Weekly birding round-up: 29 Sept - 5 Oct 2020
I’d love to say that sometimes the Rarity Round Ups write themselves – if only that were true, especially in a week with quite as many daily records of scarce and rare birds to sift through and assimilate – but there’s something in that turn of phrase when a mid-autumn week is quite as bejewelled with rarities from east and west alike as the week just gone…
There was a buzz in the ether as the week began, with birders speculating about what a truly promising set of south-easterlies could bring to, initially, the northern isles of Scotland and, latterly, the east coast of Britain as a whole. Those winds delivered – and how! – but as it happened, the biggest news of all was of a westerly persuasion…
Any birder who’s visited Shetland has almost certainly visited Yell. That’s not to say they’ve actually stopped on the island for longer than it takes to drive across it to catch the ferry to Unst… because, if we’re honest, despite being a large island with a host of habitats, hidden gardens, and pockets of shelter, Yell stands in the considerable birding shadow cast by its neighbour to the near northeast. And that’s to say nothing of Fetlar, too.
All of which is to do poor Yell something of a disservice. Shetland’s extremities regularly yield a litany of rare birds, and there’s a case for that being a geographic thing – Fair Isle and Foula must act like magnets for birds flying over the open sea, while Unst and Sumburgh represent the first (or last) landmasses for many arriving or departing migrants. Yet observer coverage surely has something to do with it too… for since Dougie Preston moved to Yell in the early years of the new century, with a resident birder on there the island has begun to show that it’s no slouch when it comes to decent birds after all.
Dougie’s found some really tasty birds on Yell down the years – the likes of American Buff-bellied Pipit, White-winged Scoter, Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Pallid Harrier to name but a few, none of which are to be sniffed at – but this week he really hit the jackpot when, on the morning of 29th, he found a cracking Tennessee Warbler on his local patch in Burravoe.
A find like that really is the stuff of dreams come true for anyone. Only the fifth of its kind for Britain, that brings the British total level (briefly, as we’ll see in the overseas news) with that of the mighty Azores… Two of our previous Tennessee Warblers were seen in Shetland – our first national record, on Fair Isle on 6th-20th September 1975, was remarkably followed by our second example just a few days later, on 24th September of the same year.
After that, not too long a wait elapsed before Orkney got a look in – one was present on Mainland at Holm on 5th-7th September 1982. Thirteen years passed until our final bird, one that arrived during the superb autumn for American vagrancy of 1995, a one-day bird on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 20th September. I remember that one particularly well as, exhausted after an intense week birding Shetland, the mega alert chimed while I was driving down the M1 at some speed and, foolishly, I picked up the pager to see what was occurring. The mixed emotions engendered by the bird’s rarity and inaccessible location were rapidly replaced by sheer terror when I glanced back at the road to find the traffic stationary ahead of me… and, while like every twitcher of the day, I missed that bird as it might as well have been on the moon for how twitchable it would prove to be, I also fortunately missed piling into the static car at the back of the fast-approaching traffic jam by a gnat’s whisker.
Not proud of that, really. Kids, don’t look at your pagers or phones while you’re driving…
But on the subject of pride, Dougie can rightly bask in the glory of this latest bird. While not as colourful as some Nearctic warblers we might care to mention, Tennessee Warblers are possessed of a subtle beauty all their own. The churlish might infer they’re a bit Willow Warbler-ish, but what Willow Warbler ever sported a string of pearly white-tipped dark primaries like this little dancer?
Watching the bird feeding in the sycamores at Burravoe, a steady stream of local and visiting birders were treated to it acrobatically clambering through the leaves, throwing thoroughly un-Phyllosc shapes as it fed actively, occasionally sharing a tree with a Yellow-browed Warbler for added east-meets-west value. This certainly didn’t look like a newly-arrived, exhausted bird…
…and, as the day drew in, online optimism from birders heading north towards Scottish airports had to be tempered by news from Shetland – the warm, sunny day had given way to a cloudless evening, with the merest breath of southerly wind, and a full moon rising. If ever there were conditions for a bird to succumb to a bit of zugunruhe and move on, these were them.
Sure enough, despite one report to the contrary in the morning of 30th, birders could find no further sign of it as the day unfolded. Britain’s latest Tennessee Warbler, 25 years after our last, appeared to be another one day Scottish bird after all.
Then, on 1st, heart-breaking news for anyone who’d tried and failed and departed (or never flew to Shetland) on 30th – the bird was definitely still there, and remained so until 4th, showing marvellously well at times. For now, at least, that’s the bird of the year in Shetland…
We’ve enjoyed a fair few Woodchat Shrikes in recent weeks in Britain but, as the clock ticks on later into the autumn, we can be forgiven for dreaming of rarer birds besides. Given what else we had landing on our shores this week, I’m frankly amazed we’ve not had another Brown Shrike to show for ourselves, or another Isabelline sp… though, in Whatsapp messages and texts in recent days, birders were invoking the really big eastern guns. Could we be on for another Long-tailed Shrike on this weather forecast?
Well, no. Not yet, anyway. But when news that a Woodchat Shrike, found in the morning of 3rd by Stephen Addinall on Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland) had, after an initial view that lasted mere seconds, been subsequently re-found and re-identified as a Masked Shrike, nobody was complaining.
Britain’s first wasn’t so very long ago – the long-staying bird that spent 29th October – 14th November 2004 delighting a steady stream of admirers at Kilrenny (Fife). That crowd-pleaser was swiftly followed by a much more fleeting individual, a one day wonder on 1st November 2006 on St Mary’s (Scilly). Now our duck had been broken, were we on for regular birds thereafter? Turns out we weren’t, for eight years elapsed until our next record, another long-stayer, this time on Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 20th September – 2nd October 2014.
