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Weekly birding round-up: 7 - 13 Sep 2021

So that was the second week of September and, as we hoped, autumn was beginning to simmer nicely, with some scarce waders from the west clocking in and, from the east, some tasty passerines...

 

Another week, another east coast rare warbler. This is what autumn’s all about, isn’t it? The delicious anticipation that the next flurry of movement in some sea buckthorn is going to resolve itself into… who knows what. A year tick, patch gold, the first twitchable example of its kind…

Hitting the mist nets at Buckton (East Yorkshire) on 9th was one of the latter birds. We’ve charted the rise from unimaginable blocker to annual arrival that’s been the Green Warbler story but, as regular readers of these columns will know all too ruefully well, ‘annual’ in this instance applies mostly to island locales – of the nine birds unearthed in Britain to date, only one has been seen on the British mainland, this being the individual trapped on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 10th June 2019.

Other than that, though, from the first on Scilly in autumn 1983 to our last, only earlier this summer on Fair Isle (Shetland), they’ve all been offshore birds. Fair Isle alone accounts for a third of all records – with Foula and Unst also claiming a bird apiece. The message has been coming through loud and clear – they’re most likely to be found on an island, and that means that they’re going to be reserved only for locals and those with deep pockets and the time to make an impromptu journey far from home.

And yet… the pace of those arrivals is undeniably accelerating. A shade over 30 years elapsed between that Scillonian first for Britain and our next bird, one found on Foula on 31st May – 4th June 2014. Yet after that, we paused only to catch our breath with a blank year in 2015 before they’ve been, henceforth, annual in Britain. Not just annual – the pace is quickening with, in the past two years, more than one bird being logged. Last year saw that happen for the first time – birds were found in quick succession on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and Fair Isle (Shetland) in June 2020. Looking back just a few weeks ago, Fair Isle scored again on 23rd June and, this week, we’ve the second of the year. And who’s to say it’s going to be the last?

With such a change in fortunes for Green Warblers in Britain, it was surely just a matter of time before one was found on the east coast. Norfolk and East Yorkshire would have been where the smart money was placed and, given the rich run of form that East Yorkshire’s enjoyed this year, there was a certain fateful inevitability that it would score. Mere stats of a county first aside, the critical thing was whether or not the bird would stick around to oblige more than just the fast responders who made it there to Buckton before dusk on 9th…

Happily for all concerned, the Green Warbler went on to display a tenacity that would do a Black-browed Albatross or White-tailed Lapwing - to pick two examples entirely at random – proud, remaining at Buckton until 13th and, for those patient enough, showing well at times. Indeed, for some this week, a day out in East Yorkshire involved all three species – truly one of the best days birding imaginable.

 

While we’re on the subject of birds that Fair Isle (Shetland) seems to exert a powerful magnetism upon (and we’ll return to them anon) that brings us to our next headline bird of the week – the discovery of the island’s gazillionth Collared Flycatcher on 10th. I exaggerate but only a smidgen – of the 55 accepted British records to date, seven have been found on the island.

That’s not to downplay the quality of the find though – any Collared Flycatcher is a top drawer bird in a British context and, when you look at past records, accessible birds on the British mainland don’t come along all that often – for the most part, they’re another species that turns up on islands.

Speaking of which, what looked very like the selfsame individual found on Fair Isle on 10th appeared to have relocated to North Ronaldsay (Orkney) the following day…

 

That North Ronaldsay (Orkney) conclusion to the headlines segues us neatly into the seabirds as the week began early on 7th with yet another of a Fea’s / Desertas Petrel from the island, seen heading southeast at 7:20am. Towards the week’s conclusion another was seen from Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 12th, heading north, and was followed by a sighting off a possible off Long Nab (North Yorkshire) later that afternoon.

Still a fixture in the weekly news, in East Yorkshire perennially popular adult Black-browed Albatross remained at Bempton Cliffs RSPB on 7th and 10th-13th and, in so doing, gained some new admirers who were Yorkshire-bound for a certain warbler this week.

A Scilly pelagic on 9th delivered a Wilson’s Petrel, with another seen from the Scillonian on 12th; the season for them is maybe winding down now, but given half a chance as the autumn wears on there will be more Leach’s Petrels noted – this week, however, we’ve just the one individual of the latter species, seen from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 10th.

