Weekly birding round-up: 13 - 19 Oct 2020
We’re not going to name names here, but I know a number of birders on the east coast were planning, before the week got going, to be off work, one way or another, in the days to come. One look at the charts was enough to confirm that the east was going to deliver – right wind direction, right time of year, and there were going to be eyes on the ground.
The only thing that remained to be seen was whether we’d have more of the (lovely) same we’d been enjoying of late, or whether some birds of a higher plane of rarity altogether were waiting in the wings. Turns out, they were…
Heaven knows we’ve had some superb eastern birds in the past few weeks – be they rare thrushes, warblers or shrikes, we’ve been spoiled with both quality and quantity. All of which said, there’d still not been a genuinely jaw-dropping, drop-everything kinda bird of a Western Palearctic persuasion, one of the sort that practically everybody still needs for their British list.
All of that was to change this week when Norfolk formally entered the autumnal ring with news that was, quite simply, electrifying – a Rufous Bush Chat found by John Reeves at Stiffkey first thing in the morning of 17th.
Rufous Bush Chat… just saying that makes the hairs go up on the back of my neck. It’s one of those species that a couple of generations of birders have grown up looking at on the British list as the last record – at Prawle Point (Devon), for just one day on 9th August 1980 – receded dimly into the mists of time. And before that? Hardly any and, of the five post-1950 records, essentially none were gettable, with the exception of the long, long ago bird that settled at Butlin’s in Skegness (Lincolnshire) for a week on 2nd-9th September 1963.
In other words, this was a blocker in the truest sense of the word, a bird that resided as a firm inky tick on the lists of a dwindling band of now-grizzled birders. One that just seemed determined not to happen again…
Birds have come close(ish) lately – as recently as earlier this summer, one was seen in Norway at Arnestangen on 11th June; while in 2016 birds were seen in Finland at Kylmapihlaja on 4th-5th July and in Holland at Maasvlakte on 20th-24th September. So, just maybe, there was a precedent for a midsummer Scandinavian record being followed by a western European record a little later in the autumn?
But really, who’d have pinned their hopes on that? Nevertheless, that was exactly what had just happened – it was 2016 all over again, but this time it was the turn of British birders to fill their boots as the bird showed well throughout the ensuing day, and obligingly remained present on Sunday 18th too, and into 19th for good measure.
Of course, in these strange days in which we live this bird wasn’t without its frustrations – birders living in Tier 3-designated areas of Britain would have had to examine their consciences about travelling to Norfolk to see a bird – an activity that, with the best will in the world, doesn’t fall under the auspices of work or education – and it’s a sign of the times that Norfolk Police had to issue a public statement asking birders to comply with Covid regulations…
Not so long ago we mused in these parts about the possibility of a Taiga Flycatcher lurking amongst the dozens of Red-breasted Flycatchers seen recently in Britain – for, whilst we’d love to think that every single one of those birds had been scrutinised carefully and listened to attentively, Taiga Flycatcher is a subtle beast, and one that I think we all suspect may have gone overlooked.
Formally split by the BOU from Red-breasted Flycatcher in 2005, the intervening years haven’t been exactly generous where British records of this much more easterly flycatcher are concerned – from our first bird, the first-summer male that spent 26th-29th April 2003 on Flamborough, we’ve just two more records, both of which were in Shetland in the autumn: at Sandgarth on Mainland on 12th-15th October 2003, and on Fetlar and neighbouring Yell on 22nd September – 17th October 2009.
And since then… nothing. One was, surely, just a matter of time – and, this week, what initially looked like and, eventually, sounded like a good candidate was finally found – and, better yet, on the British mainland this time. Trow Quarry (Co.Durham) is, of course, a location all-too-familiar to British birders – having played host to Britain’s first Eastern Crowned Warbler on 22nd-24th October 2009 – and this week, it scored Taiga Flycatcher on 14th-18th. Britain’s fourth record, and honours now rest evenly between the British mainland and Shetland.
While there may have been a disconcerting lack of masks amongst gatherings of birders at some of the week’s notable birds, one of said birds was, in name at least, sporting one.