Six years further down the line, here we are with another one, present on Hartlepool Headland on 4th – raising the tally to four British records, three of which have been east coast birds. Norfolk and Shetland could be forgiven for looking on with some envy, and wondering when they will be similarly blessed by a Masked Shrike of their own…
Time was when Two-barred Greenish Warbler rather neatly divided birders into two categories – you’d either been around and been on Scilly in 1987 and ticked the Western Palearctic’s first Two-barred Greenish Warbler… or you hadn’t. In the years that followed it seemed like a blocker in the making and then, of course, it got slightly lost during the wilderness years when it and Green Warbler were lumped into Greenish Warbler.
It took until the start of 2018 when the BOU decided to follow the taxonomy decisions of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) for Two-barred Greenish Warbler to reappear, blinking in the bright light of this brave new taxonomical world, on the British list as a species in its own right. A shade over 30 years in the grey neverland of taxonomic purgatory, during which time four more birds were found – in Norfolk in 1996 at Holkham; back on Scilly on Bryher in 2003; at Filey (North Yorkshire) in 2006; and on Papa Westray (Orkney) in 2016.
All of which is sufficient to tell us that the species remained a genuinely rare beast on these shores – roughly equating to one bird every six years. That changed somewhat in 2017, when two birds were discovered – a spring bird on Foula (Shetland) on 30th May; and a more typically autumnal record from St Aldhem’s Head (Dorset) on 15th-18th October.
The pace of records appears to be picking up, with more records in the last couple of years, including Ireland’s first example, on Dursey Island (Co.Cork) on 26th October 2019. It’s in danger of becoming annual, at this recent rate… a trend that seems set to continue this year as, on 29th-2nd, a Two-barred Greenish Warbler was to be found at Budle Point (Northumberland) – a county first, and a deservedly popular one.
Genuinely, it’s hard to know where to begin with the rare thrushes this week, such was the embarrassment of riches we were blessed with. Starting chronologically, the first shot across our bows came from Kilminning (Fife) on 30th with the discovery there of a first-winter female Siberian Thrush.
I’d confidently predicted that Shetland would be scoring one of them this week – not such a wild stab in the dark given the weather forecast and Shetland’s rich pedigree for this enigmatic, top drawer thrush. Of the dozen accepted British records to the end of 2018, fully half are from the archipelago. The balance, meanwhile, are split between Norfolk and Orkney (two records apiece), Scilly, and Fife. While Shetland has come to dominate proceedings where Siberian Thrushes are concerned, we owe Britain’s first record to Fife – an adult male that stayed on Isle of May for 1st-4th October 1954.
I’m guessing there can’t be many, if any, extant Fife birders with that bird on their list, so the lingering presence of the county’s latest example, still present at Kilminning until 5th, will have been most welcome indeed. The less said about how many I’ve dipped in Shetland (and Scilly), the better…
Given we’ve had our first White’s Thrush of the autumn, courtesy of Fair Isle on 26th September, and given they’re not in the same rarity ballpark as Siberian Thrush, we might have been tempted to drop another bird on Fair Isle this week down into the main body of the news…
But that would be criminal, given the glorious nature of the past week for Sibes of all kinds, and any week that includes a multiple one-day arrival of White’s Thrushes is a week in which they’ve emphatically earned the retention of their headline billing.
Three birds arrived, more or less simultaneously, on 1st – two of them in Shetland, one on Fair Isle and the other at the southern end of Mainland at Quendale; and the other on North Ronaldsay (Orkney). Both the Quendale and North Ron birds were still present on 2nd.
Orkney is no stranger to the headlines thus far in 2020, and North Ron has been enjoying a particularly rich vein of form lately, but that was all set to improve still further…
…as Dante Shepherd’s recent run of good fortune showed no signs of letting up any time soon when, halfway through the day on 2nd, he bumped into a first-winter Eyebrowed Thrush, a bird destined to remain on the island until 5th.
Orkney’s enjoyed three previous birds, the latest two of which have been on North Ronaldsay, making this week’s individual the third since 2009. The last bird, of course, was the eye-wateringly colourful and dramatic one day adult male found on 30th September 2014. A bird that launched many an idle bird-finding daydream at the time…
What next for North Ron and Dante? One of two things is going to happen, sooner or later – either the good birds dry up at last, or he’s going to get really lucky with a first for Britain…
We can’t leave Orkney just yet in the headlines as, out of the blue on 30th, the Swainson’s Thrush trapped and ringed at Swannay on the Orcadian Mainland on 17th, and last seen there on 18th, made a surprise return to the nets after an absence of almost a fortnight. Where had it been lurking all the meanwhile?
This was followed, on 1st, by another Swainson’s Thrush trapped on an island, albeit one a long way from Orkney, and trapped more by accident than design. This latter bird flew into a house on Dursey Island (Co.Cork), and was subsequently released none the worse for the experience. Not a bird that’s going to set Irish birders’ hearts a-racing, though – there was no access to the garden, and access to Dursey Island itself involves, of course, a cable car crossing over the strongly tidal Dursey Sound.
With six of Ireland’s seven accepted records to date of Swainson’s Thrush owing themselves to Co.Cork, this was probably one for the records rather than the local-listing enthusiasts.
Anthony McGeehan knows a thing or two about finding rare birds in Ireland – and he’s well-placed to judge the difficulty involved in obtaining decent views of Co.Galway’s second Upland Sandpiper, a bird he found on Inishbofin on 30th and which lingered, elusively, until 4th.
