Weekly birding round-up: 2 - 8 Jun 2020
What a difference a day makes, they say, and what a different week the one just gone was to the week that preceded it – the difference being a northerly airflow that firmly slammed the door on much late migrating bird action.
That’s not to say it was an entirely quiet week. Birds were still filtering through. The summer doldrums aren’t upon us just yet…
Britain’s seventh Green Warbler remained on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) this week, by some margin the rarest bird in the news, if not available should anyone have been of a mind to see their first British bird – for now, travel within Scotland remains considerably more constrained than within England, and to and from the island groups particularly so. This, then, was a bird for North Ron’s residents to enjoy to themselves.
A small fillip of hope came on 8th, however, when another bird was trapped and ringed across the water in Telemark (Norway). There will, if not this year, certainly be more spring records the way things are going, and one of them will eventually be at a readily accessible east coast location, to the delight of many who blanch at the prospect of twitching Scottish islands.
For perhaps the first and last time, we’ve got Blyth’s Reed Warblers soaring up into the week’s headlines. Granted, we’d enjoyed a good few in the news the prior week, but once we comfortably rattled into double figures in the week just gone, there was clearly something going on. Not an influx on the scale of Rose-coloured Starlings, but certainly something remarkable.
By my reckoning, this past week featured at least 17 Blyth’s Reed Warblers from Shetland in the north to Dorset in the very south, with a handful of further probable or possible birds that defied certainty, at least for now.
(One of which, at the time of writing, is lurking deep in the plantation near my house on Whalsay, present for days now and resolutely refusing to utter more than snatched phrases of song that alternately sound favourable for Blyth’s Reed or Marsh. It also refuses to go anywhere near a mist net, so for now remains something of an enigma).
Most this week weren’t so fiendish. Starting in Scotland, birds were found on North Uist on 2nd still, on South Uist on 5th, and Barra on 8th (Western Isles); in Shetland at Sandwick still on 2nd, on Fair Isle on 3rd-6th with it or another trapped and ringed on 8th, at Durigarth on 4th, and Scatness on 5th; and Orkney scored birds on Papa Westray on 6th and a possible at Rendall on Mainland on 8th. Eastern England had a good spell, starting with one at The Naze (Essex) on 5th; Suffolk got birds at North Warren RSPB on 6th and at Southwold on 7th-8th; Norfolk birds at Beeston Bump on 7th-8th and North Walsham on 8th; and Lincolnshire an individual at Far Ings NR on 7th-8th.
Further outliers were discovered on Portland (Dorset), where one was trapped and ringed on 5th; and on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 8th.
Many – indeed, most – of these birds were in song – which rather begs the question of how many more songsters went unnoticed along the under-watched areas of the east coast, and how many silent, unobtrusive female birds went unfound altogether. How long do we give before Blyth’s Reed Warblers are found breeding somewhere in Britain at the current rising frequency with which they’re being seen and heard?
From news of one modest influx to another that’s gathering pace even as we speak – that being the burgeoning numbers of Rose-coloured Starlings streaming into western Europe and, happily for us, into Britain too.
Some 70 birds were recorded in recent days, the length and breadth of Britain – though not, as yet, particularly in Ireland – one still at Hags Head (Co.Clare) on 2nd being it this week. They will come, surely…
Certainly they were turning up in numbers in Britain – several sites recorded multiple birds – Lewis (Western Isles) enjoyed three on 4th, with two still on 5th-7th; and duos were logged at Land’s End (Cornwall) on 3rd, at Fleetwood (Lancashire) on 5th, on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 6th-7th, at Seaton (Devon) on 6th-7th, and in a Nanpantan garden (Leicestershire) briefly on 7th.
The moral of the story being that they’re here, they’re still coming, and one could conceivably turn up in any garden, inland as well as coastal. Good luck!
We’ll start our seabirds section of proceedings this week in Devon where, off Prawle Point in the early morning of 6th, a White-billed Diver seen motoring west had no business being off the south coast at this point in summer’s proceedings – a fabulous and unexpected bird for the fortunate finder. If it should have been many hundreds of miles north by this time of year, it wasn’t alone – a couple of tardy male Snow Buntings were also seen on the south coast this week, in Cornwall and East Sussex.
Another White-billed Diver was found on 7th, in cooler waters, off Dunbar (Lothian).
In the absence of any skuas of note bar a Long-tailed seen from South Uist (Western Isles) on 7th, it falls to Dorset to provide much of the balance of our interesting seabirds – Portland accounting for around a dozen Balearic Shearwaters between 2nd and 7th, with a peak daily count of six birds off there on 4th; and further single birds seen from Cogden Beach on 6th and 7th. Thurlestone (Devon) contributed one further example on 8th, while one was seen that day in Mount’s Bay (Cornwall).
