Weekly birding round-up: 18 - 24 Feb 2020
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Groundhog Day out there, with no respite in the westerlies scything into Britain and Ireland to dump another month’s worth of rain upon us in the space of a day or two. Horrible conditions for all concerned. Watch out for that next storm… it’s a doozy.
And as for birds? Not a lot of change, truth be told.
Shetland’s wintering Tengmalm’s Owl, tucked deep in the sheltered warmth of the Lyndsey Lea plantation at Kergord, had no sooner been relocated there last week than, this week, it started to play hard to get.
The week began well, with it seen once more on 18th, and then… nothing. After an absence of some days, there it was again back in the usual favoured south-easterly corner of the Lyndsey Lea plantation on 23rd – where it resolutely wasn’t again in the morning of 24th.
On Orkney, meanwhile, the young drake Steller’s Eider was seen on Papa Westray again on 23rd also. Theoretically, at least, it ought to be possible to combine both of these legendary birds together in one long weekend courtesy of Northlink Ferries… but, given how intermittently both are being seen, it would be a brave birder indeed who committed to that course of action just yet.
If any bird family was going to be oblivious to all of that weather going on, it was going to be our seabirds. Top of the week’s offerings were the two regular wintering Pacific Divers, in Cornwall and Co.Cork respectively, in Gerrans Bay on 21st, and still in Crookhaven harbour on 20th-23rd.
The White-billed Diver was again seen off Papa Westray (Orkney) on 22nd, while another was noted from Barra (Western Isles) on 20th.
Devon was the place to pick out a Pomarine Skua this week – on 21st two were seen from Berry Head, and a singleton from Start Point; a further bird was seen at the Hayle estuary (Cornwall) on 21st; and on 23rd another sighting came from Berry Head, with one seen in Falmouth Bay (Cornwall) too.
Unsettled conditions at sea contributed to a handful of dead Little Auks being sadly found. Birds still sporting a vital spark were seen on 18th off St Ives (Cornwall) and Bamburgh (Northumberland). On 24th, two were noted off Flamborough (East Yorkshire) and a further single bird was seen from Barra (Western Isles).
Back in Scotland, a Leach’s Petrel was found at Lochailort (Highland) on 18th.
An otherwise peaceful week for long legged beasties was enlivened by a small rush of Glossy Ibis sightings – a possible bird in flight at Harewood (West Yorkshire) on 18th was followed by another in flight at Tramore (Co.Waterford) on 21st and, on 22nd-23rd, settled birds again at Pilmore (Co.Cork) and Newport Wetlands RSPB (Gwent). On 22nd-24th, the regular bird was again noted at Fremington Pill (Devon).
Our non-Norfolk Common Crane sightings peaked again in Cambridgeshire, with a count of a dozen birds at Stonea on 19th. A single bird was reported over Llandovery (Carmarthenshire) on 22nd, and another was seen over Buscot Wick (Oxfordshire) on 24th.
Starting the honkers and quackers with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, the interior Todd’s Canada Goose remained on 18th at Marshside RSPB (Lancashire), with another still present on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 24th; while hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Geese remained on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 18th-20th and North Uist (Western Isles), where the two settled birds were still to be seen on 19th.
Richardson’s Canada Goose at Ballimartin, Ìle yesterday grazing in a field with a big flock of Barnacle Geese! pic.twitter.com/MsRWkvNOQ6
— Peter Stronach ???????? (@macstronach) February 19, 2020
In Highland, the possible Grey-bellied Brant was once more seen near Culloden on 20th.
Black Brants were noted this week at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) on 18th-22nd, Walney (Cumbria) again on 22nd, Falkenham Marsh (Suffolk) again on 22nd-23rd, and in Poole Harbour (Dorset) again on 23rd. Another possible bird was seen at Wells (Norfolk) on 22nd.
In Ayrshire, the white morph Snow Goose was still present at Auchincross on 18th-20th, and the white morph was once again seen on North Uist (Western Isles) on 24th; while an intermediate was seen near Fearn (Highland) on 20th-22nd.
Staying in Highland, the drake Black Duck was still at Strontian on 20th-23rd.
