Weekly birding round-up: 24 - 30 Nov 2020
So that was the last week of November, not traditionally renowned for being the busiest week where volume of rare and scarce birds are concerned… but this being 2020, the year wasn’t going to let the dimming embers of November extinguish without a couple of final licks of flame.
Britain and Ireland both scored birds of national significance for their respective tribes of birders. It’s been quite a year, and there’s still a month to go…
We came close a few weeks ago with the Double-crested Cormorant that landed on a Spanish survey vessel 149 miles west of Valentia Island (Co.Kerry) on 29th September. Close, that is, in the sense that the nearest Double-crested Cormorant to Ireland wasn’t some 1,200 miles away in the Azores where, this autumn, some 10 or more birds were logged in the course of October.
But yeah, that’s still a long way from actually making landfall in Ireland. Still, given that small influx into the Azores, and given the variety of other notable Nearctic vagrants seen in Britain and Ireland these past weeks, there was always a good chance at least one bird would have made it to our shores – though actually picking one out from the local Great Cormorants would still remain a significant obstacle.
The good news, this week, is that one has been found at an undisclosed site somewhere in Co.Kerry. In the fullness of time we’ll doubtless learn more about that, and can in the meantime hope that this, Ireland’s second Double-crested Cormorant, is as accommodating as Ireland’s first, the bird that settled down for a good long stay at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 18th November 1995 – 6th January 1996.
The wait for Britain’s second record, meanwhile, goes on…
It dates me that, when I saw news of a Sociable Lapwing this week in Cornwall, my mind cast back to the autumn of 1998 when not one but two of these elegant, creamy shorebirds settled down for a stay in north Kent. I saw mine in the bleakness of the Isle of Sheppey in late October, a day of truly, monstrously foul weather, Short-eared Owls hunched miserably on fence-posts, and sheer elation in my car when I finally found the Sociable Plover facing into the wind in a claggy ploughed field.
(And yes, Sociable Plover dates me too. It’s not quite as antediluvian as the old codgers who insist on calling Lapwings Green Plovers, but yeah... The times and taxonomic fashions have moved on. How does that classic Gershwin song go? “You say Zitting Cisticola, I say Fan-tailed Warbler...”)
But back to that bird, and its companion that spent mid-October on the other side of the Swale in the fields around Graveney. Two birds, simultaneously in Britain and, a few weeks later, a third bird was seen that year for good measure in Co.Offaly.
I recall being pleased to see my first Sociable Plover (go on, indulge me), but I don’t remember it being a particular surprise – they were, back then, pretty regular beasts in Britain. In the period of 1984 to 2001 they were, while not quite annual, very nearly so – there were just 6 blank years and, in the years in which they were seen, six years involved two or three records in the space of 12 months. Seeing one, back in the day, felt like a matter of time.
After 2001, they began to stutter, though we didn’t perhaps realise what lay ahead of us. Three birds were found in that decade – an obliging bird at Rainham Marshes (London) on 4th-20th December 2005; a one-day bird in reliable Kent on 21st December 2007 at Grove Ferry; and a popular bird on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 12th-20th October 2008.
The latter’s popularity owed more to the fact it was a first for Scilly than to many folk, at the time, still needing the species. We’d been spoilt for choice, after all. And then, when that bird departed… nothing. Not a sniff of a Sociable Lapwing for 12 long years.
The species’ fortunes went into freefall in the latter half of the 20th century, with an estimated 90% of the world population lost – a decline that appears to have been driven by pressures, including (predictably) hunting, on their migration route and in their wintering grounds. Small wonder, then, that numbers of them arriving in Britain dwindled to nothing. For more information on the population and decline of the species, see Birdlife's Data Zone
Which isn’t to say I’ve not spent time in these columns invoking Sociable Lapwing as a British rarity that was long overdue another example, particularly with a few birds seen lately in Western Europe. But with every passing year, it was starting to feel like a bit of a modest blocker for a new generation of birders.
Never mind them, though. Put yourselves in the shoes of Cornish birders for a moment – their last bird, a two-day bird at Davidstow Airfield, was in 1987, at the height of the species’ glory days. A shade over three decades had elapsed before, this week, Dave Flumm made a stop on 27th at Crows-an-Wra to check a flock of some 400 Golden Plovers and found, to his delight, a Sociable Lapwing strolling around in the same field.
The bird remained present there until 30th – only Cornwall’s third ever record and, from a British perspective, nowadays a truly top-drawer rarity.