A mixture of settled birds and new arrivals were available amongst our long-legged beasties this week – the tempo of the prior week being somewhat lost in recent days.
Starting in Ireland, the female Little Bittern remained at Knock Lake (Co.Dublin) on 5th, while the recent first-summer Purple Heron was also still to be seen there on 2nd-7th.
In Somerset, on the Levels the recent first-summer Purple Heron was now to be found at Shapwick Heath NNR on 2nd-4th; further sightings this week came from West Yorkshire where a bird was fleetingly present at St Aidan’s RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 2nd, and Wintersett reservoir on 4th.
A trio of Night Herons cropped up this week – in Kent, one was present near Seabrook on 3rd-4th; a first-summer bird was a good find in Herefordshire near Ross-on-Wye on 4th; and one was sound-recorded passing over Birdport (Dorset) after dark late on 4th.
In Worcestershire, the week’s only Glossy Ibis remained settled at Lower Moor until 8th.
Sightings of wandering Common Cranes dried up again this week – two on the move over Hinckley (Leicestershire) on 2nd, and two seen on 7th at Selby (North Yorkshire) being about the sum of it, with only the bird still on Unst (Shetland) at Norwick on 2nd-8th for company in the daily news.
Finally, the singing Corncrake remained on territory in Norfolk at Thorpe Marshes NWT on 2nd-4th, while one present in Co.Kerry at Cahersiveen on 8th had been present there for some days beforehand.
A familiar face heads up the still peaceful rarity duckpond this week – the drake American Wigeon once more seen in Northumberland at Grindon Lough on 6th-7th.
Further south, in Leicestershire the Green-winged Teal remained in Leicestershire on Eyebrook reservoir on 2nd-8th.
Out on North Uist, the drake Lesser Scaup was still to be seen on Loch Sandary on 3rd-8th.
Last, and very much least, the female Blue-winged Teal in the closing days of the prior week at Castle Island (Northumberland) bore a closer look and, it transpired, was in fact a hybrid Shoveler x Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal.
Ducks, eh? Just can’t help themselves.
Top of the week’s waders has to be our latest Broad-billed Sandpiper, only marginally more accessible than the last… a bird found in Norfolk at Potter Heigham in the morning of 5th.
Nearctic contributions at the scarcer end of the spectrum came, once more, from North Yorkshire where the first-summer Lesser Yellowlegs remained settled at Nosterfield LNR on 2nd-8th; from Angus, where on 7th a Pectoral Sandpiper was found at The Lurgies; and from Ireland where a first-summer American Golden Plover was seen at Lady’s Island Lake (Co.Wexford) on 2nd.
Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex) was graced by an elegant Black-winged Stilt on 6th-8th; another was found on 7th in Suffolk at Dunwich.
A small arrival of Red-necked Phalaropes were discovered this week – the settled female at Grindon Lough (Northumberland), still present until 8th, being joined nationally by further birds at Castle Island (Northumberland) on 2nd, North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire) on 3rd and 8th, Misson (Nottinghamshire) on 4th, and Marshside RSPB (Lancashire) on 6th. On 7th further birds were found at Belvide reservoir (Staffordshire), Little Marlow GPs (Buckinghamshire), Chew Valley Lake (Somerset), and Blanket Nook (Co.Donegal); and on 8th, at Smallways (North Yorkshire).
We’ve all manner of early summer gull’n’tern loveliness to go at this week, so we’ll start in north Kent where the regular adult Bonaparte’s Gull had returned for its eighth summer at Oare Marshes KWT on 5th, remaining there on 8th at least. A further possible bird was seen at Kingfishers Bridge NR (Cambridgeshire) on 5th also.
Numbers of white-winged gulls took a nosedive again this week. A trio of Glaucous Gulls were the almost exclusive preserve of Scottish islands – juveniles were present on Lewis (Western Isles) on 2nd-6th and Benbecula (Western Isles) on 3rd-7th, while a final bird was seen on South Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 6th. The only exception to this rule was the bird still present in Lincolnshire at Pyewipe on 8th.
Iceland Gulls meanwhile were restricted to individuals found on North Uist (Western Isles) on 3rd, on Lough Muree (Co.Clare) on 4th, and South Uist (Western Isles) on 8th.
A possible Gull-billed Tern seen at Great Houghton (South Yorkshire) on 5th preceded a confirmed bird t Muckrush (Co.Galway) on 7th.
Two Caspian Terns were logged this week – one on 3rd at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) and another, Swedish-ringed, bird on 7th-8th at Potter Heigham (Norfolk) – the latter site, with Broad-billed Sand already to its credit in recent days, was having a good week.