In Devon, the Blue-winged Teal remained at Man Sands on 18th-24th.
Over to Ireland, a first-winter drake American Wigeon was seen at East Coast NR (Co.Wicklow) on 22nd-24th.
Green-winged Teals didn’t quite scale the dizzy heights of double figures this week, with nine birds in all noted, but that was a significant lift on the previous week’s tally. Birds were logged at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) still on 18th-21st, Islay (Argyll & Bute) still on 19th-24th, East Coast NR (Co.Wicklow) still on 22nd-23rd, and at Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire) still on 22nd and North Cave Wetlands YWT on 23rd; and at Druridge Pools NR (Northumberland) on 20th, Barra (Western Isles) on 20th, at Llanengan (Gwynedd) on 22nd-24th and Udale Bay RSPB (Highland) on 22nd. On 24th, the irregularly reported bird was once more seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney).
Numbers of Ring-necked Ducks flat-lined, with 18 birds in all noted across the region, of which three females at Lough Atariff (Co.Donegal) on 23rd were the peak single site count.
Ferruginous Ducks, meanwhile, took a tumble, with just two birds reported after the previous week’s flurry of sightings – at Old Moor RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 18th, and Abberton reservoir (Essex) still on 18th-20th.
Two Lesser Scaups remained available – one still on Loch Ryan (Dumfries & Galloway) on 18th-22nd, and the female in Cornwall on Stithians reservoir on 19th-23rd. Another report of the unconfirmed female at Slapton Ley (Devon) came on 19th.
In Lothian, the drake White-winged Scoter was again seen on the waters off Fisherrow on 18th-23rd; the drake Surf Scoter also remained in the area there on 18th-23rd. Another of the latter species was found on Loch Ryan (Dumfries & Galloway) on 20th; and the drake remained off Ballyvaughan (Co.Clare) on 23rd.
A real wash out this week where shorebirds were concerned, with very little change to report and, for most of the week, just the one Long-billed Dowitcher hanging on, at Bowling Green Marsh RSPB on 18th-24th; then, on 23rd, two more emerged into the open, at Martin Mere WWT (Lancashire), and at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford); and, on 24th, another sighting came from Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire).
Our other news concerned the first-winter Lesser Yellowlegs still present at Nosterfield LNR (North Yorkshire) on 18th-24th.
Missing the headlines by virtue only of the probable prefix, a probable Ivory Gull was seen heading west off Rosehearty (Aberdeenshire) early in the afternoon of 18th.
An adult Bonaparte’s Gull was on Lough Gowna (Co.Longford) on 23rd – a county first for an inland Irish county we don’t hear much of in the weekly news.
Our Ring-billed Gulls remained very much in abeyance for another week, with just six known birds again being reported and no new faces amongst them. These were the adult again in Cornwall at Hayle Estuary RSPB on 18th-23rd; at Llys-y-Fran reservoir (Pembrokeshire) again on 23rd; and, in Ireland, those at Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre on 20th, Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 20th, in Limerick (Co.Limerick) on 20th, and at Blackrock (Co.Louth) on 23rd.
Numbers of white-wingers held firm for another week, albeit not representing any sort of significant influx. Around 50 Iceland Gulls and 40 Glaucous Gulls were logged this week. Peak single site counts came in the form of three Iceland Gulls at Ross Beach (Co.Galway) on 20th, and five of the latter species on North Uist (Western Isles) on 18th.
Kumlien’s Gull were few and far between again this week, with just birds seen in Cheshire at Sandbach Flashes still on 18th, at Stanford reservoir (Northamptonshire) on 18th, at Godrevy Point (Cornwall) on 21st and, in Wales, on 22nd-23rd at Aberavon (Glamorgan) and on 24th at Port Talbot (Glamorgan).
Two of the recent wintering Rough-legged Buzzards nationally stayed in the news this week – the regular individual still at Wells (Norfolk) until 20th, and the Chetney Marshes (Kent) bird again on 19th-23rd. Further reports came from Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 18th and Wragby (Lincolnshire) on 20th; and two more individuals were seen as the week wore on, at Frodsham Marsh (Cheshire) on 20th and Easington (East Yorkshire) on 21st.