Initially found on call (yes, I’m well-impressed by that too) in a large field of rushes, when flushed it habitually headed for the horizon before hiding itself in dense cover once more. Anthony describes watching it, at two hundred metre range, slinking into lines of rushes in a conscious effort to avoid being seen by him.
This is not one of the tame sort that have shown up on Scilly down the years, then…
To say it’s Co.Galway’s second record is to do this Upland Sandpiper a significant disservice – Co.Galway has the distinction of providing Ireland’s first ever example of the species, but that was a little while ago now – a bird in 1855 near Ballinasloe that was, in the euphemisms of the day, ‘obtained’… and there hasn’t been one since, though Ireland now has a further 11 accepted records on the books. A cracking find on all levels then.
The same could be fairly said for Ireland’s latest Northern Harrier - to date, all of Ireland’s eight accepted records owe themselves to Co.Wexford and Co.Wicklow – with six and two records apiece, respectively.
The stats get even more exclusive – all of the Co.Wexford birds were seen in or around Tacumshin; and all of the Co.Wicklow birds in the Kilcoole area. Those eight records owe themselves to an intense five year period between 2010 and 2015, but since then… nothing.
Good news, then, for Co.Cork birders this week with the discovery of a fresh juvenile Northern Harrier at Barry Head on 2nd – a bird that remained present there until 4th at least, working its way around the stubble fields there. That’s a good bird in any context, let alone as a long overdue county first.
There just isn’t enough space in the headlines for another Black-browed Albatross, not least coming so soon after the prior week’s double bill of North Sea records. None of which is to understate how fabulous another record is, not least when it’s almost certainly a different individual… The ink was barely dry on the prior week’s round up, and the Suffolk bird not long departed from sight out to sea, when in the morning of 29th Brian Gibbs found a Black-browed Albatross on the opposite seaboard in Somerset off Hurlstone Point. And that wasn’t the end of the Albert sightings this week, as Ireland got in on the act again on 3rd with a further brace – one seen at sea off Belmullet (Co.Mayo) in the early afternoon, heading south; and then, just before 6pm, a further sighting from Brandon Point (Co.Kerry).
Numbers of Leach’s Petrels took a tumble in recent days – September’s final bird was seen on 30th from Berry Head (Devon); and then on 2nd single birds were seen from Holland Haven CP (Essex) and Southwold (Suffolk), with two more reported from Frinton-on-Sea (Essex), and two additional birds seen from Tresco (Scilly) that day also. On 4th five birds were seen from Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo); and on 5th one more from Pendeen (Cornwall).
Frinton-on-Sea also provides us with our only report of a Cory’s Shearwater this week, on 29th.
Balearic Shearwaters, on the other hand, numbered in the high hundreds rather than the single figures – around 800 birds were logged in recent days, with a peak on 30th when some 500 were recorded, of which the week’s highest single site tally came from Prawle Point (Devon), where 214 birds were seen that day.
A shade over 25 Pomarine Skuas were logged this week, most of which were single birds – the exceptions being two seen from Dungeness (Kent) on 30th, four from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 3rd, two past Findhorn (Moray) on 4th, and two off Tarbat Ness (Highland) on 5th.
Long-tailed Skuas were in even shorter supply – our sightings being restricted to single birds off Thorpeness (Suffolk) on 29th and Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) and in Poole Bay (Dorset) on 2nd; with two more seen on 30th from Carnsore Point (Co.Wexford); and on off North Queensferry (Fife) on 4th.
A White-billed Diver was seen in Shetland at Hestingott on 2nd, but not subsequently. A possible bird was reported on 5th from Ross Back Sands (Northumberland).
Orkney brings the week’s seabirds to a close, with a Little Auk seen from the ferry off South Ronaldsay on 2nd.
The recent modest influx of Glossy Ibises has left us a few lingering birds, with one or two popping up in new spots in recent days. The settled individual at Dungeness (Kent) remained present all the week, joined throughout by a second bird; in Somerset, the Chard reservoir bird remained until 5th, with another in the county at Ham Wall RSPB on 1st-3rd, and one again at Steart WWT on 29th; and the regular Devon bird was once more seen at Fremington Pill on 29th. Fresh English sightings came from Coalhouse Fort (Essex) on 30th and Martham Ferry (Norfolk) on 3rd-5th. In Ireland, one was seen again at Swords (Co.Dublin) on 29th.
Adding a touch of variety to the long-legged beasties was a brief juvenile Purple Heron at Burton Mill Pond (West Sussex) on 3rd, seen again there on 5th; another juvenile was found on 5th in Staffordshire at Tittesworth reservoir.
A handful of migrant Corncrakes were found this week – one picked up and taken into care on 30th at Pegwell Bay (Kent); another was on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 2nd; and one was flushed at Melby (Shetland) on 4th.
My day didn't quite go to plan when I found this injured Corncrake at #Pegwell. Thanks to Nik @mitchellsnik for dropping everything & coming to help & @rtaylorjones for advice. Sadly its leg was so badly broken it had to be put to sleep. I got to hold it & hear it call ???? pic.twitter.com/QGw38DsUPP
— Keith Ross (@ramsgatebirds) September 30, 2020
A Spotted Crake was once again seen at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire) on 29th, with another still present at Westhay Moor NNR (Somerset) on 29th also. One remained on Tresco (Scilly) on 29th-5th; one more was found on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 1st; and another on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 4th.