Meanwhile, Shropshire birders got to enjoy a county first this week in the dumpy form of a Pied-billed Grebe found by Tom Lowe at Chelmarsh reservoir on 26th.
Didn't expect to find a county first at #ChelmarshResr this afternoon, but after a run around this cracking little PIED-BILLED GREBE joined the GND off the causeway reedbed at dusk. If coming tomorrow, please park in B4555 layby & keep to public rights of way to north of resr pic.twitter.com/81hKNkLs4k
— Tom Lowe (@saloplarus) November 26, 2020
Remaining until 30th, there must be an outside chance that this might be the bird last seen in Cumbria on Walney on 8th but not thereafter. As the grebe flies more or less due south, it’s not a million miles away. Then again, it’s been quite a year for Nearctic vagrancy generally…The species has now been seen annually in Britain since 2010 – a statistic helped by long-staying birds. It remains to be seen how long this latest individual remains faithful to Chelmarsh but, for now, it’s a locally popular bird.
Topping the charts in an otherwise muted week of seabird news, the adult Pacific Diver was back this week for another winter off Penzance (Cornwall), being seen from between Penzance and Marazion on 25th-30th.
In Scotland, meanwhile, the regular White-billed Diver was again seen in Shetland’s South Nesting Bay on 24th-27th; and four birds were seen from the Orcadian hotspot of Papa Westray on 26th, following a single bird off there on 24th.
The week’s only skuas were a handful of Pomarine Skuas noted on 24th – one reported from Troon (Ayrshire); and single birds off Ravenstone (Norfolk) and Swanpool Bay (Cornwall) – and one more on 29th from East Tilbury (Essex).
Numbers of Little Auks logged this week dropped substantially, barely making it into double figures – 11 birds were seen, of which a trio off Papa Westray (Orkney) and two seen from Dungeness (Kent) on 26th were the best single site tallies. The balance were single birds, noted from Easington (East Yorkshire) on 24th; off Moul of Eswick (Shetland) on 26th; on 27th from Gletness and South Nesting (Shetland), and Dornoch (Highland); and on 28th from Lossiemouth (Moray).
Our long-legged beasty news was, once again, all about the Glossy Ibises this week. Biggest news on this front was a single bird that had made it just about as far as any Glossy Ibis could before running out of Britain to choose to settle in – found by Brydon Thomason on Unst whilst doing the school run on the morning of 24th. This bird, the 8th record for Shetland and the 219th species for Brydon’s steadily growing house list, lingered on Unst until 28th.
Back on the British mainland, the most activity was in Cambridgeshire, where a single bird remained near Dog-in-a-Doublet on 24th-29th; one was again seen at Ouse Fen RSPB on 26th-27th; three were present at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB on 28th-30th; and one was seen in flight over Reach Lode on 29th. Two birds were settled in Suffolk at Carlton Marshes SWT on 24th-29th; and in Norfolk, two were noted over Hickling Broad NWT on 24th, and one was seen at Welney WWT on 30th.
In Kent, the single bird was again seen at Dungeness on 28th. One was present in West Sussex at Sidlesham on 24th-30th; in Dorset, the settled bird continued to commute between Hengistbury Head and Stanpit Marsh on 24th-30th; and in Devon, four birds remained near Fremington at Home Farm Marsh on 30th. The exceptions to this English easterly and southerly distribution were two birds seen in Derbyshire at Longford on 26th; the two now regular birds in Wales at Newport Wetlands NNR (Gwent) still on 24th-25th; and a singleton in Co.Wexford at Tacumshin on 25th.
Just two representatives of The Goose Formerly Known as Canada kick off our weekly paddle in the national rarity duckpond – an interior Todd’s Canada Goose seen at Banks Marsh NNR (Lancashire) on 25th, and another at Loch of Skene (Aberdeenshire) on 29th.
A scatter of Black Brants complete the week’s honkers – single birds near Wells (Norfolk) on 24th; in Essex at Old Hall Marshes RSPB still on 25th-29th, and at South Woodham Ferrers on 29th; in Dorset again at Ferrybridge on 28th-29th; and at Myroe (Co.Derry) on 29th-30th. On 30th one was seen in Dorset a little way further up The Fleet at Chickerell.
Moving onto the quackers, we’ll start in Lothian where the drake White-winged Scoter was again seen off Musselburgh on 27th, sharing those waters with the regular drake Surf Scoter which was also seen from there on 27th-29th. Further examples of the latter species were seen this week on 25th at Laytown (Co.Meath); on 27th still off Kirkwall (Orkney); with two birds at Laytown on 29th.