We’ve already rehearsed the stats of British Masked Shrikes recently, in the wake of the bird that settled on Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland) on 3rd-4th October, but this week another county was destined to add it to their list – it was the turn of Kent, with a first-winter bird discovered by Derek Smith on the north Kent coast near Reculver at Shuart Drove on 17th. The same bird may account for an unidentified pale shrike seen in the area on 15th by Peter Tyler – but while Kent birders may have missed the first couple of days of the bird’s stay, it did the decent thing and showed well at Shuart Drove throughout 17th and 18th.
That makes this Britain’s fifth ever record since the first at Kilrenny (Fife) in 2004, and marks the first year we’ve enjoyed two individuals. With birds down the east coast from Fife to Kent, and the western outlier on Scilly in 2006, birders in Shetland and Norfolk will be champing at the bit ever harder for a bird to call their own. Not that Norfolk birders had much to complain about this week…
…not least because of the fall of Red-flanked Bluetails they enjoyed as recent days unfolded. Apart from marking the first one of the autumn, I didn’t expect that we’d be putting them back into the headlines – but it’s impossible to ignore not only a week in which their arrival numbered comfortably into double figures, but one in which a hitherto unprecedented single site tally was racked up.
Some 20 birds in all were found this week – which, if nothing else, demonstrates just why this former mega was quietly dropped from the BBRC’s considerations in 2016, and why finding one’s own is very much an attainable fantasy these days for anyone putting in the hours on the east coast in autumn.
Norfolk, in particular this week, was blessed – single birds were seen at Waxham on 14th-17th; Holme on 14th-16th; Cromer on 15th; Holkham Pines on 15th-18th; and in Burnham Overy Dunes on 17th. Holme, however, took things to an unheard of level on 17th, playing host to no fewer than four birds, at least three of which remained on 18th, and one or two on 19th. Crazy, crazy days.
Birds were spread this week the length of the British east coast, from the lingering bird on Shetland at Sandwick on 13th-17th still, to birds in Kent at Dungeness on 14th and in Margate on 15th, with a westerly outlier on Barra (Western Isles) on 17th-19th. Fabulously for those birders involved, there were inland birds too – at Biddenham (Bedfordshire), and trapped and ringed near Whitwell (Derbyshire), county firsts both on 18th, the Biddenham bird at least remaining there the following day.
Perhaps the only surprise amongst all of this was the lack of one on Scilly…
That Red-flanked Bluetail on Dungeness on 14th wasn’t the only good bird that shingly part of Kent was hosting that day – Dunge had its third Short-toed Treecreeper of the year to show for itself as well.
The time of year was, of course, propitious, as of the 31 accepted British records to the end of 2018 October supplies eight prior birds, and marks the peak month of arrival for this subtle species. The location, of course, is the classic one in a British context – there’s nowhere quite like Dunge for Short-toed Treecreepers. Three birds in one year, though, is good going even by Dungeness’s standards…
Since Dungeness hosted Britain’s first on 27th-30th September 1969, there have only been two years in which Britain as a whole scored more than two birds – 1990 (four birds) and 2005 (three birds). There’s a certain symmetry then that after another 15 years we now have another similarly notable tally – maybe that’s little more than a coincidence, but it’s a curious one.
This past week very much felt like the waning of the scarcer seabirds for another year – a seasonal feeling marked by the upturn in sightings of Little Auks which, with around 60 birds noted in the course of recent days, were suddenly a distinct possibility on an east coast seawatch. Peak count was a mere four birds seen from North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 14th, but to put that in perspective, that was three more birds than were seen in the space of an entire week-long period nationally only a week ago. The year is marching on…
The changes were also being rung with the numbers of Balearic Shearwaters logged lately – we barely made it into double figures this week. One off Cape Cornwall (Cornwall) on 13th was surpassed by two that day from Portland (Dorset) and four from Pendeen (Cornwall); two were seen from St Mary’s (Scilly) on 14th; and one more from Portland on 17th. Finally, on 19th, while Portland managed another single bird, Berry Head (Devon) came with the week’s highest count – six birds noted passing there.