We’ve both honkers and quackers to go at again this week – a sure sign of the changing tempo of the seasons. Starting with the former, two white Snow Geese remained on South Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 1st-5th; and an intermediate morph was found on 5th in Findhorn Bay (Moray).
Further south in Scotland, we had some representatives of The Goose Formerly Known as Canada - a probable interior Todd’s Canada Goose in Findhorn Bay (Moray) on 30th; and two Cackling Geese on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 3rd.
Moving onto the quackers, we’ll stay in Scotland for starters where, on the Western Isles, four Blue-winged Teals remained on North Uist at Loch Mor and Loch na Paisg on 29th-4th, while two were seen on 4th again on Barra at Eoligarry, and a female was seen on Termoncarragh Lake (Co.Mayo) on 5th.
In Highland, the drake Black Duck was still alive and well at Strontian on 30th.
A probable eclipse drake Green-winged Teal was once more seen on 4th at North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire).
Moving back to Ireland, an eclipse drake American Wigeon was seen on Rahasane Turlough (Co.Galway) on 29th-30th.
A drake Ring-necked Duck, meanwhile, was found in Co.Clare at Ballyallia Lake on 2nd; British birds were seen this week on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 29th-2nd and Pine Lake (Lancashire) on 30th-3rd; on 5th, a drake was seen at South Lakeland Leisure Village (Lancashire), and a juvenile on Termoncarragh Lake (Co.Mayo).
We finish the quackers back in Scotland where, on 29th-5th, a drake King Eider was brightening up Burghead Bay (Moray); and Surf Scoters were seen from Colonsay (Argyll & Bute) still on 29th, at Musselburgh (Lothian) still on 29th-5th, in Lunan Bay (Angus) on 1st, and in Shetland in the tidal passage between Yell and Unst on 4th-5th.
As passerine migration was firing on all cylinders, the numbers of interesting shorebirds began to take a bit of a tumble this week. That said, there were some cracking birds still to be seen, not least – for the extremely fortunate who happened to stumble upon hidden birds – some Great Snipes carried to the east coast by the same propitious winds that were dumping so many excellent passerines in our midst. On 2nd one was flushed on Sandilands golf course (Lincolnshire); and on 3rd, one was was seen coming in off the sea at Landguard NR (Suffolk), while a further probable bird was flushed in Burnham Overy Dunes (Norfolk). Another possible bird on St Mary’s (Scilly) continued to tease Scilly list keepers – flushed from a field with no general access, and not re-found subsequently.
Waders of a westerly persuasion were still being found too. While numbers of Buff-breasted Sandpipers were well down – one remained in the vicinity of Ballykelly (Co.Derry) on 29th-3rd; on 1st birds were seen on Papa Westray (Orkney) and at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire); and on 3rd one was seen at Rainford (Lancashire) – numbers of American Golden Plovers were very much in the ascendency...
Starting in Ireland, one remained at Rahasane Turlough (Co.Galway) on 29th-2nd; in Co.Derry, birds were seen at Myroe Levels on 30th again, with two birds at Ballykelly on 2nd and one there still on 4th, and a juvenile at Lough Beg on 1st and 3rd. Two or three Scottish examples were seen or heard – one remained on North Uist (Western Isles) still on 1st, while in Shetland one was noted at Skellister on 3rd, a further possible at Stenness on 30th, and one more on Unst on 4th. In England, one remained at Farlington Marshes HWT on 29th-30th; in Kent, sightings came from Dungeness on 29th and West Cliffe on 3rd; and on 3rd an adult bird was seen in Cornwall at Pendeen – whether this was one and the same bird reported on 4th that transpired to be a Golden Plover was unclear. A confirmed bird was rcorded in flight over St Mary’s (Scilly) on 4th, perhaps accounting for the bird the following day on neighbouring Tresco. Another was found on 5th on South Uist (Western Isles).
Kentish Plovers were found along the English Channel coast at Pilsey Island (West Sussex) still on 29th-3rd, and at Ferrybridge (Dorset) on 2nd.
Two Dotterels remained on Tresco (Scilly) on 29th-3rd; single birds were seen on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 1st, and at Dungeness (Kent) on 3rd.
17 Pectoral Sandpipers noted across Britain and Ireland remained a respectable haul – Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) retained a peak count of three individuals on 30th-1st; elsewhere duos were seen near Lytham (Lancashire) still on 29th-1st and again on 4th, and at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) still on 29th-1st.
Sightings of the smaller Nearctic sandpipers more or less dried up altogether – a White-rumped Sandpiper was noted on Lewis (Western Isles) on 29th; while the recent Semipalmated Sandpiper was once again seen at Godrevy Point (Cornwall) on 1st.
Lingering Long-billed Dowitchers remained at Anthorn (Cumbria) on 29th-30th and Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 29th-1st; another bird was seen in Dorset at and nearby Lytchett Fields RSPB on 29th-2nd and again on 5th.
Tacumshin also retained its recent Lesser Yellowlegs on 29th-3rd, with one still on North Uist (Western Isles) on 29th also. English examples were found at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 1st-2nd and again on 5th, Bank Island (North Yorkshire) on 1st-3rd and at Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 4th; on 5th, one was once more recorded from Nosterfield LNR (North Yorkshire), the site having last hosted an example back on 10th August.
Some 35 Grey Phalaropes were recorded this week – most, of course, from seawatching vantage points, but not all: one lingered at Farlington Marshes HWT (Hampshire) on 29th-3rd. Notable single site tallies came from Cley (Norfolk), where five were logged on 29th; and Pendeen (Cornwall) where seven were noted on 30th.