Sticking with the seaduck, two female King Eiders lingered off St John’s Point (Co.Donegal) on 25th-28th; while in Pembrokeshire, the young drake was still present at Little Haven on 26th.
In Shetland, the Lesser Scaup remained on Loch of Spiggie on 24th.
The week was a busy one for Ring-necked Ducks, with 20 birds in total logged nationwide, including several sites that hosted multiple individuals – a trio (a drake, a female, and a first-winter drake) were seen in Hertfordshire on 24th at Wilstone reservoir and, on 25th, at Startop’s End reservoir; three were seen on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 25th; and, in Ireland, four were seen at Ardcloony (Co.Clare) on 25th and two at Moylan Lough (Co.Monaghan) on 27th. Single birds, meanwhile, were seen at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) still on 25th; in Glamorgan at Cosmeston Lakes CP on 25th-30th and Bute Town on 26th; at Kilmardinny Loch (Clyde) on 27th-28th; at Loch na Bo (Moray) on 28th-30th; and at Cameron reservoir (Fife) on 28th. On 29th, the drake was again seen in Lancashire at Pine Lake; a drake was seen in Somerset at Chew Valley Lake on 29th-30th; and a female remained on Lough Gash (Co.Clare) on 30th.
Northumberland again supplied sightings of American Wigeon at two sites – both drakes, seen on 28th at Big Waters NR again, and at Blagdon Park. A further bird this week was seen, also on 28th, at Loch Oire (Moray).
A quartet of lingering Green-winged Teals make up the bulk of our week’s sightings of the species – individuals still present on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and College reservoir (Cornwall) on 25th, at Longham Lakes (Dorset) till on 25th-29th, and one still present in Northumberland at Budle Bay on 28th. Further sightings came from Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 25th-29th, near Inskip (Lancashire) on 27th-30th, and in Courtmacsherry Bay (Co.Cork) on 30th.
The week’s quackers finish strongly with a female Bufflehead found on 29th somewhere in Co.Clare – the county’s second record, following the long-stayer that settled down at Lough Atedaun on 6th January – 4th March 2007.
The week’s shorebirds made up in quality what they, not unreasonably at this late point in the year, may have lacked in quantity – headed by the recent star turn in Fife, the Hudsonian Godwit still present on the Eden estuary on 25th-28th.
Scotland’s other lingering big-hitter was also still all present and correct – the Pacific Golden Plover showing no signs of abandoning Findhorn Bay (Moray) on 25th-28th at least.
Down in Somerset, the Kentish Plover was once more seen on Stert Island on 24th-26th.
In the north of England, both recent Long-billed Dowitchers were still settled – the first-winter at Scorton GPs (North Yorkshire) on 24th-26th, and the adult still in Cumbria at Campfield Marsh RSPB on 26th-28th.
Sticking with North Yorkshire for a moment, the adult Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Nosterfield NR on 24th-30th; in Norfolk, the first-winter was again at Cley on 24th and, latterly, on 25th-30th at Wiveton; and in Ireland, the bird remained at Killongford Pools (Co.Waterford) on 26th-28th.
Finally, our only Grey Phalarope was a bird that lingered at Marshside RSPB (Lancashire) on 24th-30th; while a Red-necked Phalarope was found at a site in Kent with no general access near Folkestone on 29th.
Numbers of white-wingers began to climb this week, particularly in the case of Iceland Gulls, with just over 60 individuals noted nationwide. Of these, five in Scrabster harbour (Highland) on 29th, and a handful of trios made for the best single site tallies – three birds apiece being noted on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 24th; at Scrabster (Highland) on 25th; and at Thurso (Highland) and Killybegs (Co.Donegal) on 26th. A second-winter bird formerly thought of as this species was re-identified as a Kumlien’s Gull at Dernford Farm reservoir (Cambridgeshire) on 26th, remaining there until 30th. Some 35 Glaucous Gulls were recorded nationally this week, of which four birds on North Uist (Western Isles) on 27th was our best count.
Of the scarcer species, an adult Bonaparte’s Gull seen briefly at Budle Bay (Northumberland) on 27th was the best of the bunch, with another possible seen in the morning of 30th at Brockhall GP (Herefordshire); while Ring-billed Gulls were noted at Llys-y-Fran reservoir (Pembrokeshire) on 25th and Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 27th.
Lastly, a Sabine’s Gull was reported from Kingsdown (Kent) on 25th, and another was seen in the county from St Margaret’s at Cliffe.