Just a couple of Leach’s Petrels were noted this week, on 15th in Kent off Birchington and Swalecliffe.
Around 60 Pomarine Skuas were logged this week, consistent with the preceding week’s numbers, and with peak counts of four birds off Cullernose Point (Northumberland) on 14th and five from Anderby Creek (Lincolnshire) on 18th.
As before, a trickle of their scarcer, more elegant counterparts were passing our coasts still – a little over half a dozen Long-tailed Skuas were logged. On 14th, birds were seen from Cley and Winterton Dunes (Norfolk), and Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk); on 15th one passed Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland); on 16th one was seen from Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire); on 17th one was noted from Land’s End (Cornwall); and on 18th single birds were seen from Lewis (Western Isles) and Whitburn CP (Co.Durham).
A White-billed Diver was seen in Orkney from Papa Westray on 17th, while one was again seen off Nesting (Shetland) on 18th. A further probable bird was seen off Boulmer (Northumberland) in the early afternoon of 15th.
We conclude the seabirds with the best of the lot – a Pacific Diver found on 18th in Blacksod Bay (Co.Mayo) – a county first.
Our short weekly dalliance with the scarcer long-legged beasties kicks off with a couple of fresh faces amongst the usual contingent of recent Glossy Ibises - new birds being found on 16th at Tayport (Fife), on 17th-18th at College Lake (Buckinghamshire) and, on 17th, on Romney Marsh (Kent) where four birds were noted. On 19th one was seen in flight on the Somerset Levels at Ham Wall RSPB and, later, it or another turned up at nearby Westhay.
Meanwhile, at the usual sites birds remained at Fremington Pill (Devon) on 13th-16th, with two birds present on 16th-18th; at Chard reservoir (Somerset) until 16th; at Dungeness (Kent) where two birds remained until 19th; and in Norfolk at Martham until 15th.
A Purple Heron was noted in flight at Wrabness (Essex) on 14th, while on 17th-18th the recent juvenile bird was once again seen at Tittesworth reservoir (Staffordshire).
A Corncrake was reported from Heacham (Norfolk) on 14th; while on 16th a Spotted Crake was seen in Hampshire at Farlington Marshes HWT.
Numbers of scarce and rare honkers and quackers continued to build this week, with more variety than ever of late. Starting with the honkers in the north, in Orkney two white Snow Geese were at Yesnaby on Mainland on 13th, with one on South Ronaldsay on 17th still. The intermediate morph remained at Nigg Bay (Highland) on 13th-19th and, on 19th, one was doing itself no favours whatsoever in Devon at Exminster Marshes RSPB with 1,000 Canada Geese…
At Castle Stuart (Highland), the possible Grey-bellied Brant was once more seen on 15th.
South of the border, in England two Black Brants were in Pig’s Bay (Essex) on 14th, while two were kicking around on the Fleet in Dorset on 17th-19th with a third bird joining them on the latter date. The adult (or hybrid) was seen in Norfolk at Wells on 15th.
We head back to Scotland for The Goose Formerly Known as Canada… Two interior Todd’s Canada Geese were seen near Inverness airport (Highland) on 15th, while a single bird was seen the following day at Loaningfoot (Ayrshire), one or two were seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 18th and, on 19th, back in Highland one was present at Munlochy Bay on 19th. The two recent Cackling Geese remained on North Uist (Western Isles) on 14th. Finally, a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose was seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 14th-19th.
Moving onto the quackers, on North Uist (Western Isles), the four Blue-winged Teals were seen once more on Loch na Paisg on 17th.
In Highland the resident drake Black Duck was once more seen at Strontian on 14th.
The drake American Wigeon was back at Loch Watten (Highland) again on 18th. A possible female was seen on 18th also, at Bangor harbour (Gwynedd).