Kent was dominating sightings this week of the ever lovely Red-footed Falcons, though birds were found right across the south of England, from Kent in the east to Cornwall in the west where, at Polgigga, a first-summer male was seen on 2nd. In between, Dorset scored an absolutely belting male at Ferrybridge on 4th, and female at nearby Lodmoor RSPB on 5th.
That brings us back to Kent, where the sightings came thick and fast. A first-summer female bird remained at Stodmarsh NNR on 2nd, with a first-summer male also present there on 2nd-3rd; a female was seen at Sandwich on 2nd, while a male was at Oare Marshes KWT on 3rd; a first-summer male was noted at Conyer Marsh on 3rd; a female at Dungeness on 5th; a male on 6th at Worth Marsh; a first-summer female at Grove Ferry on 7th; and one again at Worth Marsh on 7th.
The sole outliers to all of this southern action were a probable female seen near Leeming Bar (North Yorkshire) on 3rd, and an unconfirmed report of a male on 8th seen in Lancashire at Appley Bridge.
Back in Kent, a female Montagu’s Harrier was also logged on 5th.
Norfolk began the week with sightings of possible Black Kites over Norwich on 2nd and at Wereham on 3rd, before a further report on 4th at Roughton. A confirmed bird was present on the Isle of Wight at Bembridge on 3rd and Norfolk finally got a confirmed bird at Rockland St Mary on 7th.
A handful of northerly White-tailed Eagle sightings were made this week – one at Garstang (Lancashire) on 2nd; an adult over Whiteness (Shetland) on 3rd; and an immature in North Yorkshire at Grosmont on 5th. One more was reported from Little Walsingham (Norfolk) on 7th.
We’ve already touched upon former top drawer rarity Blyth’s Reed Warbler in the headlines, with many birds found right down the country this week. Clouding the issue somewhat once again were Marsh Warblers, with some individuals of both species taking a little while to unravel when they weren’t singing classically well, and were being typical, skulking Acro headaches in the field. As Orcadian rarity finder par excellence Martin Gray remarked this week, the family can really soak up the effort for a sometimes less than inspiring return…
All that said, when a Marsh Warbler is really giving it beans and singing loud and proud, they’re emphatic and unequivocal. A good few were doing just that in recent days, with some 26 birds in all logged nationwide, from Shetland in the north to Essex and Devon in the south. Several sites enjoyed multiple birds – duos were noted on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 2nd, on Fair Isle on 6th-7th, and on the Shetland mainland at Boddam on 6th also.
A Savi’s Warbler, anywhere, is a good bird – but one on Shetland is a proper full-blooded rarity. One found in song at Scatness on 8th was perhaps even more of a surprise – after a couple of days of strong northerlies, Monday dawned calm and sunny, and up popped the bird in Steve Minton’s garden. Had this arrived earlier in the week and only now filtered down to the southern tip of the Shetland mainland? Another was found this week on 2nd, in the more typical surroundings of Ham Wall RSPB (Somerset), whilst on 7th-8th one was in full voice at North Warren RSPB (Suffolk).
A couple of Great Reed Warblers added their voices to the spring warbler clamour in recent days – birds being found on 2nd at Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) and on 5th-8th at Druridge Pools NR (Northumberland).
Back in Suffolk, the singing Iberian Chiffchaff remained at Minsmere RSPB on 5th-7th. Another possible bird was singing at Burton Marsh (Cheshire) on 4th.
A handful of Icterine Warblers were discovered this week – Shetland sightings came from Fair Isle on 2nd and 6th-7th, with three present on 8th; on Out Skerries on 3rd-5th; and on Mainland at Geosetter on 6th. One more was in song at Barton-upon-Humber GPs (Lincolnshire) on 4th.
Some 25 Red-backed Shrikes were seen in recent days, with Fair Isle landing two birds on 5th rising to five on the island on 8th, and two remaining on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) until 7th. Two Woodchat Shrikes were found on 7th – one on the Orkney at Loch of Harray, and the other in Somerset at East Coker, the Orkney bird at least still present on 8th.
A Lesser Grey Shrike found on the Shetland mainland at Vidlin on 5th was either the archipelago’s second bird in as many weeks or, perhaps, the Unst bird moving down through the islands.
The same might be said for the male Citrine Wagtail found on Fair Isle on 4th-8th – the recent Foula bird remained there until 2nd, but wasn’t seen thereafter. Had it merely relocated?
A male Grey-headed Wagtail was seen on 3rd at Easton Bavents (Suffolk); another was on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 7th. A Blue-headed Wagtail was found on 7th at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent).
The week’s only Bluethroat was, once again, in Shetland – seen at Grutness on 2nd.
A first-summer male Red-breasted Flycatcher was singing on Barra (Western Isles) on 2nd while, the following day, another bird was found in Essex at The Naze.
