mix was in Ireland where the juvenile American Golden Plover remained at Ballylongford (Co.Kerry) on 12th.
Sticking with Ireland for a moment longer, in Co.Wicklow the Long-billed Dowitcher was once more seen at Kilcoole on 13th. Our recent Devonian bird was once more at Bowling Green Marsh RSPB on 11th-17th.
The first-winter Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Nosterfield LNR (North Yorkshire) on 13th-17th.
Finally, the long-staying Grey Phalarope remained at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) until 14th; a dead individual was found on Lundy (Devon) on 11th.
The previous week’s Bonaparte’s Gull in Cornwall remained this week at Padstow on 11th-12th, with another first-winter bird seen on 13th in Devon at Northam Burrows.
Numbers of Ring-billed Gulls remain subdued again this week – I can recall a time when I first started writing these round ups when we’d scale the dizzy heights of double figures every week in Ireland alone during the winter months. Chatting to an Irish birder a few days ago, his notebook for 2005 records that he’d seen nine different individuals by early February of that year, all bar one of which were in Cork city or Cobh. Times have definitely changed for these handsome birds.
This week, then, we’ve Irish sightings from Co.Antrim, where birds were seen in Carrickfergus harbour on 12th and near Belfast waterworks on 12th-13th; in Co.Kerry at Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre on 11th-16th and nearby Blennerville on 15th also; at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 15th; and in Limerick (Co.Limerick) on 16th. The Cornish adult bird remained at Hayle Estuary RSPB on 11th-17th.
Numbers of white-wingers continued to be steady, but unremarkable, with around 50 Iceland Gulls and 40 Glaucous Gulls logged this week. Peak single site counts came in the form of five of the former species at Killybegs (Co.Donegal) on 12th, and six of the latter bruisers on North Uist (Western Isles) on 13th.
A third-winter Kumlien’s Gull was again seen at Shawell (Leicestershire) on 12th and at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) again on 14th and 17th. Adult birds were seen at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 13th-15th and Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre on 16th; Mousehole (Cornwall) on 15th-16th; and in Cheshire at Sandbach Flashes on 12th-17th.
The ghost of the northwest continued to haunt us this week, with another sighting of the possible adult Vega Gull in the Sandhills area of Liverpool on 17th. If it only gets pinned down and identified conclusively, we’ve a first for Britain on our hands.
Sightings of wintering Rough-legged Buzzards took a dent this week, with only the recent Wells (Norfolk) bird seen regularly on 11th-17th. A further individual was noted at Thirsk (North Yorkshire) on 14th, and a further unconfirmed report of one in South Yorkshire at Old Moor RSPB came on 17th.
A metal-ringed White-tailed Eagle seen in the New Forest (Hampshire) on 13th is, by all accounts, not from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme. A further bird of unknown origins was reported from Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 15th.
Finally, a Black Kite was reported from Trunch (Norfolk) on 14th.
All three of our recent wintering Eastern Yellow Wagtails were seen, off and on, again this week, while news from Portugal suggests that my daydreaming last week about them being seen more regularly in winter months in western Europe may not be so outlandish a suggestion after all… In Norfolk, the stunning first-winter male tschutschensis remained at Sedgeford on 11th-17th; the Northumberland individual was last reported from Prestwick Carr on 12th; while the Havergate Island RSPB (Suffolk) bird was again seen there on 13th.
Both recent Hoopoes were still available this week, at Badminston GPs (Hampshire) on 11th-17th and in Clynder (Argyll & Bute) on 12th-17th; another Hampshire report came on 17th from New Copse Inclosure in the New Forest.
Similarly, both the overwintering male Black-throated Thrushes remained for another week – the budget first-winter bird still in Grimsby (Lincolnshire) on 11th-17th, and the premium Whipsnade Zoo (Bedfordshire) option also on 13th at least.
In Cheshire, the maurus Siberian Stonechat remained dug in at Ashton’s Flash on 11th-17th.
Yellow-browed Warblers remained in London at Mitcham on 11th-17th and in Wiltshire at Westbury sewage works still on 11th-17th; and, on 17th, another was to be found in Somerset at Greylake RSPB.
Sightings of Penduline Tit(s) kicking around Weymouth came again from two sites – at Radipole RSPB on 12th and Lodmoor RSPB on 14th. We know there are at least two birds in the area, maybe more…
Somewhere in the region of 400 Waxwings were logged this week, with the peak counts coming from Lothian where, on 13th, 100 birds were seen in Edinburgh; and Glasgow (Clyde), with a similar tally noted on 17th.
Reflecting the general sense of hatches being battened down by birds and birders alike this week, a rather denuded tally of wintering Great Grey Shrikes were reported this week. English sightings came from Sapperton (Gloucestershire) on 11th-15th; Cannock Chase (Staffordshire) on 11th-16th; Croydon Hill (Somerset) on 11th-14th; Brogborough Hill (Bedfordshire) on 13th-17th; Hatfield Moors NNR (South Yorkshire) on 13th; and Frensham Common (Surrey) on 15th. In Aberdeenshire sightings came from Clashindarroch Forest on 13th and Muir of Dinnet NNR on 14th.
Portugal, for once, heads up the overseas news this week with a truly remarkable haul of Eastern Yellow Wagtail sightings. Belated news emerged of no fewer than 13 birds present at Vila Franca de Xira on 8th, with nine birds at least still present the following day; and, on 12th, singletons ascribed to both forms tschutschensis and plexa were still there.
On the Canaries, the Abyssinian Roller remained on Gran Canaria on 11th-16th; and the Eastern Yellow Wagtail on Fuerteventura on 16th-17th still.
Continuing that theme, in Malta the Eastern Yellow Wagtail remained at Salina NR on 16th.
I predicted we might be in for a Laughing Gull this week on the back of the recent westerlies. Turns out my prediction was right, just not in Britain – one was found in Morocco at Essaouira on 14th, the seventh national record of the species.
In Kuwait the Brown Shrike remained at Jahra Pools on 11th; and the Purple Sunbird at Fnaitees on 14th.
Returning closer to home, in Holland the meena Rufous Turtle Dove remained in Friesland at Sneek on 11th-17th.
On Guernsey, the American Royal Tern was again seen on 11th-17th.
For yet another week it would be a foolhardy rarity soothsayer who ignored the recent westerlies and their potential for bringing us something in off the Atlantic. That something continues to feel likely to be a gull of some description.
Harkening back to my musings earlier in the piece, I’d like to throw down the gauntlet to folks to go find a Ring-billed Gull - not the rarest of creatures by any means, but certainly scarcer now than in recent years. And entirely doable almost anywhere in Britain and Ireland. One for the self-found and local patch lists, perhaps?
And who knows what other gull loveliness you might unearth whilst looking…
Jon Dunn
18 February 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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