The drake Green-winged Teal remained this week at North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire) on 16th-19th. It will, surely, be joined in the news soon by more of its kind…
Speaking of which, numbers of Ring-necked Ducks began to mount this week. Starting in Shetland, the female remained at South Nesting on 13th; a juvenile bird was seen on 13th also on Tiree (Argyll & Bute). Glamorgan accounted for another juvenile, seen in Cardiff Bay on 14th and at Cosmeston Lakes CP on 17th-19th. Lancashire provided sightings of a drake at Leighton Moss RSPB and in the adjacent Carnforth area on 13th-18th. A drake was seen in Devon at Beesands Ley on 19th. Out in Ireland, two juveniles were present on Moylan Lough on 14th-15th; a female or juvenile drake was seen on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 14th-18th; a female was present on Lough Gash (Co.Clare) on 16th; and a drake on Lough Gara (Co.Sligo) on 18th.
For seaducks, we return once more to Scotland – here drake Surf Scoters were seen on 13th at the traditional site of Blackdog (Aberdeenshire) and in Lunan Bay (Angus) still; and on 16th from ever-reliable Musselburgh (Lothian). Breaking that Scottish monopoly on 18th was one more drake, off Cruisetown Strand (Co.Louth).
The drake King Eider was still present this week at Burghead Bay (Moray) on 13th-19th.
Last, but by no means least, this week marks the welcome return to the news of our honorary waterbird, the long-staying male Pied-billed Grebe once more seen at Loch Feorlin (Argyll & Bute) on 13th.
Numbers of interesting shorebirds were waning this week, but there was still some lingering quality to go at. We’ll start in Scotland where the juvenile Pacific Golden Plover remained at Findhorn Bay (Moray) on 13th-14th and again on 17th and 19th.
The recent juvenile American Golden Plover in Scilly continued to lob between Tresco and Bryher on 13th-15th. Unexpected reappearances after recent leaves of absence came from Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 14th and again at Farlington Marshes HWT (Hampshire) on 17th. Two birds were seen on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 14th, with one reported still present the following day; and one was seen on Yell (Shetland) on 17th. Back in Hampshire on 19th sightings came again from Farlington Marshes HWT again and Langstone Harbour; while in Co.Derry one was seen that day at Ballykelly.
A Dotterel was noted on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 16th; another was noted over Wormingall (Buckinghamshire) early on 18th.
Sticking with Ireland for a moment, a Semipalmated Sandpiper was present on 16th-17th at an undisclosed site in the north of Co.Kerry.
A Baird’s Sandpiper put in a brief appearance at Otterhampton Marsh (Somerset) on 18th – a rare bird at a local level, and one that would have been popular had it only stuck around.
A White-rumped Sandpiper, meanwhile, was found on 18th in Co.Derry at Ballykelly.
Irish Pectoral Sandpipers were seen at Whiting Bay (Co.Waterford) still on 13th, and at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 16th-18th. On Scilly, sightings came from St Mary’s still on 13th, and Tresco on 13th-15th. One was again seen on the Hayle estuary (Cornwall) on 15th. Moving north, one remained at Anthorn (Cumbria) on 15th-18th, and one was still to be seen on South Uist (Western Isles) on 13th-18th.
A juvenile Spotted Sandpiper was found at Culzean Bay (Ayrshire) on 16th-19th.
In Cumbria, the adult Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Anthorn on 14th-17th with an excursion to adjacent Campfield Marsh RSPB on 16th.
Lesser Yellowlegs remained this week at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) still on 13th-19th and at Nosterfield NR (North Yorkshire) on 13th-18th, with a bird also seen on 14th-19th at South Efford Marsh (Devon). In Ireland, one was again seen at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 16th, and one was found on 18th-19th on Rogerstown estuary (Co.Dublin).
A little more than a dozen Grey Phalaropes were recorded this week, with the two birds at Pennington Marshes (Hampshire) still on 13th the only multiple single-site record. They were not, however, the best of it at Pennington Marshes as the popular and photogenic Wilson’s Phalarope remained there until 19th.
Best of the gulls’n’terns again this week was the lingering juvenile White-winged Black Tern still present at Loch Ryan (Dumfries & Galloway) on 14th-18th.
A single Sabine’s Gull was logged this week, seen from the ferry between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle (Co.Antrim) on 16th.
