Weekly birding round-up: 20 - 26 Oct 2020
Atlantic low pressure slammed the door, firmly, on continuing migrant arrivals en masse from the east this week – a shame, as late October can be a deliciously rare time for far eastern passerines. That said, westerly winds could mean only one thing – ramped up potential for something tasty from the Nearctic.
Scilly has been ticking along fairly quietly so far in October, but that was all set to change this week…
Scilly has had a relatively quiet autumn – or, at least, quiet by the standards of some classic Scilly seasons. While there’s no denying the quality of recent birds like Black-and-white Warbler or American Buff-bellied Pipit, for those who’ve either been visiting Scilly for decades now, or have been resident on the archipelago for years, neither species really enjoys genuine mega status – there’ve been a few, after all.
It’s a different story, of course, for visiting birders who are relatively new to the Scilly season – everything is shiny and new and terribly exciting. Those debutantes would have seen the difference though in the reaction of the veterans when news broke on 25th of a first for Scilly – an Indigo Bunting on St Agnes. All bets would have been off as birders converged on the pier on St Mary’s. It’s easy to play it cool when you’ve seen a Black-and-white Warbler or two on Scilly before – of course you’re going to go and take a look at another, they’re gorgeous after all – though actually finding one for yourself is a totally different story…
Playing it cool, however, goes out of the window when the bird in question that’s just been found is Britain’s third and Scilly’s first Indigo Bunting. The adrenalin soars, coherence takes a back-seat to tense anticipation, and even the most arthritic, world-weary of birders breaks into a creaking run.
There will, doubtless, have been some amongst their number who saw what, for a while, circled the British list in a holding pattern on Category D – an adult bird that arrived in Norfolk at Wells Woods on 21st-30th October 1988. In the wake of a subsequent first-winter bird on Ramsey (Pembrokeshire) on 18th-26th October 1996, Indigo Bunting was officially on Category A of the British list, but the Norfolk bird remained in the limbo of Category D. Not that this particularly bothered, on the quiet, many a birder who saw it and was personally happy with the bird’s credentials. Lists were ticked…
Nonetheless, in 2018, the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) reviewed historic British records of the species and unceremoniously booted the Wells Woods bird into Category E – the sin bin, where birds “that have been recorded as introductions, human-assisted transportees or escapees from captivity" go to hang their heads in shame.
Try telling that to some folk though – there was some wailing and gnashing of teeth in the wake of that particular decision. There’s been one subsequent record, a male, one-day bird on Anglesey on 20th May 2013, but that’s been our lot.
Until this week…
With the weather set to deteriorate in the south-west, those who badly wanted to see a British Indigo Bunting and weren’t already on Scilly had to mobilise fast on 25th, and get themselves down to Cornwall overnight. While the bird may, or may not, last a few days on St Agnes, fortune (and the weather forecast) favours the brave and those able to drop everything planned on a working Monday. Happily for them, the bird remained on 26th, albeit with some rather sad reports of it falling over a couple of times that morning – reminding us that, while a last-minute flight to Scilly can be a bit of a headache to organise, a self-powered transatlantic flight is a considerably more serious undertaking for one so small.
This was a truly epic find by Louis Cross – and one wonders what else the next couple of fast-moving depressions may have in store for determined bird-finders on Scilly in the days to come…
Speaking of determined bird-finders, if London birder Jamie Partridge could bottle whatever he’s running on and sell it, he’d be a wealthy man. Not content with finding Scilly’s 14th Rose-breasted Grosbeak on St Agnes on 29th September 2017, he went and did it again this week finding another individual on adjacent Gugh in the afternoon of 24th.
https://twitter.com/jarpartridge/status/1320026260152684547?s=20And who said lightning couldn’t strike twice?
Given that Jamie found one of the showy Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers that graced Shetland earlier in October, he’s a man on a rich vein of form generally.
Unfortunately for those trailing in the wake of his brightly burning star, this latest Rose-breasted Grosbeak wasn’t subsequently seen – not that anyone visiting St Agnes in the following 48 hours was complaining…
There have been a number of Double-crested Cormorants seen on the Azores in recent weeks and, while that outpost of the Western Palearctic is a hell of a long way out into the Atlantic, they were still something of a shot across our bows warning us that it might be worth paying the local Great Cormorants slightly closer attention than hitherto in the weeks to come.