Large shearwaters remained in short supply again in recent days – four Great Shearwaters were seen, one from South Uist (Western Isles) on 7th, singles off the Scillonian on 9th and 12th, and one from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 9th. Our only Cory’s Shearwaters were one seen from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 10th, and another noted heading south past Kinnaird Head (Aberdeenshire) on 12th.

Balearic Shearwaters, on the other hand, were still being seen in good numbers, albeit somewhat down on the prior week’s 1,700 birds – this week, around 1,000 individuals were seen, with a peak count of at least 500 birds made in Devon’s Thurlestone Bay on 9th.

Skua numbers took a tumble, most strikingly where Long-tailed Skuas were concerned, with around 20 noted overall. We did a little better for Pomarine Skuas, albeit only a little – 45 birds in total were logged nationwide this week.

 

Glossy Ibises continued to crop up here and there for yet another week – a fair few of which were lingering birds, settled individuals being singletons at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) still on 7th-12th; at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 7th still; at Dungeness (Kent) on 7th-13th still; and again at Weston-super-Mare sewage works (Somerset) on 8th-12th; and the party of five once more in Cambridgeshire at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB on 12th. Fresh faces came to Little Marlow GPs (Buckinghamshire) on 9th; one at Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 12th-13th; and, on 13th, at least two in Scilly touring the islands, one at Radipole Lake RSPB (Dorset) perhaps also that seen over Portland, three at Hayle Estuary RSPB (Cornwall), one at Steart WWT (Somerset), and still another over Pennington Marshes (Hampshire).

Gilding the lily for many a birder northbound this week to take in the delights of East Yorkshire, the Lincolnshire juvenile Black Stork at Frampton Marsh RSPB remained there on 7th-13th.

A Purple Heron was present at Worth Marsh (Kent) on 8th; and another was reported from Blashford Lakes HWT (Hampshire) on 9th. A final possible bird was seen at Blenheim Park (Oxfordshire) on 13th.

Finally, a flyover Corncrake was seen over the A20 in Kent at Folkestone on 11th; and another was seen and heard in Cornwall at Trevalga on 12th.

 

Once again this week, the best of the quackers was the the drake Black Scoter at Kinnaber Links (Angus) on 7th still and again on 13th. The same site was good for three drake Surf Scoters on 8th, with one still present on 13th; and with another once more from the ever reliable Musselburgh (Lothian) on 13th.

In Shetland, the second-winter drake King Eider was once more seen in Basta Voe off Yell on 8th, while it or another bird was found in Wadbister Voe off the east side of central Mainland on 12th-13th.

England’s sole contribution was the eclipse drake Ring-necked Duck, again seen at Foxhole (Cornwall) on 7th-11th.

Lastly, in Ireland, the Black Duck was still present at Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 9th.

 

Best of the week’s waders was, of course, the continued presence of the White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire at Blacktoft Sands RSPB on 7th-13th, its relegation from the headlines testament to the rarefied warbler just along the road in recent days…

North Ronaldsay was having a bit of a time of it this week, what with the potential Collared Flycatcher on 11th and, as we’ll see in due course, a knotty dove from above. Adding to the intrigue was what looked like a decent candidate for a Wilson’s Snipe on the island on 8th – alas, snipe being snipe, and North Ronaldsay not being short of cover for them to lurk in, there was no sign of it subsequently until 13th when presumably the same possible bird was seen again in flight.

North Ron did however have other unequivocal American waders to its credit this week – not least a Lesser Yellowlegs, present on 7th-9th, a great find, coming in off the sea, by Andrew Whitehouse. A second bird was found, in the dying embers of the week in the evening of 13th, in Suffolk near Shelley.

We certainly weren’t left in any doubt that Nearctic waders were on the move in recent days, with an influx of Pectoral Sandpipers making it abundantly clear that we ought to them firmly on our radars at this juncture. 45 birds were logged nationwide, with a good spread of records around the coastal fringes and inland too. While many sightings involved single birds, some duos were logged too, and a peak count of three on South Uist (Western Isles) as a whole on 9th.

More of them, surely, are in the offing in the week to come and there must be more Buff-breasted Sandpipers in the post too. This week we had a few - a smart bird on South Uist on 11th-13th and, on 13th birds on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and St Martin’s (Scilly).