Two Irish Ring-billed Gulls were seen on 16th – one apiece for Kilrush and Cloghaun Lough (Co.Clare).
Scotland provided our only Glaucous Gulls of recent days – one at Cambo Sands (Fife) on 14th, one on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 16th and 18th, and one on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 18th.
The recent adult Iceland Gull on Scilly was again seen on Tresco on 13th, with two birds reported from there on 14th; one was seen in Cornwall on 14th also at Lamorna. In Scotland, birds were noted on Lewis on 13th and South Uist (Western Isles) on 14th-16th, and on the Lossie estuary (Lothian) again on 18th.
Having extended its British summer sojourn with a couple of weeks in eastern and southern Britain, our young Lammergeier flirted one last time with the daunting prospect of an open water crossing back to the continent, half-heartedly setting off in the early afternoon from Beachy Head (East Sussex) on 15th before, a few minutes later, turning back… and then, an hour or so later, finally committing to her onward journey. She’s been one of the birding highlights of the year for many and, having achieved the notable feat of surviving a summer in northern England, just needs to pass safely through France back to the Alps to find herself in more familiar surroundings once again. That, too, will be no mean feat…
Other raptor news this week concerns arrivals rather than departures – a Rough-legged Buzzard was seen on 13th over Crovie (Aberdeenshire), with another reported from Norfolk at Hunstanton on 17th. The latter was followed by a succession of sightings along the north Norfolk coast on 19th at, variously, Burnham Overy Dunes, Cley, Scolt Head Island, West Runton and Weybourne; and one more that day at Saltfleetby NNR (Lincolnshire). Much further west, one was reported on 19th from Land’s End (Cornwall) heading towards Sennen.
Finally, up in Shetland the male Snowy Owl was once again seen on Ronas Hill on 18th.
We’ll start the week’s passerines once more with warblers, and something of a notable double in Shetland on 16th – the small plantation at East Burrafirth on Mainland, near Aith, hosting both a Lanceolated Warbler and a Blackpoll Warbler. Both remained present on 17th, with the Blackpoll hanging on until 19th – the latter being only the fifth record for Shetland, following the first on Whalsay in 1985 and the first since a bird on Fair Isle in October 2009. As such, a bird on Mainland was a welcome bird for a number of keen Shetland listers.
The Lanceolated Warbler, meanwhile, was preceded by North Ronaldsay’s (Orkney) second bird of the autumn on 14th.
Other warblers, however, were really setting the tone for the week to the south of the northern isles… For sheer charisma, a Pallas’s Warbler takes a heck of a lot of beating – they’ve really got it all going on, from that primrose yellow rump to that candy-striped head. Buckets of them were found this week, including one particularly confident bird in song in Holkham Pines (Norfolk) on 15th-16th – overall, a shade over 60 birds were logged, mostly along the length of the English east coast. Most, but not all – determined birds made it further west, to Angle (Pembrokeshire) on 14th, and St Martin’s on 16th-17th and St Agnes (Scilly) on 18th-19th. While most were single birds, a handful of sites recorded two at once and, at Stiffkey (Norfolk) on 15th-16th, three birds were present.
Vying with them for warbler supremacy this week - Yellow-browed Warblers notwithstanding as, it goes without saying, they were present once again in the daily hundreds – were Dusky Warblers, with around 50 individuals found in the course of recent days. Again, the bulk of these were on the English east coast, with Flamborough (East Yorkshire) particularly blessed with three birds present on 16th alone – such a solid arrival of birds boding well for some unexpected further finds in the weeks and months to come at sewage works and other warmish, damp places.
The previous fortnight’s standout warbler were Radde’s Warblers, but they adopted more of a supporting role this week, with just(!) eight birds logged – on Scilly on Bryher again on 13th and on St Martin’s on 14th; trapped and ringed at Landguard NR (Suffolk) on 13th and Brownstown Head (Co.Waterford) on 15th; seen on 14th at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) and Reculver (Kent); on 16th in South Shields (Co.Durham); and on 18th at Thornwick Bay (East Yorkshire).