Britain’s sole record was a bird at Billingham (Cleveland) on 11th January – 26th April 1989; while Ireland’s only prior example was a bird at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 18th November 1995 – 6th January 1996. Both birds have something in common – and that’s the duration of their stay after an autumn arrival.
Nonetheless, there’s a sneaking suspicion that they may be overlooked on this side of the pond – but this coming winter, in light of the Azorean records, and belated news this week of a bird that landed on a Spanish survey vessel at the Porcupine Bank some 240km west of Valentia Island (Co.Kerry) on 29th September and spent the next couple of days aboard, we’d probably do well to look twice at Great Cormorants.
Granted, a bird at the Porcupine Bank’s still a heck of a long way from actually making landfall in Ireland, let alone reaching Britain, but it’s also a damn sight closer than the faraway Azores...
Arguably bird of the year, let alone the autumn, the stonking, tail-pumping Rufous Bush Chat found the previous week at Stiffkey (Norfolk) did the utterly decent thing and stuck around into the new week, remaining there until 21st.
Was there ever a more thoughtful rarity? Turning up at the very start of a weekend, in an open location that allowed social distancing to be adhered to by those so inclined, and remaining there for a few days to allow enough time for most who felt the urge to go scratch that 40 year itch… We may have to wait another 40 years for our next Rufous Bush Chat - though let’s hope we don’t – but at least this bird gave thoroughly good value throughout its stay.
Our seabirds this week were a predictably dwindling motley crew, with no appreciable numbers of anything, bar one stand-out species, courtesy of a late Scilly pelagic on 22nd – a trip out to the west of Bishop Rock yielding an impressive haul of 140 Great Shearwaters.
Their dusky Balearic counterparts remained in fairly short supply, with some 60 birds noted nationwide in the course of the week, with the south-west dominating sightings. Of those, a count of 21 birds off Berry Head (Devon) on 20th was the best of it.
Single Leach’s Petrels were seen in recent days from Garinish Point Pier (Co.Cork) on 21st; off Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 23rd; and from Troon (Ayrshire) on 24th.
A White-billed Diver off Collieston (Aberdeenshire) on 20th was supplemented by a possible bird the same day from St Mary’s Island (Northumberland).
Small numbers of Little Auks were noted this week, with three seen on 20th from Ballintore (Highland) the best tally; the balance all being single birds. These were seen on 20th from Druridge Bay (Northumberland) and Filey (North Yorkshire); on 21st from Burghead (Moray); on 22nd from Embo (Highland); and on 23rd from Hopeman (Moray) and Tarbat Ness (Highland).
Numbers of Pomarine Skuas crept – but only just – into double figures, with 16 birds in all logged nationwide. On 20th, single birds were seen from Rathlin Island (Co.Antrim) and Nairn (Highland); two were seen at Chanonry Point (Highland); and three from Dalgety Bay (Fife). Two were seen on 21st at Findhorn (Moray). On 24th, that generally northern trend was bucked with sightings in Devon of single birds from Dawlish Warren NNR and Berry Head; and, on 25th, another was seen from Porthgwarra (Cornwall). Four were seen on 26th – two from Dungeness (Kent), and one apiece from Pendeen (Cornwall) and Tiree (Argyll & Bute).
Just two Long-tailed Skuas was seen this week – both off Holy Island (Northumberland) on 22nd.
Cornwall provided a final flourish to the week’s seabirds with a Fea’s or Desertas Petrel seen off Pendeen in the morning of 26th.
We’ve heard a lot about a second wave lately, none of it good – so it makes for a pleasant change to report a more welcome second wave in the birding world this week. This concerned a fresh influx of Glossy Ibises in the first half of the week – birds pouring in along the south coast from Scilly to Kent. Starting in Dorset, single birds were seen on 20th over Portland; at Lodmoor RSPB; at Abbotsbury Swannery; at West Bexington; at Studland; and at Lytchett Fields RSPB; while four birds were seen that day at Stanpit Marsh. In Hampshire on 20th five birds were noted over Pennington Marshes. A popular individual for those staying on Scilly this week was seen on St Agnes, Tresco and St Mary’s on 21st, lingering on the latter island until 26th. Dorset got another sighting on 21st over Swanage, while one was seen further north over the Dovey estuary (Ceredigion), and two were seen on the Isle of Wight at St Helen’s Millpond; three were found on 22nd on the Isle of Wight at Sandown Levels, while a probable was noted that day at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire).