In Shetland this week, a putative Pallid Harrier was found by Phil Harris on 24th over the hills near Laxo – with the caveat that this might one and the same bird as that seen in October that might (or might yet not) prove to be a hybrid.
Our only other raptor news of note this week – apart from the massive step in the right direction that is the announcement that Scottish grouse moors will shortly have to be licenced if they are to operate, thereby making them more accountable for any wildlife crimes that take place upon them – were the reports of Rough-legged Buzzards at Potterhanworth (Lincolnshire) on 25th and King’s Fleet (Suffolk) on 29th…
…a possible Black Kite near Heckington (Lincolnshire) on 30th…
…and confirmation that the female Snowy Owl on St Kilda (Western Isles) was still present on 24th-25th. Belated news came of another bird in Co.Cork on 21st at Aghada ESB power station.
Pick of the week’s news has to be a couple of lingering birds of the very highest quality – starting in Kent, where the Crag Martin discovered at Kingsdown on 21st remained present this week until 30th, albeit enjoying days out a few miles along the coast at Samphire Hoe on 28th, 29th and 30th… Almost all of our prior British examples have been one-day birds, with the prior longest-stayer being the 12 day bird in Chesterfield (Derbyshire) on 8th-19th November 2015 – this latest bird is making a spirited bid for that title.
Moving on to Co.Cork, we find the female Belted Kingfisher still settled at Dunboy on 25th-28th.
A female Black-throated Thrush seen in a Weybourne (Norfolk) garden briefly on 25th.
Norfolk also sported a Red-flanked Bluetail on 27th, said to be showing well at an undisclosed reserve; belated news came this week of one trapped and ringed at Airy Holm reservoir (Northumberland) on 6th, both birds adding to the remarkable autumn’s haul of this gorgeous former mega.
A Bluethroat was trapped and ringed on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 27th.
Starting upon the warblers, Dusky Warblers continued to be seen in appreciable numbers this week. Two lingered on St Mary’s (Scilly) until 26th, with at least one still present on the island on 27th-30th; in Cornwall, two were present at Nanjizal on 25th, with one seen at Porthgwarra on 26th; back on Scilly, two birds were seen on Tresco on 26th, with one still present on 30th; one was present in Essex at The Naze on 26th-27th; and one was trapped and ringed at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 28th, and still present there the following day. As the week closed on 30th a final bird was found in Kent at North Foreland.
Providing a little variety, a late Radde’s Warbler was found at Easington (East Yorkshire) on 27th.
A single Pallas’s Warbler on Portland (Dorset) on 24th had risen to two birds there on 26th-29th, with one still present on 30th; one remained in Cornwall at College reservoir on 25th, while another shared Nanjizal with the Dusky Warblers on 25th also; another was seen in Somerset at Sand Point on 25th-27th; and a final bird was seen in Norfolk at Wells Woods on 28th.
A probable Hume’s Warbler was found in Pembrokeshire at Broad Haven on 25th, remaining there until 29th.
A late Barred Warbler lingered this week between Blackhall Rocks and Castle Eden Dene LNR (Co.Durham) on 25th-28th, with another found in Dorset at Langton Matravers on 29th.
Eastern Yellow Wagtails were once more seen in recent days – one at Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) on 24th-29th; Kent’s first bird still present at Worth Marsh on 25th; and a fresh bird in Somerset at Steart WWT on 25th-30th was, with a certain inevitability, also a county first.
Three Richard’s Pipits were found this week – one at Hollesley Marshes RSPB (Suffolk) on 25th, one in Fife at Ruddon’s Point on 28th-29th and, on 29th, one in Cornwall on The Lizard at Grade Marsh.
A Black-bellied Dipper found in Shetland at Kirkhouse Burn on 26th had found a friend by 29th, with two birds photographed together there that day; at least one of which was still present on 30th.
Speaking of birds attracting pals, the adult male Red-breasted Flycatcher remained this week on The Lizard (Cornwall) at Church Cove on 25th-29th, with a second, first-winter, bird also seen there on 26th.
Waxwings continued to be in short supply this week, with three birds in the traditional surroundings of a supermarket carpark in Ponteland (Northumberland) on 26th our peak count. The remainder were single birds, at Balgreen (Lothian) still on 24th-29th; in Lerwick (Shetland) on 26th-29th; and in Norfolk at Cley on 27th and Holme NOA on 28th.