A possible Arctic Warbler on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 15th came to nothing further; a Hume’s Warbler in the East Burrafirth plantation on Shetland in the morning of 18th couldn’t latterly be re-found there.
Staying on Shetland, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler lingered at Spiggie on 13th-16th; another was present in Norfolk at East Hills on 17th-18th.
In Devon, meanwhile, after a short while masquerading as a Paddyfield Warbler, a strikingly pale Great Reed Warbler was resolved at Yelland Pond on 18th.
A Marsh Warbler was trapped and ringed on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 15th.
Rounding off the warblers for another week, some 20 Barred Warblers were logged in recent days – the predictable easterly bias interrupted only by birds on Inishbofin (Co.Galway) and St Mary’s (Scilly) on 14th, at Broad Water (Gwynedd) on 15th-16th and, in the Western Isles, on Lewis on 16th and North Uist on 17th.
Speaking of Inishbofin, there’s an island that’s enjoying an excellent autumn – gilded just a little further by a brief White’s Thrush on 16th. With just five accepted birds to the end of 2017, that’s a significant Irish bird – the last Irish individual, coincidentally, was also on Inishbofin in 2008. Britain, as we know, does rather better for them with 89 accepted birds on the books to the end of 2018 – what’s striking about the vast majority of them as a whole is the fleeting nature of their stays – most are one-day birds. Very few indeed clock up over a week, but the bird found on Lundy (Devon) on 7th remained there until 17th, a notable stay of 11 days.
The recent Swainson’s Thrush remained on Bryher (Scilly) until 15th.
Moving onto shrikes, besides Kent’s outstanding Masked Shrike there was other rare fare to be had – a quartet of Brown Shrikes, including a superb inland find on Johnny Brown’s Common (West Yorkshire) on 18th-19th. Further birds were found on 14th-19th on Holy Island (Northumberland), on 15th on Fair Isle (Shetland), and on 16th at Chapel Porth (Cornwall).
Red-backed Shrikes were numerically rarer still, with just two logged lately – on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 13th-17th, and St Mary’s Bay (Kent) on 13th-19th also.
Easterly winds at this time of year were bound to bring an arrival of Great Grey Shrikes, and sure enough, some 25 birds in all were found, from Whalsay (Shetland) in the north to Portland (Dorset) on the south coast. It won’t be long before the first reports come from traditional wintering quarters…
Adding an additional touch of late autumn glamour, the first inklings of Waxwings on the move were reported this week – a flock of 15 birds at Morston (Norfolk) on 13th, and a single bird at Jarrow (Co.Durham) on 14th.
One species that was having a good week, in its typically modest way, was Short-toed Lark, with eight birds logged, including two together at Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall) on 15th. Elsewhere, the recent bird remained in Shetland on Fetlar on 13th-17th, with one on Fair Isle on 15th-18th; one lingered at South Gare (Cleveland) on 14th-19th; and, on Scilly, sightings came from St Mary’s on 15th and 17th, and Tresco on 17th also. On 19th one more was noted in flight over Spurn (East Yorkshire).
Tresco also accounted for the week’s only Wryneck on 13th.
In Scotland, the Hoopoe remained hanging around Pittodrie Stadium on 13th-14th; and another was seen at Tees Barrage (Cleveland) on 14th. The pace picked up a little as the week went on, with further birds found on 15th at Cresswell Pond NWT (Northumberland) and, on 18th, near Woodhorn (Northumberland), at Dornoch (Highland), and in Elton (Cheshire).
Ireland supplies the full extent of the rare wagtails this week, with one of the recent Eastern Yellow Wagtails still present on Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 13th, and the Citrine Wagtail still present at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th also. I’d bet that more of the former cryptic species will come out of the woodwork nationwide in the weeks to come…
Rarest of the pipits this week – I’m holding my breath for a Blyth’s any day now – was American Buff-bellied Pipit on Scilly – still present on Bryher on 13th-14th and St Agnes on 14th-18th.