Kent started to look busy on 23rd with one bird over Sandwich Bay and four passing Foreness Point in the morning, latterly being seen at Worth Marsh, where they remained on 24th-26th. The two recent birds remained at Dungeness, meanwhile, on 20th-26th. Back in Lincolnshire, one was present at Donna Nook on 23rd; while in Devon, Fremington Pill’s one or two recent birds were augmented by fresh arrivals – four birds being seen there on 23rd-25th.
On 25th, Oxfordshire held a bird in the morning at Port Meadow and Summertown and, latterly, a probable at Otmoor RSPB. One was seen that day also in Somerset at Westhay Moor NNR. On 26th a bird was found in East Sussex at Seaford.
The juvenile Purple Heron was once again seen at Tittesworth reservoir (Staffordshire) on 20th.
Starting this week’s honkers and quackers with The Goose Formerly Known as Canada, we had plenty to go at in recent days, not least where hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Geese were concerned – single birds being noted on 22nd at Terrmoncarragh Lough (Co.Mayo); on 22nd-23rd near Fallin (Forth); and on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 22nd; while two birds were still on North Uist (Western Isles) on 22nd-26th.
An interior Todd’s Canada Goose remained at Munlochy Bay (Highland) on 21st, while one was again seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 23rd-26th; and one was found in Lancashire at Banks Marsh NNR on 23rd and, on 25th, at Lytham St Anne’s.
The recent intermediate Snow Goose was again seen this week in Scotland at Nigg Bay (Highland) on 20th-21st and Findhorn Bay (Moray) on 21st. A white morph bird was seen passing over Burnham Deepdale (Norfolk) on 22nd with a carrying flock of Pink-footed Geese; while a white bird of unknown origin remained in Devon at Exminster Marshes RSPB on 26th.
The prior week’s three Black Brants remained, on 20th, on the Fleet in Dorset, with at least one bird still present on 21st and 26th. A further sighting this week came from Kent where a single bird was seen at Seasalter on 22nd.
Back in Highland, the possible Grey-bellied Brant was once more seen at Munlochy Bay (Highland) on 21st.
Moving onto the quackers, the Blue-winged Teal was once again seen on Annagh Marsh (Co.Mayo) on 22nd.
A drake American Wigeon was seen at Tophill Low (East Yorkshire) on 22nd and reported as still present on 23rd while, on 24th, the drake was once again at Grindon Lough (Northumberland).
The drake Green-winged Teal remained this week at North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire) on 20th-26th and, sure enough, more were seen this week – birds being found at Eyebrook reservoir (Lincolnshire) on 21st, at Budle Bay (Northumberland) on 22nd-26th, and on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 25th-26th. Another possible bird was seen on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 26th, while the regular wintering bird was back on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 26th also.
Half of the week’s Ring-necked Ducks were in Ireland, where two birds were seen at, respectively, Lough Gara (Co.Sligo), where two drakes were present on 23rd; and Moyland Lough (Co.Monaghan), where two juveniles on 21st dwindled to one bird on 22nd. Ireland’s remaining sightings concerned a female on Lough Gash (Co.Clare) on 20th-25th still and, on 26th, a drake seen on Ballyallia Lake (Co.Clare) and a juvenile drake on Knock Lake (Co.Dublin).
British birds were seen at Cosmeston Lakes CP (Glamorgan), where the recent juvenile remained on 20th-25th, and was joined by a second bird on 25th-26th; at Slapton Ley (Devon) where a drake was seen on 20th-26th; in the Carnforth area of Lancashire, where the recent drake was again seen on 21st-25th, with a further Lancashire sighting coming from Leighton Moss RSPB on 23rd; in Norfolk at Holkham Park Lake on 22nd-26th, where a drake was to be seen; and at Willington GPs (Bedfordshire), where a drake was found on 24th-26th.
Somerset birders enjoyed more rarified diving duck fare this week, with a drake Lesser Scaup found on 23rd-26th at Chew Valley Lake.
Four Scottish drake Surf Scoters round off the weekly sojourn on the rarity duckpond – one remained off Musselburgh (Lothian) on 20th-24th; another was seen at Dornoch (Highland) on 21st-25th; and two more were at Kinshaldy (Fife) on 21st – while a female or juvenile drake was found on 25th off Bremore Point (Co.Dublin).