A probable Red-necked Phalarope was seen at Middleton Lakes RSPB (Warwickshire) on 2nd; a confirmed bird was found on 4th-5th in Norfolk at Salthouse.
We conclude with the best phalarope of all – a Wilson’s Phalarope found in Lancashire at Martin Mere WWT on 29th-1st.
While their numbers were well down on what we’ve enjoyed lately, several single Sabine’s Gulls continued to make their observers’ seawatching days this week. On 29th, birds were seen from Hill Head (Hampshire) and Pett Level (East Sussex); on 30th, from Prawle Point (Devon) and Bardsey (Gwynedd), with another from the latter vantage point on 1st. On 2nd it was the turn of the east, with sightings made at Canvey Island (Essex) and, in Suffolk, from Slaughden, Southwold and Minsmere RSPB. Back in the southwest on 3rd, birds were noted from St Martin’s (Scilly) and Pendeen (Cornwall), with another Cornish probable that day at St Ives. On 4th further widely scattered records came from Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland), Pendeen, and Ullapool (Highland).
In Ireland, a couple of adult Ring-billed Gulls were seen on 3rd – one apiece for Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) and Blackrock harbour (Co.Louth).
October 3rd also supplied two Glaucous Gulls - these being recorded at Pendeen (Cornwall) and on Lewis (Western Isles). One more was in Scalloway (Shetland) on 5th.
Pendeen also scored an Iceland Gull on 3rd-4th; this was preceded by sightings from Rillage Point (Devon) and West Burra (Shetland) on 29th.
Lastly, an adult White-winged Black Tern was found in Suffolk on 4th at North Warren RSPB.
A certain Irish harrier aside, it was a fairly quiet and inconclusive week on the raptor front, redeemed mainly by a Pallid Harrier in Norfolk at Wighton on 5th, with another reported that day from Suffolk over Hollesley Marshes RSPB in the early afternoon.
An unconfirmed report of a Rough-legged Buzzard came from the traditional surrounds of the Isle of Sheppey (Kent) on 3rd at Shell Ness; while a confirmed bird was seen on 3rd at Graveney Marshes (Kent).
A possible Black Kite was reported from Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 1st.
More substantial in every sense, the female Snowy Owl was still going strong on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 3rd.
Well now. The passerines and their ilk. Strap yourselves in, this is going to be quite a ride…
We may have had busier weeks of easterly action in the past, but not many of them – the week just gone was, to keep the hyperbole short’n’sweet, epic. It’s hard to know quite where to begin but, as is our wont at this time of year, let’s dive into the warblers and go from there.
(That also allows me to get my garden news out of the way early on…)
Ask any birder in Shetland worth their salt at this time of year what they enjoy finding the most, and I’m sure a good few would opt for a Locustella warbler – furtive, skulking, challenging birds to dig out of dense cover, birds that make you feel like you’ve earned them by the time you’ve discounted Grasshopper Warbler and pinned their identities down to one of the rarer options. As a rule, they’re hard work, but always rewarding.
Sometimes, though, they give themselves up, and this week Shetland featured a couple of particularly splendid, birder-friendly examples of their kind. Things kicked off magnificently on 1st for Jamie Partridge on Unst when he found a Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler tootling around in the open outside his Burrafirth accommodation…
That bird went on to give visiting birders some extraordinary views of this perennial Shetland speciality, with images taken the following day that are some of the best I’ve ever seen of the species anywhere, let alone taken in Britain.
That wasn’t the end of the Shetland PG Tips story this week, though, for another was found on Foula on 1st-4th; and then on 3rd my daily Rare Bird Alert spreadsheet work was rudely interrupted by Whalsay birder John Lowrie Irvine appearing at my kitchen window in a state of some agitation – he’d seen a dark Locustella fly from the ditch at the foot of my drive. Having left his phone at home, the news was being shared on foot before we could join forces to see if it was what he thought it was…
Shortly afterwards, the bird flew back up to my garden, landing on short grass for long enough for us to confirm the good news – another Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, this one destined to remain in my fields until 5th, to the delight of a steady stream of visiting birders. Not, however, a house tick… this was the second PG Tips I’d seen here… and the first one beat Blue Tit (also a house tick this week, one of an influx of tits into Shetland currently) onto the house list by 17 years…
There’s another coveted Locustella that Shetland enjoys prominence for delivering and that is, of course, the finely streaked beauty that’s a Lanceolated Warbler. We’ve all heard the old chestnut tales of ridiculously tame examples walking over birders’ boots on Fair Isle, but the reality of these arch-skulkers is that more often than not they’re an absolute nightmare to see well. A probable bird at Bigton on 30th was following that unhelpful plot, and couldn’t be relocated on 1st, though Foula landed a confirmed example that day. Sumburgh, meanwhile, delivered the stereotypical goods on 2nd-3rd, with an absurdly confiding bird that performed outrageously for all comers.
Moving into the Phylloscs, a Western Bonelli’s Warbler was found at Easington (East Yorkshire) on 4th.
A Greenish Warbler remained in Norfolk at Winterton on 29th, but Arctic Warblers were now the more likely wing-barred option – Co.Wexford’s recent bird remained at Churchtown on 29th-1st; one was seen on Yell (Shetland) on 29th-4th also; while further birds were found on 3rd-5th in Wells Woods (Norfolk) and Tynemouth (Northumberland). The latter bird flirted with becoming one of the week’s biggest headliners of all – three initial photos taken on 3rd raised fears that this might, in fact, prove to be a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler though, as focus intensified on those images that evening, sages with field experience of the latter species raised doubts… and sure enough, on 4th, the mood music had swung back towards Arctic Warbler after all. Probably just as well, given the local lockdown restrictions in place… On 5th, one more was found on the Shetland Mainland at Voe.