A handful of Red-throated Pipits were seen and heard in recent days – starting on Scilly, one was seen on Tresco on 13th and again on 17th-18th, with one heard only on St Mary’s on 15th and seen in flight again twice on 18th. St Levan (Cornwall) accounted for one on 13th and 15th; one was seen at Sea Palling (Norfolk) on 15th-16th; a probable was found in North Yorkshire at Kettleness on 16th; and one was seen on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 14th-16th. On 18th one passed over Oglet Bay (Merseyside), and one was seen that day at Holbeck Hill (North Yorkshire).
Olive-backed Pipits were a little more numerous, pushing towards double figures for the week. Lingering birds at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 14th-17th and on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 16th-17th were joined in the news by birds found on 15th at Whitburn (Co.Durham), Kilnsea (East Yorkshire), Theddlethorpe (Lincolnshire); on 16th by one trapped and ringed at Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) and another seen at Thornwick Bay (East Yorkshire); on 17th at Happisburgh (Norfolk); and on 18th at Brancaster Staithe (Norfolk). Probables were logged on 15th at Reighton Sands (North Yorkshire) and Holkham Pines (Norfolk).
If one pipit was dominating news of their kind this week, it was the big one, Richard’s Pipit - 30 birds in all were logged this past week, with three at Long Nab (North Yorkshire) on 17th a notable tally.
Red-breasted Flycatcher numbers were down, slightly, on the previous week’s showing of 30 birds, but only a little – 20 individuals were logged nationally in recent days, so still a decent showing.
It comes to something when Red-flanked Bluetails significantly outnumber Bluethroats in a given autumnal week – if we’d said that was going to happen in the late 1980s over a pint at the Porthcressa, the statement would have been met with downright incredulity. But there we go, the intervening 40 years have seen some remarkable changes in the patterns of occurrence of some species. This past week, Bluethroats were seen on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 13th-14th, with two birds present on the latter date, and two again on 18th; on 14th on St Agnes (Scilly) and Inishbofin (Co.Galway); on 15th at Sammy’s Point (East Yorkshire); and, on 18th, trapped and ringed on Whalsay (Shetland).
A shade over half a dozen eastern stonechat sp were found this week, including two on Fetlar (Shetland) alone on 17th, and one westerly pioneer out on Gugh (Scilly) on 16th-19th; another western bird was at Constantine Bay (Cornwall) on 16th. More typically east coast arrivals were found on 15th at Joss Bay (Kent); on 16th-19th at Holkham Freshmarsh (Norfolk); on 16th at Broadstairs (Kent); and on 17th-19th at South Gare (Cleveland).
The first Desert Wheatear of the autumn clocked in at Seaton Point (Northumberland) on 18th-19th – more of them, surely, in the next week or two along the south and east coasts.
Whether we’ll get another Black-eared Wheatear, the considerably less likely wheatear of the possibilities available at this juncture, is a moot point. A probable bird was seen in the afternoon of 19th on St Mary’s (Scilly) on the coast path between Old Town and the airport… but wasn’t re-found thereafter.
The juvenile Rose-coloured Starling remained on Portland (Dorset) on 15th-19th; another was found this week on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 17th-19th; and two more on 18th at, respectively, Whitchurch (Shropshire) and on the Isle of Wight at St Catherine’s Point. On 19th one was seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute), while another was on North Uist (Western Isles) that day.
Common Rosefinches were, perhaps surprisingly, in fairly short supply this week, with Scilly enjoying the best of their bland, beady-eyed charms – birds were noted on Tresco on 13th, Gugh on 14th, and St Mary’s on 15th. Elsewhere, one was on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 15th, with two present there on 18th; while further reports came from Norfolk at Heacham on 14th and Holme Dunes on 16th.
Shetland had a little lingering frost, meanwhile, in the form of a hornemannii Arctic Redpoll on Unst at Baltasound on 14th-15th; an unattributed Arctic Redpoll at Sandness on Mainland on 17th; four more on Unst on 18th-19th at Norwick, with one hornemannii there on 19th also.
Two possible Parrot Crossbills were seen in Suffolk on 19th at Dunwich Heath, while a male was found the previous day in Kent at Sandwich Bay; and at least one female was sound-recorded on 16th in Shetland in the plantation at Sullom.