In the week’s headlines but for the probable element of the sighting, a probable Upland Sandpiper seen briefly in Suffolk at Woodbridge Airfield in the late afternoon of 23rd is our starting point for the week’s waders. Had it only been confirmed, and had it only stuck around, this would have been both a welcome and popular county first – but alas, it wasn’t to be.
More concrete were numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs this week, which nudged towards double figures in a tremendous autumnal showing. Lingering birds remained at South Efford Marsh (Devon) on 20th-26th; Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 20th-26th; Nosterfield NR (North Yorkshire) on 20th-26th; on Rogerstown estuary (Co.Dublin) on 20th still; and at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) still on 21st. Fresh sightings came from Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 22nd-25th; at Killongford Pools (Co.Waterford) on 24th-25th; and on Tresco (Scilly) and North Uist (Western Isles) on 26th.
In Co.Kerry the recent juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper remained at an undisclosed site in the north of the county near Tralee on 22nd-26th.
The recent Pectoral Sandpiper remained at Anthorn (Cumbria) on 21st-23rd; while further birds this week were seen at Stert Point (Somerset) on 22nd-23rd, and on 24th at Montrose Basin (Angus) and on South Uist (Western Isles).
Orkney landed a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on Mainland at Deerness on 25th.
A possible Spotted Sandpiper on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 22nd was heard only.
In Somerset, the recent Kentish Plover was again noted at Berrow on 20th.
A single Dotterel was seen on 20th-21st on Inishvickillane (Co.Kerry).
Adult American Golden Plovers lingered at Farlington Marshes HWT (Hampshire) on 20th and Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 20th-24th. A probable bird over St Mary’s (Scilly) on 20th was followed by a confirmed flyover on 21st. One was seen on South Uist (Western Isles) on 22nd; and at least two birds were again at Ballykelly (Co.Derry) on 24th.
The settled Long-billed Dowitcher was again seen at Anthorn (Cumbria) on 23rd-25th; followed, on 24th, by sightings from North Yorkshire of a bird at Bolton-on-Swale GPs and Tancred Grange Lake. The recent juvenile was seen again at Lough Beg (Co.Derry) on 26th.
Back in Hampshire, the long tenure of the recent Wilson’s Phalarope at Pennington Marshes came to a close this week, with the bird last seen there on 20th.
16 Grey Phalaropes were logged this week, including duos off Cley (Norfolk) on 20th, Bride Valley Fish Farm (Dorset) on 24th and, on 26th, in Cornwall at Navax Point. Three were seen on 26th from Pendeen (Cornwall).
Completing the phalarope triumvirate, a Red-necked Phalarope was found on 25th in Northumberland at Wylam.
This was a fairly subdued week where gulls’n’terns were concerned – the adult Ring-billed Gull again at Blackrock (Co.Louth) on 24th being about the best of the slim pickings…
…closely followed by a Sabine’s Gull seen from Prawle Point (Devon) on 24th, and another adult bird on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 26th.
Shetland had a small arrival of Glaucous Gulls, with single birds on Out Skerries and Unst on 20th followed by two birds on the latter island on 21st, with more singletons seen on 21st off Whalsay and at Sumburgh. Elsewhere, single birds were seen this week at Yesnaby on the Orkney Mainland on 22nd and out on South Uist (Western Isles) on 23rd-24th. On 25th one was seen passing Tarbat Ness (Highland); and on 26th one was seen from Barra (Western Isles).
An immature Iceland Gull was seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 22nd; followed, on 24th, by on Fair Isle (Shetland) and, on 25th, another from Papa Westray (Orkney). On 26th two more were noted – from Islay again, and Barra (Western Isles).
We conclude with a probable Caspian Tern noted distantly passing Burnham Overy Dunes (Norfolk) on 22nd.
The week’s interesting raptors were a limited affair, mostly concerning Rough-legged Buzzard sightings, and those mostly from Norfolk where the recent bird at Scolt Head Island lingered there and in the surrounding northern coastal area on 20th-26th. Another possible bird was seen on 24th further north, near Speeton (East Yorkshire).
The prevailing westerlies this week meant that Scilly really deserved the title of the Fortunate Isles this week – for, in addition to the Indigo Bunting and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak that heralded it, a couple of Red-eyed Vireos played a welcome supporting role – one of them was just a few yards away from said bunting on St Agnes on 25th-26th, while another was found on 25th on Bryher.