A White-tailed Eagle was battling the strong winds, back and forth, over Pool of Virkie (Shetland) on 22nd; another possible sighting came from Hampshire’s New Forest at Splash Bridge on 23rd.
Two of our wintering Eastern Yellow Wagtails remained on offer throughout the week – these being Norfolk’s glorious first-winter male tschutschensis still at Sedgeford on 18th-23rd, and the Northumberland bird still present at Prestwick Carr on 18th-23rd also.
In Cornwall, presumably – though not necessarily – the wintering American Buff-bellied Pipit at Sennen was heard on 19th-22nd at Nanjizal Valley – not a million miles from Sennen, as the pipit flies.
In Hampshire, the Hoopoe remained at Badminston GPs until 24th; the Clynder (Argyll & Bute) bird was again seen on 23rd.
Following recent sightings in neighbouring Dorset, Hampshire got in on the Penduline Tit action this week with a bird found on 18th at Titchfield Haven NNR.
The overwintering first-winter Black-throated Thrush remained in Grimsby (Lincolnshire) on 18th-23rd; no news emerged from Whipsnade Zoo (Bedfordshire) until 23rd, when the male was again reported.
In Cheshire, the maurus Siberian Stonechat remained secure at Ashton’s Flash on 18th-24th.
Both of the recent Yellow-browed Warblers remained in London at Mitcham on 18th-23rd, and in Wiltshire at Westbury sewage works still on 19th-20th.
Numbers of Waxwings took another tumble this week, with around 250 logged in the course of recent days. Of these, peak count was a flock of 55 birds in Nairn (Highland) on 20th.
Eleven Great Grey Shrikes were seen this week, most of which were settled birds but, amongst them, a couple of fresh faces came out of the woodwork – at Usk reservoir (Carmarthenshire) on 21st, and in Norfolk at Fincham on 22nd-24th. Regular wintering birds were noted at Llangorse Lake (Powys) on 18th, Crabtree Hill (Gloucestershire) on 18th-22nd, Frensham Common (Surrey) on 18th-22nd, Croydon Hill (Somerset) on 19th-21st, Brogborough Hill (Bedfordshire) on 19th, Sapperton (Gloucestershire) on 20th, Morden Bog (Dorset) on 21st-23rd, in Cannock Chase (Staffordshire) on 22nd-23rd, and near Holm Hill (Hampshire) and at Backwater reservoir (Angus) again on 23rd.
Absent from the news for a while, the Azores heads up the overseas news this week, with a Northern Waterthrush on Pico on 18th-21st, and a frigatebird sp seen passing Graciosa on 24th.
Also out in the Atlantic, out on the Canaries, a Lesser Crested Tern emerged from the Saharan dust on Lanzarote on 24th; and the Abyssinian Roller was still present on Gran Canaria on 24th.
In Spain, the Brown Shrike remained at O Meson do Vento on 19th-24th.
Closer to home, the meena Rufous Turtle Dove remained in Friesland (Holland) at Sneek on 20th-23rd; another meena remained in Austria at Gramastetten on 21st-22nd.
In Germany, a drake Black Scoter was to be seen around Bulk on 20th-22nd.
Belgium’s resident Pygmy Cormorant remained in Parc Domaine du Val Duchesse on 18th-22nd; the recent French bird remained at Graviere Lobit-Maniron on 22nd-24th.
We finish in Scandinavia – in Sweden, the Eastern Yellow Wagtail was still present at Gislovslage on 20th-24th; and, in Norway, on 19th, a Black-throated Thrush was seen at Sekse and a female/first-winter drake Steller’s Eider was found at Brusand.
The last week of February is not, with the best will in the world, famous for featuring a plethora of top notch rarities. Apart from the usual gull suspects, it’s distinctly slim pickings, all told.
Rarer still are rarities found on February 29th. With 2020 being a leap year, we’re in with a shout this week of adding to a very small and select roll-call indeed this coming Saturday…
Historically, then, we’ve had leap year Ferruginous Duck, White-billed Diver, Black-browed Albatross, Killdeer, and a ship-borne Snowy Owl. Any of which would do us very nicely indeed this weekend.
Jon Dunn
25 February 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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