The first of hopefully many Pallas’s Warblers to come made touchdown in Kent at Foreness Point on 3rd.
Dusky Warblers too will be featuring in numbers in the weeks to come, but this week the news belonged to their better-marked cousins, Radde’s Warblers, with a double figure haul made in recent days nationally down the east coast from Shetland to Suffolk. On 1st, Shetland birds were found on Foula and Whalsay – the latter bird remaining until 3rd, and giving me another house tick – my 185th species which, while I’m chuffed about that, still leaves me miles adrift of some 200+ tallies on Unst and in the South Mainland… Further Shetland examples this week were seen in the South Mainland at Rerwick on 2nd-3rd, Pool of Virkie on 3rd, and Brake on 4th.
It was the English east coast’s turn to shine for Radde’s as the week wore on – on 3rd, birds were found at Ryhope (Co.Durham); in Norfolk at East Hills, Holkham Pines, and Winterton South Dunes; and in Suffolk at Gunton. Things started to get silly on 4th – in Co.Durham alone, sightings came from Horden, Trow Quarry and Ryhope once more; in Norfolk, at Burnham Overy Staithe and Wells Woods; at Southwold in Suffolk; inland in Cambridgeshire at Peakirk; two birds were found at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire); and one more was added to Shetland’s tally at Aith. On 5th one more was found at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk), and another at Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland).
Dusky Warblers, meanwhile, were seen at The Naze (Essex) on 3rd-5th; a possible was heard only at Kilminning (Fife) on 4th, with a confirmed bird that day at Sculthorpe Moor NR (Norfolk); and further birds were found in Shetland at Aith and Collafirth on 5th.
Booted Warbler remains a surprisingly big bird for Suffolk – one found by Dave Fairhurst practically on his doorstep at Sizewell on 3rd being only the fifth county record, though a one-eyed Garden Warbler at Sizewell was proving problematic for some visitors the following day… That was preceded by Scottish birds this week on North Uist (Western Isles) on 30th-1st, and Fair Isle (Shetland) on 2nd; and followed by a probable bird on South Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 4th.
All of this easterly goodness was, of course, going to bring with it erstwhile mega Blyth’s Reed Warblers - it’s sometimes hard to remember just how rare and challenging we once considered them. Shetland provided some half of the week’s records lately – birds on 1st at North Roe and Spiggie, with another possible seen at Quendale; on 2nd at Ellister; on 3rd at Scousburgh and on Unst at Norwick; and on 5th at Brake; and further probable birds on 2nd-3rd at Hoswick, on 3rd at Loch of Norby, and on 4th at Geosetter. Away from Shetland, one lingered at Holme (Norfolk) on 29th-4th; one was seen on South Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 2nd-5th; a possible bird was at Newbiggin (Northumberland) on 3rd; on 4th one was at Druridge Pools (Northumberland); and finally, on 5th, another bird was found in Orkney on Sanday.
Shetland provided the week’s only Marsh Warblers, seen at Sandwick on 30th and on Unst at Norwick on 5th.
An Icterine Warbler was seen on 4th at Sammy’s Point (East Yorkshire).
Initially reported as a Sykes’s Warbler, a bird found in the afternoon at Burrastow (Shetland) on 5th may yet prove to be a washed out adult Melodious Warbler. Given the exemplary birding pedigree of the team of Shetland birders who found the bird, it’s a salutary reminder that, despite what some confident birders might claim, Sykes’s and Booted Warblers aren’t necessarily that straightforward in the field – a sentiment those birders watching the Sizewell ‘Booted Warbler’ on 4th might very well sympathise with. We’ve all walked a mile in those shoes, if we only care to admit it.
A Subalpine Warbler sp was seen on Mizen Head (Co.Cork) on 4th.
Inevitably with this many scarce and rare warblers being found, they were accompanied nationally by excellent numbers of Yellow-browed and Barred Warblers. The former were seen in their hundreds daily; and the latter amounted to at least 45 individuals, for the most part down the eastern seaboard, but with one lone westerly outlier on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 1st-4th.
Birders on Scilly could be forgiven this week for feeling a little left out, generally. There was surely a feeling they were getting the crumbs from the table… One such small crumb of comfort was the Red-backed Shrike on St Mary’s on 29th-5th – one of a dozen or so birds logged nationwide, including an even more westerly example on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 3rd still.
Great Grey Shrikes began to arrive this week in modest numbers, carried on a wave of tasty Goldcrests… One lingered at Grutness (Shetland) on 2nd-5th; on 3rd a Suffolk sighting came from Southwold; one was seen at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 3rd-5th; and another probable on 3rd came in off the sea at Boulby (Cleveland). On 4th one more was found at Ryhope (Co.Durham); and on 5th another was seen at Boulmer (Northumberland).
Rarer shrikes were, as we know from Cleveland this week, also available… a grey shrike, at first thought to be a straight Great Grey at Benacre (Suffolk) on 3rd transpired to be the considerably rarer pallidirostris form Steppe Grey Shrike, remaining there until 5th; and sharing the area with a nearby Great Grey for good measure.
Holy Island (Northumberland), meanwhile, delivered us a Lesser Grey Shrike on 4th-5th.
On Foula, the recent Woodchat Shrike remained until 29th; another was found this week on Lewis (Western Isles) on 2nd-3rd.