Just one Ortolan Bunting was seen this week – after the trio in Shetland during the prior week, this week’s bird was down at Polgigga on the south Cornish coast on 16th-17th.
Little Buntings continued to be seen in appreciable numbers, with around 25 birds in all tallied. Amongst them were a couple of multiples – two birds apiece for Tresco (Scilly) on 13th and Unst (Shetland) on 14th.
Finally, a Rustic Bunting was found at Filey (North Yorkshire) on 14th.
The Azores and, predictably, Corvo, continued to make the bulk of the overseas news for another week, with a succession of, if we’re honest, fairly predictable sightings coming from there as the days wore on. A Semipalmated Plover on 13th-14th was joined there by a second bird on 15th; a Double-crested Cormorant lingered on 13th-18th; an Ovenbird was found on 13th; a Swainson’s Thrush lingered on 13th-14th; and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on 14th-18th was followed by the discovery of a Laughing Gull on 15th and a Rough-legged Hawk on 18th.
Elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic archipelago two Double-crested Cormorants were on Flores on 18th, and one more was present that day on Praia.
Probably of significantly more interest to most British birders was news from much closer to home… Germany was having a good week, with the country’s second-ever Two-barred Greenish Warbler trapped and ringed on Heligoland on 13th followed by a Siberian Rubythroat trapped and ringed at Greifswalder Bird Observatory on 16th - also the second record of its kind for Germany.
Just trapped an unbelievable stunner at @BiGOie_J @TarsigerTeam @LeeEvansBirding @BirdGuides @RareBirdAlertUK @georgrueppel @westpalbirds @OttenbyBO @FalsterboBO pic.twitter.com/v4xME9QCH3
— Steve Klasan (@Muehle_Steve) October 16, 2020
A Blyth’s Pipit was found in Poland at Marzecino on 16th – again, a second national record.
In Belgium the White-throated Sparrow remained at Het Zwin on 13th.
Finally, we cast our net a little wider once again with some euro-quackers. A Stejneger’s Scoter remained in Latvia on 13th at Kolka, the first of its kind for Latvia; and, in Iceland, a White-winged Scoter was at Keflavik on 17th – with a Red-eyed Vireo for good measure that day also at Grindavik.
Last of all, a Macqueen’s Bustard was seen on 19th in Turkey at Trabzon.
You don’t need me to tell you that autumn 2020 has been pretty special thus far – we’ve had some glamorous Nearctic passerines and an absolute barrage of scarce, rare and downright mega passerines of a more easterly persuasion. We could hang up our bins for the winter and consider ourselves lucky at this point.
That, of course, isn’t how it works – and the last days of October have significant historic potential for delivering absolutely monstrous eastern birds. Just ask Fair Isle, where the 23rd October is now legendary for supplying both Britain’s first Rufous-tailed Robin and two Siberian Rubythroats. Away from Shetland, 23rd also accounts for a Siberian Blue Robin at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) in 2000. And that’s just one day in the special week that lies ahead of us…
We’ve already touched on another memorable autumn for eastern vagrants back in the headlines – 2009 was the year that marked the discovery of our last Taiga Flycatcher up on Shetland – but was also the year in which Britain’s first Eastern Crowned Warbler was found in Co.Durham. We’ve had the former in recent days – maybe this week we could be on for another of the latter boldly-marked phylloscs?
Failing that, a live-and-kicking Pale-legged Leaf Warbler would be nice in the wake of the freshly dead individual picked up on St Agnes (Scilly) on 21st October 2016 and the individual (or Sakhalin Leaf Warbler) on Portland (Dorset) on 22nd October 2012… (If there’s a four year cycle developing here, we’re due one this week!)
Casting our eyes back to the west, let’s not forget that Cape May Warblers are said to have enjoyed a good year in North America. With one already seen in Norway in recent weeks, and this coming week marking the anniversary of the bird found on Unst (Shetland) on 23rd October 2013, let’s keep everything crossed for another one of them too…
Jon Dunn
20 October 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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