The week began with a couple of lingering Irish Baird’s Sandpipers - one still present in Co.Cork at Clonakilty on 7th-11th, and the other in Co.Kerry at Waterville still on 7th – while a further sighting of a mobile individual came from the Blennerville area of Co.Kerry on 10th, one was on Myroe Levels (Co.Derry) on 12th, and Co.Kerry finished the week with a sighting at Cashen on 13th.

The week’s only White-rumped Sandpiper was one found on 7th at Skinflats Lagoons (Forth).

A probable Marsh Sandpiper was frustratingly brief at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) on 7th.

The adult Long-billed Dowitcher was still present at Potter Heigham Marshes (Norfolk) on 7th-10th.

A handful of Dotterels were again logged in the past week – one was lingering on Tresco (Scilly) still on 9th-13th, and further individuals were seen in the Spurn (East Yorkshire) area on 7th-13th; at Park Head (Cornwall) on 7th; at Worth Marsh (Kent) on 9th-10th; on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 9th-11th, with two there on 13th; at South Stack RSPB (Anglesey) on 10th; Soar (Devon) on 12th; and on 13th on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and Porchfield (Isle of Wight). A small trip of four birds was found in Co.Mayo on 7th on Mweelrea.

A distant phalarope sp off Glasson (Cumbria) on 8th eluded identification, as did another bird passing Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 13th, but a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope was more obliging at Little Woolden Moss NR (Greater Manchester) on 11th, and another was reported that day also at Paglesham Lagoon (Essex).

 

After a late summer and early autumn that’s been dominated by rare terns, things calmed down a little in recent days. The best of them was the Gull-billed Tern found at Snettisham RSPB (Norfolk) on 10th…

…supported by the adult Forster’s Tern still present at Soldier’s Point (Co.Louth) on 7th-13th...

…and with a supporting cast of the juvenile White-winged Black Tern, again seen at Hill Head (Hampshire) on 8th. Another possible juvenile was seen further east at South Swale NR (Kent) on 8th.

Staying in Kent a moment, the adult Bonaparte’s Gull was still present at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 8th-12th while, on Belfast Lough (Co.Down), the other recent adult remained on 9th-11th.

As for Sabine’s Gulls, numbers fell away threefold on the prior week, with just shy of 20 logged in recent days. The best of these were duos noted on 10th at Kilnsea Wetlands (East Yorkshire) and off Brandon Point (Co.Kerry), and on 12th at Cullercoats (Northumberland).

What would, comfortably, have been one of the week’s headlining birds slipped through the net on 8th – a probable Audouin’s Gull seen passing Walcott (Norfolk) in the morning.

A possible Laughing Gull was seen in the early afternoon of 13th in Cornwall near Trevose Head.

Finally, our sole white-wingers this week were a trio of Glaucous Gulls - one was seen on the Bann estuary (Co.Derry) on 9th; another on North Uist (Western Isles) on 10th; and the final bird again on the Lossie estuary (Moray) on 13th.

 

Both recent Snowy Owls were again noted this week – these being the female bird still present out on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 10th, and the male bird still up on Ben Macdui (Aberdeenshire) on 8th-12th.

The Isle of Wight scored a juvenile Pallid Harrier on 12th at Compton Down.

A Montagu’s Harrier was seen on 10th at Shepshed (Leicestershire).

Finally, a Black Kite was found on 13th high over Lydd (Kent).

 

We’ve got to start the final section of home news with a bird that’s proving to be something of a headache for all concerned – this being the juvenile putative meena Rufous Turtle Dove seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 9th-10th. I’m sure I’m not alone in having wondered about how ‘do-able’ I’d find a juvenile turtle dove sp in the early autumn, especially if the views weren’t particularly great…

Fine if the dove in question is tootling around on the deck and allowing for some oblinging views and lingering, sharp images but, as we all know, they’re often fiendishly shy and spooky things and, as often as not, our views tend to be fleeting, flight only moments of a dove bombing past us at great haste. Not conducive to making much sense of subtle fieldmarks, let alone obtaining conclusive images.