A sign of the times, next… This being the Citrine Wagtails this week - on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 29th-5th, Loch of Norby (Shetland) on 4th, and Skeld on 4th - being outnumbered by reports of Eastern Yellow Wagtails. I can’t be alone in remembering past autumnal flyover flava wagtails and wondering what might have been, had we only recognised the possibilities at the time. This week probable birds were reported on 30th from St Mary’s (Scilly) and Corporation Marshes (Suffolk), and confirmed birds found on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 3rd-5th, at Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 3rd-5th, and in Shetland at North Roe on 5th. One or other species was noted in flight over Hoylake (Cheshire) on 4th.
In Norfolk, the recent Blue-headed Wagtail remained at Dickleburgh Moor NR on 30th-1st.
Olive-backed Pipits comfortably hit double figures this week, with around 20 birds in all logged lately. The recent individual in Shetland at Asta remained there on 29th-4th; further Shetland sightings came from West Burrafirth and Spiggie on 2nd, and Collafirth and Unst on 3rd, the Collafirth bird remaining until 4th; on 4th more records flooded in – in Lerwick, at Boddam, at Toab, and on Foula; followed by one more on Out Skerries on 5th. North Ronaldsay (Orkney) had a probable bird on 1st followed by a confirmed individual on 3rd. One in Surrey at Chobham Common on 29th was an excellent county bird. Norfolk, meanwhile, provided sightings at Burnham Overy Dunes, Holkham Pines, Warham Greens and Wells Woods on 3rd, while East Yorkshire gave us records from Kilnsea and Spurn that day, one being seen still on 4th at Spurn. Further records on 4th came from Blackdog and Rattray Head (Aberdeenshire), and Easington (East Yorkshire).
Red-throated Pipits were logged this week on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 29th; at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 29th-30th; on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 1st and again on 3rd-5th, with two birds there on the latter date; one was heard only at Land’s End (Cornwall) on 2nd; and then on 3rd birds were seen on Yell (Shetland), Spurn (East Yorkshire) and at Sandwich Bay (Kent). On 4th one more was seen just outside Lerwick (Shetland) at Gulberwick. On 5th Suffolk got a bird over Benacre, while another was found at Quendale (Shetland). The only surprise amongst all of this was the lack of a Pechora…
A Richard’s Pipit over Stinchcombe Hill (Gloucestershire) on 29th was the early vanguard of a modest arrival as October dawned. A probable bird was noted on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 2nd; confirmed birds were found on 3rd at Blakeney Point, Brancaster, and Sheringham (Norfolk), with a further Norfolk probable that day at Caister-on-Sea; and in Suffolk on 3rd at Landguard NR. On 4th further birds were logged at Yesnaby (Orkney), The Naze (Essex) and Kelling Quags (Norfolk); and on 5th at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire), Buttle Marsh NR (Norfolk), and North Ronaldsay (Orkney).
We suspected we would be in for more Red-flanked Bluetails this week, as so it proved, magnificently so. One on the Isle of Man at Point of Ayre NR briefly on 29th was followed by a bird at Easington (East Yorkshire) on 30th. A multiple arrival unfolded on 3rd with another Easington bird and one more at Kilnsea also, one being trapped and ringed on 4th; one on Holy Island (Northumberland), remaining there until 5th; and another on Papa Westray (Orkney). On 4th one was found on Duncansby Head (Highland), with Flamborough (East Yorkshire) also landing a bird that day.
Numbers of them were in danger of threatening those of Bluethroats tallied this week – birds being found in Shetland on Foula on 1st and 4th, Out Skerries on 2nd-5th, Unst on 3rd-5th, in the South Mainland at Toab on 3rd-5th, two birds on Yell and one on Balta Isle on 4th, and at Scousburgh, Quendale and on Whalsay on 5th. One was seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 3rd; and another lingered at Boulmer (Northumberland) on 2nd-4th. Finally one was trapped and ringed in Dorset at East Fleet on 5th.
The recent eastern stonechat sp remained at South Gare (Cleveland) on 29th-30th, with opinion coalescing towards it being a Siberian Stonechat; another probable Siberian Stonechat was found in Shetland at Cunningsburgh on 3rd-5th, with another candidate found on Foula on 4th. On 5th more birds were found, this time in Norfolk, one of which is considered probably a Stejneger’s Stonechat, near Happisburgh; and the other, for now, an eastern stonechat sp in Winterton Dunes.
Some 60 Red-breasted Flycatchers were found this week – an excellent tally, and I’m sure everyone’s checking them carefully for Taiga… Most were single birds, but a handful of sites managed multiples – two birds were noted on Sanday (Orkney) on 1st; two were present on Out Skerries (Shetland) on 3rd; Fair Isle romped home with five birds on 2nd; while three at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) were a pale shadow of the incredible 10(!) reported from there the previous day…
Tresco (Scilly) provides us with a Short-toed Lark heard only there on 30th; further birds were found on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and at Ballyadean (Co.Cork) on 5th, with another possible that day at Wighton (Norfolk).
If that wasn’t particularly obliging, the same certainly couldn’t be said of the magnificently photogenic Hoopoe seen this week in West Yorkshire at Collingham on 29th-5th – a genuine crowd-pleaser, this one, for birders and non-birders alike. Further birds were noted on 2nd on Sanday (Orkney), on Islay (Argyll & Bute) still, at Oughterard (Co.Galway) on 2nd, and on 4th-5th in Norfolk at Wighton, and on 4th in North Yorkshire at Scrayingham.
