Weekly birding round-up: 26 Jan - 01 Feb 2021
A week of two halves, the week just gone – which is to say, either you were bracing yourself against a prolonged cold snap that felt traditionally wintery, or you were wishing with every fibre of your being it would just stop raining, even for a little while…
A fair few of us will have had the pleasure of finding a Ring-necked Duck over the course of the years and, while far from the rarest of ducks on the British list, I think we’d all agree that any day in which we find one of them is, by any standards, a Good Day.
Had Peter Forbes only found a female Ring-necked Duck at Lea Marston 2B (Warwickshire) during a wildfowl count on 27th, that would surely have sent him home with a spring in his step. However, given that he’d only a short while earlier in the day found Warwickshire’s second ever Bufflehead at the same site, I think we can safely say he was walking on air by that point anyway…
Lea Marston doing wildfowl count. This Bufflehead was on Lea Marson 2B. @WestMidBirdClub pic.twitter.com/7O4DG5ikgO
— Peter Forbes (@peterforbes17) January 27, 2021
Warwickshire’s only prior record was a drake seen at Fisher’s Mill GPs on 4th-6th June 2004 – a bird that also toured Staffordshire and Derbyshire during an early summer sojourn. Or is that late spring? Either way, a midwinter bird like this week’s certainly has a feel-good factor about it, particularly in light of the supporting cast of prior Bufflehead sightings in Ireland in recent months.
These being a female at an undisclosed site in Co.Clare on 30th November; the drake at Quoile Pondage (Co.Down) on 5th December – 8th January; and, in Co.Cork, the female / juvenile drake seen passing Aghada Pier on 20th December, followed by the lingering female present around Oysterhaven and Nohoval on 2nd-30th January – and, in other news this week, that means that yes, it’s still there. Throw in a female in western Norway at Harvalandsvatnet on 3rd January and you’ve got a modest arrival of them across the Atlantic.
It’s tempting to assume that, in the absence of the drake at Quoile Pondage, this Warwickshire bird is one and the same… tempting, but given we know several birds seem to have made it to Europe this winter, perhaps a little too neat and contrived a conclusion. It could just as easily be another bird entirely. Either way, it was a belter, and a good day’s work by Peter.
Last seen in Cornwall at Maer Lake CBWPS on 4th, we might have wondered if the the Sociable Lapwing originally found way to the west at Crows-an-Wra on 27th November had wandered further to the east, but no. News this week came of it, still present at Maer Lake, on 29th, taking its stay in Cornwall to a full two months now.
That’s a stay that’s getting on for the British record – a duration of 85 days attributed to a bird that was seen at Pett Level (East Sussex) initially on 30th September – 4th October 2001 and then again there on 15th-23rd December of the same year. That’s assuming this was indeed the same bird involved in both sightings.
The next longest stay also owes itself to Sussex – a bird seen in the Steyning and Sompting area for 65 days in December 1985 and early January 1986. The Cornish individual is knocking on the door of the latter stay, having been in the county for at least 64 days to date. Hopefully it’ll crop up again in the weeks to come.
Northern Scotland was, if not awash with White-billed Divers, then certainly still regularly supplying sightings of wintering birds this week. Starting in the far north, in Shetland the recent two individuals remained in South Nesting Bay to the east of central Mainland until 28th at least. In Orkney, where recent-ish sightings from Papa Westray give us ample cause to think there are plenty of birds going about their wintering business quietly and unseen, one was logged from North Ronaldsay on 26th. The recent bird seen from Skye (Highland) was once more noted from there on 26th, and again on 30th-1st.
Cornwall, meanwhile, served up some Pomarine Skuas on 29th around Falmouth – a dark morph and two pale morphs.
A Little Auk was seen on 30th at Portknockie (Moray).
Our long-legged beasties of note this week continued to be Glossy Ibises - the largest contingent of which were the settled trio still present in Cambridgeshire at Earith Bridge on 26th-27th.
Suffolk’s recently found bird remained at Barsham Marshes on 26th, while the resident Dungeness (Kent) bird was again seen there on 29th-1st. Moving along the south coast, in Dorset the wintering individual remained happily ensconced in Christchurch Harbour, being reliably seen at Stanpit Marsh on 26th-31st.
Bedfordshire got in on the act with a bird at Biggleswade on 31st, while in Co.Cork that day the recent bird was again seen at Pilmore.