Golden Orioles have been a notable feature of the news lately, but things were quietening down this week. St Mary’s (Scilly) retained at least two birds in song on 2nd-5th; and another was heard at Knotting Green (Bedfordshire) on 5th. On 7th a bird was reported from Wicken Fen NT (Cambridgeshire), while on 8th another possible was in North Yorkshire on Brimham Moor.
Bee-eaters, on the other hand, continued to pop up here and there. Two remained in Orkney on South Ronaldsay on 2nd-6th, presumably also accounting for a sighting on the Orkney mainland on 3rd at Rendall; on 2nd, single birds were logged at Dungeness (Kent) and Kilnsea (East Yorkshire), while two were seen in Norfolk at Brancaster Staithe; and then, on 7th, the week’s main event – a flock of 12 birds in Cornwall at Halvosso. On 8th single birds were found in northern England at Wintersett reservoir (West Yorkshire) and Eccleston (Cheshire).
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Sitting here and not the headlines but for the ambiguity about what to call a white-rumped swift sp, when the possibilities are (broadly speaking) Little, Pacific, White-rumped or aberrant Common, one of any of those was seen on 7th in the late morning of 7th at Old Felixstowe (Suffolk).
St Mary’s (Scilly) held onto a Red-rumped Swallow on 3rd-8th.
North Ronaldsay (Orkney), meanwhile, landed a Short-toed Lark on 5th.
Common Rosefinches were found this week scattered to all corners of the UK – predictable northern birds being found on Shetland on 6th at Quendale and on Fair Isle, the latter remaining until 8th with a second bird present on 7th; and one in at Dunnet Bay (Highland) on 8th. Eastern examples were seen on 2nd at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) and Landguard NR (Suffolk); and more unanticipated birds came in the form of one on the south coast at Pett Level (East Sussex) on 2nd and a western bird out off the Welsh coast on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 4th-6th.
A couple of Serins were seen this week – one on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 3rd, and the other on Portland (Dorset) on 5th.
Finally, the week ended strongly with a fine pair of buntings in northern Scotland - a male Black-headed Bunting was in a garden near Gairloch (Highland) in the evening of 8th while, earlier that day, a male Rustic Bunting was seen at Cruden Bay (Aberdeenshire).
Dear Twitter, can anyone please identify this little bird?
— Annie O'Garra Worsley ??? (@RedRiverCroft) June 8, 2020
The photos aren't brilliant but I'm hoping someone can help!
Pics taken a few mins ago in our garden (surrounded by semi-wilded farm land in NWHighlands, Scotland), one with goldfinch for size comparison.
Thank you! pic.twitter.com/ar1xWohxPj
British birders wanting to daydream wistfully needed look no further overseas this week for inspiration than Scandinavia where, on 5th, the nation’s second Long-toed Stint was seen in Finland at Siilinjarvi and, on 6th, a Greater Sand Plover was found in Sweden at Vasteras.
Yes please…
Another Green Warbler was trapped and ringed this week, this time in Norway on Jomfruland on 8th.
Germany also provides food for thought, in the form of a Bridled Tern seen heading north past Sylt on 1st, while the Eastern Imperial Eagle remained at Randowbruch Zehnebeck on 8th.
In France, meanwhile, the Elegant Tern remained at Polder de Sebastopol on 6th-8th.
Holland held onto the leucopsis Amur Wagtail at Rockanje on 4th-8th.
In Poland, the Great Black-headed Gull remained at Siemianowka reservoir on 2nd.
Spain’s Pied-billed Grebe remained on 7th at Grijalba.
Finally, in Portugal, the recent Yellow-crowned Night Heron remained in Faro on 2nd-7th.
The second week of June is one traditionally redolent with all sorts of interesting and extraordinary birds. There’s the Egyptian Nightjar seen on Portland (Dorset) on 10th June 1984, for starters…
…and the Rock Sparrow at Cley on 14th June 1981 too.
They seem otherworldly to this day, and we’ll not be predicting another one any time soon. The coming week though is a good one for top drawer waders, boasting the likes of White-tailed Lapwing, Greater Sand Plover and Long-toed Stint in the past. Both of the latter two species have been seen in recent days in Scandinavia…
Closer to home, lately, another bird has been seen that seems a good outside bet for the week to come. The Bridled Tern seen off the German coast on 1st is eminently capable of crossing the North Sea at will. One to watch out for, surely, in the days to come? One (or a Sooty Tern) has been seen from north-east England in 2018 and 2019… so there is, possibly, some useful precedent going on here. We’ve enjoyed nailed-on Sooty Tern in recent years, and maybe assumed those either/or birds related to that individual… but another Bridled would be a welcome turn of events indeed.
Jon Dunn
9 Jun 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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