It’s interesting, comparing the flight images taken by those present on North Ron this week – the jizz of the bird in question varies between images, from it looking fairly hefty to slim and slinky. Drilling into plumage detail, a further note of caution was sounded by North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory a couple of days later…

The pitfalls of differentiating the two species as juveniles are legendary. Or, as Nils van Duivendijk says with bland understatement in his paper on the subject in Dutch Birding, “problematic… Any turtle dove in Europe from October to March should get extra attention from keen birders.”

Yet, were this to be a Rufous Turtle Dove, it would be an early one. A very early one indeed… we’ve no prior August or September records in Britain, and just two prior records from October – both of which owe themselves to the last week of the month. It would, in its way, be even more remarkable than this week’s Green Warbler. And, were we to need any reminder that Turtle Doves, or what’s left of their dwindling, beleaguered European population, are on the move at the moment, a juvenile bird was seen just a few miles away from North Ronaldsay, on Fair Isle (Shetland), on 12th…

More colourful and less head-scratching, though no less mobile, fare next – a Hoopoe was seen in flight at Slapton Ley (Devon) on 11th and subsequently again on 12th, with another ranging around Tingwall (Shetland) in the afternoon of 13th; while a mobile Bee-eater was spanging around St Mary’s (Scilly) on 9th-10th.

St Mary’s was enjoying an excellent week all round, not least with the badius Woodchat Shrike present on there still on 7th-13th. Further sightings of Woodchat Shrike this week came from neighbouring St Martin’s on 8th-10th and Fair Isle (Shetland) on 9th-13th. Some 15 Red-backed Shrikes were seen nationwide this week, widely scattered from Scilly to Shetland and points in between.

Pulses would have quickened on Galley Head (Co.Cork) with the discovery of a Lesser Grey Shrike on 8th but closer examination revealed the bird to be colour-ringed – owing its origin to the reintroduction scheme operating in Spain presently. Released in Catalunya on 29th August, the bird remained happily settled in Co.Cork until 12th.

A possible Alpine Swift was reported from Ferring (West Sussex) on 7th; while East Sussex got in on the act with a possible Pallid Swift over Seaford on 12th.

More intangible still was the report of two Red-rumped Swallows on 9th at Carney (Co.Sligo).

And so to warblers and, as promised, it was definitely warbler o’clock this week, with a fine and varied supporting cast for Buckton’s big ticket item.

We’ll kick off down on Scilly, where the Western Bonelli’s Warbler remained on St Mary’s on 7th-13th, with another on Bryher on 8th; a further Bonelli’s warbler sp was seen on St Martin’s on 8th-9th, with another unattributed bird found at Land’s End (Cornwall) on 9th.

A possible Iberian Chiffchaff was found at Worth Marsh (Kent) on 11th.

Arctic Warblers were beginning to pick up a head of steam in recent days, particularly in Shetland – on Mainland, one was present at Dalsetter on 10th; and another at Quendale on 11th was joined there by a second individual on 13th; while one was a fine Fetlar garden tick for Paul Macklam on 12th. Away from Shetland, birds were found in East Yorkshire at Kilnsea on 7th-8th; and on 12th on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) and Sanday (Orkney).

Barra (Western Isles) was doing well for itself, with a Booted Warbler added to the island’s autumnal account in the evening of 12th.

A Marsh Warbler was found on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 8th, and at the opposite end of the country another was seen on Unst (Shetland) on 12th; then, on 13th, further birds were found on Fair Isle (Shetland) and Sanday (Orkney).

A Blyth’s Reed Warbler was discovered on Brownstown Head (Co.Waterford) on 9th.

Melodious Warblers continued to feature in the news for another week, not least on Fair Isle where two of this decidedly scarce Shetland commodity were seen on 8th, with one remaining there the following day – bringing the island’s tally for the autumn to at least four birds. Further single birds were found on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 8th and St Agnes (Scilly) on 12th; and a possible was seen at Pendeen (Cornwall) on 11th.

Some 30 Barred Warblers made for a good national showing this week, not least in the northern isles – Orkney and Shetland accounted for three-quarters of those, with a peak count of four present on Sanday (Orkney) on 11th-13th.

Wrynecks continued to flood in for yet another week, with around 90 birds in all seen nationwide. Once again, the lion’s share of these were at coastal sites, not least Nanjizal (Cornwall) that peaked with five birds present on 12th, but there were inland records too – local patch gold for those fortunate to be blessed with one of these cryptic, snake-necked birds.