Our weekly dabble in the national rarity duckpond remains the stuff of soap opera, with various honkers and quackers of questionable origins spicing up proceedings and muddying the waters of provenance. It’s a bit like watching the Tour de France or the Olympics – you know there are genuine athletes amongst the cheaters and the dopers, but equally you strongly suspect, and with good reason, that some big names aren’t all they’re being cracked up to be.
Starting with the honkers… take Lesser White-fronted Goose. One seen in Norfolk at Surlingham Church Marsh RSPB on 28th was doing itself no favours whatsoever by hanging out with Greylag Geese… while a bird found with Pink-footed Geese in Lancashire on 31st-1st at Pilling briefly quickened pulses before the keen detective skills of the wildfowl police determined that it appeared to be the self-same, feral, individual last seen hanging out with Pink-footed, Greylag and Canada Geese at Staveley (North Yorkshire) on 26th-28th September last year.
On the subject of The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, two interior Todd’s Canada Geese remained on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 27th-1st, while one more was seen in Northumberland over Longhirst Flash in the early afternoon of 29th and, latterly that afternoon, at Linton Lane NR.
Black Brants were seen once more this week in East Yorkshire at Kilnsea on 26th, Spurn on 27th, and Easington on 31st; again in Hampshire at Warblington on 29th; at Mersea Island (Essex) again on 31st; and in Dorset at Rodden Hive on 1st where two birds were once more noted. Further sightings came from Arne RSPB (Dorset) on 27th; and North Bull Island (Co.Dublin) on 29th. A final possible bird was seen in Devon at South Huish Marsh fleetingly in the morning of 1st.
Co.Dublin also featured for three possible Grey-bellied Brants again at Cabinteely on 28th – these being an adult and two first-winters, with the adult still present there the following day.
A Snow Goose was again seen on North Uist (Western Isles) on 1st.
Our only American Wigeon this week was once again the drake still present in Northumerland at Big Waters NR on 26th-1st.
Marking a distinct change this week, half of our Green-winged Teals were down in the southwest of England – these being individuals again in Dorset at Longham Lakes on 26th and in Devon at Exminster Marshes RSPB on 28th-30th. The Western Isles provided part of the Scottish counterpoint, with sightings from Benbecula on 26th still, and North Uist on 27th and 1st again; while the recent bird was again seen from Tain Links (Highland) on 1st.
Some 20 Ring-necked Ducks were logged in recent days – a modest drop on the preceding weeks of January, but still a solid total by any standards. Notable tallies amongst them were the three birds still present on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 29th, two still present on Moylan Lough (Co.Monaghan) on 28th, and two again at Radley GPs (Oxfordshire) on 31st-1st.
In Cambridgeshire, the Ferruginous Duck remained at Ouse Washes RSPB on 29th-1st.
Co.Kerry’s recent first-winter drake King Eider remained this week at Castlegregory on 28th.
Co.Meath meanwhile continued to prove reliable for Surf Scoter, with two birds seen off Mornington again on 29th. In Highland, a drake was seen near Embo on 31st-1st; and in Lothian the drake remained off Eastfield on 31st also.
And so we come to Suffolk, where any residual feel-good factor about the lingering female Hooded Merganser at Staverton Pools – still present this week on 31st – was soured somewhat by the lingering, gaudy presence of the escapee drake still tootling around on the River Gipping in Ipswich on 26th. Elvis has not left the building just yet, while the whereabouts of Priscilla (the female released in Ipswich last year) remains unaccounted for. But sure, the female just a few miles away at Staverton Pools could simply be one of those really startling coincidences…
With the reappearance of the Sociable Lapwing in Cornwall this week, we were already looking at a resurgent shorebirds showing in recent days. Throw in the reappearance of the Spotted Sandpiper at Culzean Bay (Ayrshire) on 28th-1st, last seen there 16th-19th October last autumn, and we were fairly being spoiled for variety given the unpromising time of year.
Dull light for the Ayrshire Spotted Sandpiper but its spots are starting to come through ??#Ayrshirebirds pic.twitter.com/OwdB2Wyuhw
— Dave Grant (@gullman1066) January 29, 2021
And that’s before we even get to the Kentish Plover, seen once more this week in Somerset at Burnham-on-Sea on 26th and 31st
Still proving reliable in Devon, the Lesser Yellowlegs was also still present at Aveton Gifford on 29th.