17 Wrynecks were well down on the previous week’s tally – most were single birds, including a late one for Shetland on Whalsay on 4th, but two birds lingered on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 29th-1st, and two were noted in Cornwall at Botallack on 29th.
A Pallid Swift was found on 5th at North Foreland (Kent).
Some half a dozen Rose-coloured Starlings were logged in recent days. Starting with lingering birds, one remained on Portland (Dorset) on 1st-5th, while the Bull Bay (Anglesey) individual was still to be seen there on 1st also. Welsh sightings came on 29th from St Ann’s Head (Pembrokeshire) and on 30th and 5th at Morfa Nefyn (Gwynedd); a possible was seen passing over Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 30th; and further birds were found in Shetland at Eswick on 3rd and on Yell at Breckon on 4th-5th.
Common Rosefinches were predictably numerous this week, with some 30 birds in all logged, including westerly individuals on 30th on St Mary’s (Scilly) and at Firkeel (Co.Cork), the latter remaining there until 5th, with one heard only back on St Mary’s on 5th. Shetland, as we might expect, did best for them, with two on Fair Isle on 1st surpassed by three birds on Foula that same day.
Shetland was also emphatically the place to be for hornemannii Arctic Redpolls - two remained on Fair Isle on 29th, dropping to one bird still on 1st-5th; one lingered on Foula on 29th-5th; and another was seen at Burrafirth on Unst on 29th-3rd, with an exilipes Arctic Redpoll also reported from there on 1st.
Two probable Serins were reported from St Mary’s (Scilly) on 3rd, while a confirmed bird was seen that day at Spurn (East Yorkshire).
Yet more colourful finch variety came in the form of two Parrot Crossbills seen with 40 Common Crossbills at Cotehill Loch (Aberdeenshire) on 1st.
The recent Rustic Bunting on Fair Isle (Shetland) remained until 5th, joined on the island by a second bird on 1st. Further individuals were found this week in Lowestoft (Suffolk) on 3rd-4th; Collieston (Aberdeenshire) on 3rd; and on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 3rd also. Two were present at Collieston and North Ronaldsay alike on 4th-5th; and a probable bird was noted at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 4th.
Some 45 Little Buntings were a fine tally for the week, with a predictably eastern bias broken only by one seen on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 29th. On 2nd, both Fair Isle (Shetland) and North Ronaldsay (Orkney) landed three birds apiece, with three apiece again on 4th.
We wrap things up for a frankly wonderful week of British and Irish birding with one final bunting – an Ortolan Bunting found on Fetlar (Shetland) on 3rd-5th.
We start the overseas news this week about as far overseas as we can stretch the boundaries of the Western Palearctic – and that’s in the Azores where, from the sound of things, autumn was beginning to kick up a notch or two. September ended with a Black-capped Petrel seen from a pelagic off Pico on 29th. On incomparable Corvo, a Double-crested Cormorant and a Black-and-white Warbler were seen on 1st; followed on 2nd by a Northern Parula and a Tennessee Warbler. (Birders on Shetland would love any of the former three Corvo birds… but not so bothered about the latter!) On 4th the Double-crested Cormorant remained, but was eclipsed in the news by an Eastern Wood Pewee on Corvo, the fourth for the archipelago and the Western Palearctic alike… On 5th, more Double-crested Cormorants were found – two on Faial, and one on Terceira.
Eastern Wood Pewee, Contopus virens photographed at Cape Verdean farm, Corvo by Vincent Legrant - 4th record for Azores and for Western Palearctic pic.twitter.com/S06apg1czf
— Tarsiger (@TarsigerTeam) October 5, 2020
Lingering Nearctic quality remained on Iceland this week – the Alder Flycatcher still present at Hvalsnes on 1st, and the Swainson’s Thrush at Seltjörn on 1st also. A Red-eyed Vireo was trapped and ringed at Hofn on 2nd; while a Paddyfield Warbler was trapped and ringed at Suoursveit on 1st.
Another Paddyfield Warbler was found this week a little closer to home, on Faroe on Svínoy on 1st also.
Moving onto the near continent, the Sociable Plover near Huissen remained in Holland on 29th, while a Brown Booby was seen at sea this week some five miles off Westkapelle on 29th.
Belgium, meanwhile, landed an Oriental Turtle Dove at Zwaantje on 30th, and a Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler at Heist-aan-Zee on 4th.
Finally, an Elegant Tern was seen in Spain at Punta de Santa Maria on 29th.
Traditionally the peak day of the birding year for rarity finds is, numerically at least, said to be 10th October. Quite what the coming week will deliver remains to be seen although, it must be said, it’s going to take quite some doing if it’s to outgun the week just gone…
While the coming week begins with light easterlies still wafting into the northern isles, there’s a distinct set of westerlies beginning to make themselves known further south, from the Western Isles right down to Scilly. They seem to persist further north in Britain, but whether the door is open for long enough for Nearctic arrivals on Scilly is perhaps questionable. At the time of writing the coming weekend looks frankly miserable, with northerlies of one flavour or another making themselves known…
One suspects, then, that the coming week will be a little quieter than of late. That said, it is October, and we might yet get something tasty from the recent easterlies unearthed somewhere or, failing that, perhaps a Nearctic bird might sneak in after all. Of the former, it’s not unreasonable to hope some more folk can add Red-flanked Bluetail to their self-found list…
And of the latter, the coming week has form for both Blackpoll Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, followed closely by the loveliness that’s Myrtle Warbler. I reckon if not on Scilly, Inishbofin (Co.Galway) may have another trick up its sleeve in the week to come…
Jon Dunn
6 October 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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