Shetland’s fifth Blackpoll Warbler, meanwhile, remained tucked into the plantation at East Burrafirth throughout the week to 26th.
Late news emerged this week confirming what some already knew – that the Philadelphia Vireo on Inishmore (Co.Galway) had stuck around until 18th, but hadn’t been seen there subsequently.
Arrivals of a westerly nature this week, of course, tell a tale of what was happening generally with the prevailing wind direction in recent days – and that meant that the deluge of rare and scarce warblers and chats of late was set to dry up. Nonetheless, Shetland had an intense spell of south-easterly and easterly winds that, while it didn’t seem to deliver quite the downpour of late migrants one might have hoped for, did seem to presage one of the week’s more interesting birds, albeit a subspecies…
Mark Sutton, heading for the ferry to leave Unst on 25th, made a short detour to Westing where a fly-by alba-type wagtail proved, once it landed on the beach, to be sporting a massive white supercilium and looked every inch the part of Britain’s first ocularis ’East Siberian Wagtail’. Depending on your taxonomic persuasion, ocularis wagtails either deserve those inverted commas as a subspecies of White Wagtail or are the full, split, species deal. As we currently march to the beat of the IOC drum, that’s a subspecies first for Britain. For now…
At the other end of the country, a possible Eastern Yellow Wagtail was on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 21st.
Back in Shetland, a White’s Thrush at Gulberwick on 25th was either new in or had been lurking there for a while – the bird on Lundy (Devon) continued to (occasionally) show this week until 26th and, in so doing, demonstrated the species’ ability to unobtrusively dig in for the long haul if it finds itself somewhere that feels welcomingly lush and sporting ample invertebrates.
Whether these birds were new arrivals or not is moot – but on the whole, the general impression was that we weren’t getting anywhere near as much easterly action as hitherto. The best barometer of this were warblers – where recently we were knee-deep in Pallas’s and Dusky Warblers, this week they were very much in abeyance. Though there were still ample Yellow-browed Warblers to go at…
Pallas’s Warblers fell from many dozens during the prior week to a bare dozen in the week just gone – birds logged at Trow Quarry (Co.Durham) still on 20th; on St Agnes (Scilly) on 21st-23rd; on 22nd at Filey (North Yorkshire), Holme and Great Yarmouth Cemetery (Norfolk), and Kirkley (Suffolk); and on 23rd at Saltburn (Cleveland), Pakefield Park (Suffolk), The Naze (Essex), and Lamorna (Cornwall). On 25th one was found on Great Ormes Head (Conwy); and on 26th one was in East Sussex at Seaford Head.
Dusky Warblers were a little more numerous, though still a shadow of the prior week’s epic haul – this week, 24 birds were seen nationwide, in a swathe from Shetland to Scilly, and including a couple of multiples amongst them – two birds being noted on 21st at, respectively, Weybourne (Norfolk) and Holy Island (Northumberland).
Shetland provided a late Radde’s Warbler on 26th, at Culswick Marsh. Orkney, at the absolute prime time for the species, a Hume’s Warbler in Deerness on Mainland on 26th.
Just three Barred Warblers were seen lately – one at Winterton South Dunes (Norfolk) on 21st, another on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 21st-26th, and a final bird on North Uist (Western Isles) on 26th.
Holy Island also held on to one of the week’s two Brown Shrikes, still present there until 26th; the other recent bird, on Johnny Brown’s Common (West Yorkshire), remained until 22nd.
Both recent Red-backed Shrikes hung around this week, on St Mary’s (Scilly) until 23rd, and at St Mary’s Bay (Kent) until 26th, with one more found on 26th at Kilminning (Fife). Some 15 Great Grey Shrikes, meanwhile, were logged nationwide, including a couple of Welsh sightings that spoke of birds heading inland to winter territories.
That winter vibe was augmented by a few more Waxwings this week, with 30 birds noted, of which eight at Olrig (Highland) on 22nd were the highest single site count.
Keeping that colourful theme going a while longer, Hoopoes were recorded this week on Islay (Argyll & Bute) still on 22nd-23rd; at Dornoch (Highland) again on 24th; at Rora (Aberdeenshire) on 20th; at Lynemouth (Northumberland) on 20th-26th; and on 25th at Clatt (Aberdeenshire) and Gilston (Moray).