A beautiful northern garden visitor today, Waxwing! Lerwick, Shetland. @RareBirdAlertUK @OlympusUK pic.twitter.com/RuRN2vkaOf
— Rebecca Nason (@puffinpassion) November 26, 2020
A small number of Great Grey Shrikes were getting dug into their winter quarters lately – birds at Upper Hollesley Common (Suffolk) still on 24th-30th; in Matlock Forest (Derbyshire) still on 24th-30th; in Hanchurch Woods (Staffordshire) on 24th-27th; at Bransbury Common (Hampshire) on 24th-26th); at Soussons Plantation (Devon) still on 26th-27th; at Backwater reservoir (Angus) again on 28th-29th; and still in Brechfa Forest (Carmarthenshire) on 29th. Finally, on 30th in Derbyshire, one more bird was seen on Beeley Moor.
Three recent Rose-coloured Starlings were still lingering this week – the juvenile still on Portland (Dorset) on 24th-30th; the adult at Amlwch on Anglesey on 24th-29th; and the bird in Cornwall at St Buryan still on 25th-30th. One more probable bird was heard only in Lancashire at Morecambe on 25th.
A Serin was noted passing north over Portland (Dorset) on 24th.
The male Parrot Crossbill was seen again in Wakerley Great Wood (Northamptonshire) on 27th.
The settled Little Bunting remained in Surrey around Thursley Common NNR until 30th, but had rarer company in the vicinity – a Rustic Bunting also seen in the area on 26th-30th.
The Little Bunting found the previous week at Langford Lowfields RSPB (Nottinghamshire) remained there on 24th-30th; and a final bird was seen in Cornwall at Porthgwarra on 26th.
The week’s passerines finish with a flourish, with a first-winter male Pine Bunting found on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 29th.
We pick up further afield where we left off closer to home – though the single Pine Bunting on Tiree wasn’t quite in the same voluminous league as the swelling numbers seen at Riazzino in Switzerland, that had grown to at least half a dozen birds by 27th.
More pics of the female Pine Bunting from yesterday. One of 3(!) birds present since one week in Riazzino, Switzerland(2m, 1f) @TarsigerTeam pic.twitter.com/dmf6SxpJYa
— Daniel Gebauer (@kiskadee79) November 28, 2020
Returning to my enduring overseas favourite of recent weeks, a White-headed Duck remained in Poland at Zbiornik Jutrosin on 24th-29th.
French Wallcreepers continued to tease too – one was present in Brittany on 23rd, on Cap Fréhel, a finger of land pointing north across the English Channel towards Britain… while further inland, one was present in Nantes for its 15th day on 24th.
Belgium also held a Wallcreeper this week, still present at Dinant on 29th; and a Crag Martin on Sint-Denijs-Westrem on 27th-29th.
In Scandinavia, Sweden landed a Black-throated Thrush at Sävar on 28th; while an Eastern Yellow Wagtail was seen in Norway on 24th on Jomfruland.
Heading further afield, a Slate-coloured Junco was found, initially on a webcam, by Hafsteinn Björgvinsson near Heiðmörk on 27th – only Iceland’s second record of the species, and still present on 28th-29th.
Out on the Azores, a Green Heron was present on Sao Miguel on 24th-28th.
In the Canary Islands, meanwhile, the male Belted Kingfisher remained on Lanzarote on 24th.
Last of all, the Western Palearctic’s second White-breasted Waterhen was found in Kuwait at Jahra East Outfall on 25th-28th; and the Western Palearctic’s sixth ever Purple Sunbird was seen at Abdullah Al-Salem on 25th.
White-breasted Waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus photographed at Jahra East Outfall, photo by Lijo Mathew - 2nd record for Kuwait and for Western Palearctic pic.twitter.com/T2XPPdrnFf
— Tarsiger (@TarsigerTeam) November 25, 2020
Purple Sunbird, Cinnyris asiaticus photographed at Abdullah Al-Salem yesterday, photo Niel Tovey - 6th record for Kuwait and Western Palearctic pic.twitter.com/5KOiItrJtb
— Tarsiger (@TarsigerTeam) November 26, 2020
And there we go – we’re into the first week of December. 2020 is almost done with us but, after a year that seems to have never taken its foot off the pedal where the rare birds have been concerned, I wouldn’t bet against there being something else fabulous waiting in the wings. Maybe a British Double-crested Cormorant… or maybe something else of Nearctic origin…
News from the Azores this week of a Green Heron is a timely reminder that something of that ilk could be lurking somewhere damp and bosky near you…
Jon Dunn
01 December 2020
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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