A Grey Phalarope was found off Penzance (Cornwall) on 31st.
Easily the cream of the weekly gull crop this week was the discovery of a first-winter American Herring Gull at Sandside Bay (Highland) on 28th. Given the strong showing of Nearctic passerines last autumn, and wildfowl over the winter thus far, we could be forgiven for thinking there may yet be one or two more of these waiting to be found nationally before the winter is done with us…
Just five Ring-billed Gulls were logged this week – three Irish individuals, at Tramore Backstrand (Co.Waterford) on 26th; in Bray (Co.Wicklow) on 28th still; and at Belfast Waterworks (Co.Antrim) again on 31st – while the Scottish adult bird was still hanging out in Strathclyde CP (Clyde) on 30th-31st, and a first-winter was found in Cornwall on 1st at Helston Loe Pool.
Numbers of white-wingers remained steady, if unremarkable, for another week. Some 50 Glaucous Gulls were seen nationwide, with the highest single site tally being eight birds noted on North Uist (Western Isles) on 30th, run a close second by five logged at Loch of Spiggie on Shetland on 29th.
Iceland Gulls, meanwhile, totalled around 70 birds which were, for the most part, ones or twos with only the Western Isles and Shetland scoring elevated counts – North Uist (Western Isles) accounted for seven birds on 30th, while Yell (Shetland) managed four on the same day.
A couple of adult Kumlien’s Gull added a little subtle variety – these being birds seen on Westray (Orkney) on 28th and once more on Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 28th also – while the recent lingering second-winter bird was once more seen in Cambridgeshire this week on 31st at Foxton briefly.
Our only Rough-legged Buzzard this week, in a winter that’s proving to be far from a classic for them, was a bird seen at Swale NNR on the north Kent coast on 27th; presumably this was the same bird noted on 31st over the saltmarsh at Conyer.
We’ll start our run through the passerines once more with Yellow-browed Warblers because, as every fashionable garden birdwatcher knows, Yellow(-browed Warbler) is the new Black(cap) where overwintering warblers are concerned this season.
Birds remained this week in Portsmouth (Hampshire) on 27th-1st; at Molesey Heath (Surrey) on 27th-31st; in Hayle (Cornwall) on 27th; in Newton Abbot (Devon) on 27th-30th; and in Little Clacton (Essex) again on 31st. A further bird was seen in a Gloucestershire garden at Moreton-in-Marsh on 29th; and one was in a garden somewhere in the north of Bedfordshire on 30th.
Gloucestershire also sported a lingering Dusky Warbler at Siddington on 27th still; while other recent birds remained at Minster Marshes (Kent) on 26th, and Ainsdale NNR (Merseyside) on 29th-1st.
Both recent first-winter Eastern Yellow Wagtails were still hanging on – the Prestwick Carr (Northumberland) individual being logged on 26th-1st, and the Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) bird checking in again on 31st.
The Richard’s Pipit was once more seen in Kent at Halstow Marshes on 31st.
Kent also supplied a late report of what, had it not been couched with the ‘wholly unconfirmed’ caveat, might have been a contender for bird of the week – a report of an Eyebrowed Thrush briefly in some holly in Hythe in the afternoon of 1st.
Just one Great Grey Shrike was reported in recent days, this being the bird still tucked into Thursley Common NNR (Surrey) on 28th-1st.
The best of our weekly Waxwing sightings was, once again, the flock of 10 birds still present in Elgin (Moray) on 28th-31st. Three remained in Highland at Boat of Garten until 1st, while three more were seen in Haworth (West Yorkshire) on 26th.
Both of our settled Rose-coloured Starlings remained present at, respectively, Amlwch (Anglesey) on 26th-1st, and on Portland (Dorset) on 27th-1st.
Finally for this week, back in Surrey, both the Rustic Bunting and the pair of Little Buntings were still to be seen at Thursley Common NNR on 26th-1st.
Once more, there’s tons of overseas action to report upon this past week. While it’s kind of hard to know where to begin, for sheer volume I think Scandinavia deserves to kick things off…
In Sweden, the recent Baikal Teal was still at Uppsala on 30th; the Eastern Yellow Wagtail remained at Trelleborg on 24th; and the Black-throated Thrush remained at Sjorrod on 27th-31st. Further sightings of Black-throated Thrush came from Akerod on 27th and Koggerudden on 28th.