Hampshire accounted for a couple of records of Pallid Swift, at Posbrook Flood on 22nd and Oxey Marsh on 23rd; a further probable bird was at Holy Island (Northumberland) on 23rd; and a possible at Rodborough Common (Gloucestershire) on 24th.
The week’s sole Wryneck was seen on Valentia Island (Co.Kerry) on 20th.
After a glut of them the previous week, just three Short-toed Larks were logged this week – one on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 21st-22nd, with a probable sighting on 23rd; one on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 20th; and one at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 26th.
A single Red-throated Pipit was recorded this week – on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 21st-22nd still, with a probable heard-only on 26th at The Naze (Essex).
Meanwhile just five Olive-backed Pipits were seen - these were single birds on Fair Isle on 21st-22nd, on Portland (Dorset) on 21st, and on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 24th; and two birds at Stiffkey Fen (Norfolk) on 24th.
Some 20 Richard’s Pipits were half of the prior week’s tally, though still respectable enough. All were single birds bar two over Scarborough (North Yorkshire) on 23rd.
Seven Red-breasted Flycatchers were recorded this week – on Fair Isle (Shetland) and Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 20th; on St Mary’s on 20th-21st and St Martin’s (Scilly) on 21st; and in Wales on Skomer (Pembrokeshire) on 21st-23rd, at Llandudno (Conwy) on 22nd, and at St Justinian (Pembrokeshire) on 22nd also. Another was seen back on Fair Isle on 25th.
It’s a sign of the times that we talk of just seven Red-flanked Bluetails seen this week… Two remained at Holme (Norfolk) on 21st, with one at least still present until 25th; the Holkham Pines (Norfolk) individual remained on 20th-22nd; Northumberland had birds at Bamburgh on 20th and Holy Island still on 20th-21st; Bedfordshire’s first record remained at Biddenham on 20th; and the Barra (Western Isles) individual remained there on 20th-26th.
Two Bluethroats were on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 20th, with one remaining until 26th; further single birds were seen this week at The Gearagh (Co.Cork) on 21st; and on 22nd on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and St Kilda (Western Isles).
Eastern stonechat sp presumed to be likely Stejneger’s Stonechats remained this week at Warham Greens (Norfolk) on 20th, Holkham Freshmarsh (Norfolk) on 20th-25th, and at South Gare (Cleveland) on 20th-26th. Another good candidate was present at Medmerry RSPB (West Sussex) on 20th-22nd. A bird considered a likely Siberian Stonechat lingered on Gugh (Scilly) on 20th; and a further eastern stonechat sp was on Unst (Shetland) at Westing on 25th-26th.
The first Desert Wheatear of the autumn remained at Seaton Point (Northumberland) on 20th-23rd.
The juvenile Rose-coloured Starling remained on Portland (Dorset) on 20th-2t6h; one remained on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 21st; and the recent bird was again seen at Whitchurch (Shropshire) on 20th-26th. One was noted on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 22nd; one remained in Harrogate (North Yorkshire) on 25th; while the adult bird was again seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 25th also.
Single Common Rosefinches was seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 22nd, and Lewis (Western Isles) on 26th.
Shetland, meanwhile, continued to enjoy Arctic Redpolls of one kind or another throughout the week. On Unst, a hornemannii remained at Norwick on 20th-22nd, while two were seen at Baltasound on 22nd; and on Mainland, one more big white bruiser was found at Norby on 22nd also. Back on Unst, an exilipes at Norwick on 21st-22nd was followed by a showy snowball at Baltasound on 23rd; and a further example was found on Mainland at Burravoe on 22nd. A final probable bird was seen in Co.Down on 26th at Kirkeel.
Hints of a small irruption of Parrot Crossbills continued to be seen and heard this week – on 20th a probable male flew over Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire), while five possible birds were logged in Norfolk at Holkham Pines that day; on 22nd a female was seen at Gunton (Suffolk), while a possible male was noted coming in off the sea at Longhaughton Steel (Northumberland); and on 23rd one more passed over Sprowston (Norfolk). Two more probable males were seen on 25th in Suffolk at Sutton Heath. On 26th eight birds were found at Stiffkey (Norfolk), while a probable flew over Whitburn (Co.Durham) earlier that morning.