Finland too had a Black-throated Thrush this week, seen at Viinikka on 29th.
Denmark, meanwhile, retained both recent rare scoters - the drake Stejneger’s Scoter still at Rorvig on Zealand on 26th, and the drake Black Scoter still at Tisvilde Hegn on 31st – but gilded the lily with the reappearance of the Sandhill Crane last seen on 16th, also on Zealand over Hyllingebjergvej on 31st.
Norway held onto the recent adult Franklin’s Gull at Skudeneshavn on 26th-29th.
Out on Iceland, the wintering Slate-coloured Junco was still present near Heidmork on 26th-28th.
In Holland, the settled Brunnich’s Guillemot remained on Zealand at Vrouwenpolder on 27th-1st, a surely unprecedented stay for its kind in Dutch waters.
In Germany, the White-headed Duck was still present at Echinger Stausee on 27th-31st, while the Pygmy Cormorant remained at Dubbelausee on 27th.
Austria boasted a Lesser Short-toed Lark at Hohenau an der March on 31st-1st.
In France, the Pygmy Cormorant lingered in Vauvert at Marias de Buisson Gros on 27th also.
Poland meanwhile kicked off February with an Oriental Turtle Dove at Katowice on 1st.
We move to Spain next, where a Sociable Lapwing was seen at Arrozales Fondo de Litera on 29th-30th and, offshore, the Pine Bunting remained on Mallorca on 27th and, in the Canary Islands, one of the recent Allen’s Gallinules in the islands was still alive and kicking on Gran Canaria on 26th-28th.
On Cape Verde, a Black-capped Petrel was seen at sea off Fogo on 29th – the sixth record for Cape Verde, and only the 15th for the Western Palearctic to date.
Finally, in Israel on 26th, the recent Greater Painted Snipe was still present at Gan Schmu’el fishponds, and the Grey Hypocolius remained at Atlit beach.
You may already have partaken of the joys of the lockdown Birders Pub Quizzes organised by Ashley Saunders, Mark Golley, and Nick Acheson. Formerly on Twitter, now hosted on Zoom, they’ve been a fabulous distraction off and on in the past year.
Tonight – February 2nd – marks the last of them for now, though one sincerely hopes they make sporadic reappearances as they’re as welcome as finding your own wing-barred Phylloscopus warbler, and as pleasantly perplexing as a Penwith Paddyfield Pipit. Which is all to say, they’ve been a lot of fun, and our thanks go to all concerned behind the scenes.
You’ll find all the details of how to join in on their respective Twitter accounts (@oriole_ashley, @vaasetter and @themarshtit). This final quiz is going to be a special one and, if you’ve enjoyed the Birders Pub Quizzes, the team are asking folk to consider making a donation to a cause close to their hearts and, one suspects, those of a great many of us – the fundraising to help Fair Isle Bird Observatory be rebuilt after the terrible fire that robbed the island, and us all in the wider world, of a special place where happy memories have been made and rare bird dreams remain to be fulfilled.
Donate to the Fair Isle Bird Observatory Rebuild Appeal
And here we are, before we knew it, sailing into the first week of February. Not, of course, the most promising time of year where top drawer rarities are concerned… or at least, not on the face of it. The latter winter period, and the coming week in particular, has some startling precedent for eastern passerines emerging unexpectedly from the woodwork…
In the space of the past decade alone, we can look to the Siberian Accentor found in Highland at Kildary on 8th-14th February 2017, or the Red-flanked Bluetail discovered toughing the winter out in Gloucestershire at Marshfield on 3rd February – 9th March 2014.
We’re proceeding through a winter on the back of a record-breaking arrival of the latter species on these shores last autumn, including some notable inland county first records, so who’s to say there aren’t one or two lurking out there yet?
Failing that, we need only look to Scandinavia lately for a timely reminder of other eastern passerine fare that’s a little more traditional as a late winter find in a British garden, supermarket carpark, or even the grounds of a zoo… and that’s Black-throated Thrush. Sweden and Finland have enjoyed a few lately, and one feels like a classic long-shot rarity for the coming week.
Jon Dunn
February 2nd 2021
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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