Numbers of Little Buntings dropped off a cliff this week, with just 11 birds in all logged nationally. Shetland birds were seen at Norby on 22nd, on Fair Isle on 22nd-23rd, and on Unst on 26th; Scillonian examples on Tresco still on 20th-21st, and St Mary’s on 22nd. One remained at Buckton (East Yorkshire) on 20th; another was at Holme NOA (Norfolk) on 24th; and a westerly outlier was on Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 22nd. On 25th Orkney supplied two more birds, one each for Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.
Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall) scored a Rustic Bunting on 22nd, but it’s back to Unst (Shetland) to wrap up the week’s passerines with a subtle beauty – a gorgeous female Pine Bunting up at Skaw on 20th-22nd.
Starting the overseas news, for a change, not in the Azores, we’ve a welcome return to prominence for rare seabirds – first of which is a Persian Shearwater seen daily off Eilat (Israel) in the Gulf of Aqaba on 20th-24th.
Further rare bird news from Israel on 24th confirmed the lingering presence of a Greater Painted Snipe still at Hama’apil Fishponds; and a Blyth’s Pipit still present for its third day at Tel Aviv.
Returning to the seabirds, Holland meanwhile scored a second Brown Booby on 25th at Maasvlakte; while the country’s first Blackpoll Warbler was found on Texel on 25th-26th, with at least four Pallid Swifts also present on Texel on 26th for added value.
Wat een knaller van een soort. Deze bruine gent werd vandaag gezien op de Maasvlakte. Een vogel van tropische zeeën en familie van onze jan-van-gent. Indien aanvaard door de CDNA is dit de 2e Bruine Gent voor NL. De eerste werd in 2017 gezien bij Lopik-Utrecht. Foto: Remko Houkes pic.twitter.com/nDNE6YE0HJ
— Waarneming.nl (@waarneming) October 25, 2020
It’s no good though – for sheer colourful drama, we can’t ignore the Azores a moment longer. Corvo in particular continued to make the news – not least with the Western Palearctic’s fifth Bay-breasted Warbler on 22nd, found on the same day as a Myrtle Warbler for good measure. The Azores can lay claim to four of those five Bay-breasted Warblers - the remaining record being the bird that was accepted from Land’s End (Cornwall) on 1st October 1995…
Also on Corvo this week were Rough-legged Hawk still on 20th; Double-crested Cormorant still on 20th-21st; and Semipalmated Plover still on 20th-21st, with two birds again on the former date; Blackpoll Warbler on 21st-22nd; and Philadelphia Vireo on 25th.
Elsewhere in the Azores, the Pied-billed Grebe remained on Sao Miguel on 24th; an Ovenbird on Pico on 25th; and Double-crested Cormorant on Praia, with two birds present there on 20th.
Back in continental Europe, intriguing news came from Ouessant (France) on 22nd, where a Pintail Snipe was reported; while a Sociable Lapwing was seen on 23rd-26th at Mathaux.
A Little Swift was found on 26th in Belgium at Wenduine – a national first.
A Blyth’s Pipit was present at Hel in Poland on 22nd.
Scandinavia finishes the week with an emphatic flourish. In Norway, an Eastern Yellow Wagtail was found on 24th at Skeie; in Finland a Black-throated Accentor was found on 24th-25th at Maankaatopaikka; and in Sweden, a Mongolian Finch was an astounding find at Dalarna on 25th-26th – unsurprisingly, a national first.
Having seen this week what a late autumn low pressure system can sweep across the Atlantic towards us at this time of year, and with another such system poised to hit the southwest any moment now, our weekly gaze into the murky RBA crystal ball needs to cast our covetous eyes and our wildest dreams to the west…
If we’re talking warblers, we’ve not an enormous amount of precedent to go at in the final days of October – four historic British and Irish records of Blackpoll Warbler, and half a dozen Myrtle Warblers. Both nice, the latter a little prettier and on the whole rarer than the former, but neither setting the world on fire… The first two days of November, meanwhile, up the ante a little with single records apiece of Northern Parula and American Redstart. We’d happily take either of those…
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet trapped and ringed on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 27th October 2013 is an eye-catching record. Just imagine one of those on Scilly or in a Cornish valley… It’s surely going to happen one of these days, a matter of when and not if.
But if we’re to shoot for the stars? Does 2020 have another first for Britain or Ireland up its sleeve? Could we finally get a Black-throated Green Warbler? Iceland’s first was found on 27th October 2003, so a late autumn arrival is eminently feasible…
Jon Dunn
27 October 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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