A Thrush Nightingale was a good westerly find on Calf of Man (Isle of Man), trapped and ringed there on 10th.

The Bluethroat remained at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 7th; another was found at Noness (Shetland) on 10th, with another just down the road in the South Mainland at Grutness on 12th; and on 13th, one was found on Fair Isle (Shetland).

Shetland scored a small fall of Red-breasted Flycatchers in the South Mainland – one was seen at Channerwick on 9th, while the general Sumburgh area accounted for one on 9th, three on 10th, one on 11th, and three again on 12th.

A wide scatter of a handful of Rose-coloured Starlings were noted in recent days – on 8th, birds at Skelbo (Highland) and on Great Skellig (Co.Kerry); on 9th a possible bird at Haywards Heath (West Sussex) and, on 9th-13th, another at Amlwch (Anglesey); on 10th, a bird at South Huish Marsh (Devon); on 12th, another present on Bryher (Scilly), while the adult was seen again in Coleraine (Co.Derry); and on 13th, one more in Ireland, at Black Rock Strand (Co.Kerry).

A Citrine Wagtail on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 9th is, I’m quietly confident, far from the last we’ll be hearing from there in the coming month… while another was found at Aikerness (Orkney) on 10th. A possible Grey-headed Wagtail was seen at Porth Hellick on St Mary’s on 11th.

A possible Richard’s Pipit was reported over Fairburn Ings RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 7th.

Doing their level best to usurp Wrynecks from the top of the scarcities numbers pile this week were Common Rosefinches, with some genuinely chunky single site counts amongst the 60 or so birds logged nationally this week. Unst (Shetland) held 10 birds on 11th, nine of which were at Norwick alone; while Fair Isle (Shetland) held eight birds on 7th-8th; and North Ronaldsay (Orkney) enjoyed a count of eight on 11th.

Ortolan Buntings were seen on Galley Head (Co.Cork) on 8th-10th; St Agnes (Scilly) on 9th; Tresco (Scilly) on 12th-13th, where two birds were seen; Axmouth (Devon) on 12th-13th; Portland (Dorset) on 12th; Hengistbury Head (Dorset) on 13th; one was sound-recorded over Lytchett Bay (Dorset) on 9th; and a further possible bird was seen at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) on 11th.

Last but as ever, not least, three Little Buntings were found on Shetland – one on Unst on 11th, and one apiece on Mainland at Sandness and on Fair Isle, both on 13th.

 

It was fairly slimline pickings overseas this week, thought that’s surely all set to change soon. We’ll start with the Brown Shrike in Finland at Hailuoto on 9th – a first for Finland, but a bird with echoes of our British headliner this week – once an achingly desirable mega, and one whose fortunes have changed for the better, at least so far as British birders are concerned given the increasing frequency with which they’re found here.

The Lesser Spotted Eagle remained in Sweden on 7th at Kvarnagatan.

Switzerland, meanwhile, got a flyover Steppe Eagle over Carraye on 12th – a national first and, as it headed into France, a sixth record for the latter country.

A Sociable Lapwing was found in the Czech Republic at Kozmice on 9th.

The Great Knot remained in Bulgaria at Pomorie Lake on 7th.

In Holland, the Pygmy Cormorant continued its long residency in the Utrecht area on 8th; another was seen in France at Barrage de Lavours on 9th-11th.

A Brown Booby was seen from Galicia’s (and Spain’s) awesome seawatching site, Estaca de Bares, on 11th.

And then to the really faraway birds… In Kuwait, an adult Lesser Flamingo was found on 7th at Sulaibikhat…

…While in the Azores, on 11th a Cape May Warbler was found on Faial; on 11th-13th, a Yellow Warbler was present on Corvo; and a Hudsonian Whimbrel was present on Flores on 11th.

Last of all, another Hudsonian Whimbrel was found this week, in Cape Verde on Sal on 13th.

 

The third week of September is a time for those of us of a certain vintage that was totally synonymous with a week to be spent in Shetland and, in particular, on Fair Isle. This, of course, was back in the days before the prime season extended well into October and the early days of November…

But back in those halcyon days, landing on Fair Isle in the third week of September felt like stepping into a cornucopia of possibilities. I fondly recall being picked up from the airstrip one day to be taken straight to a newly found Solitary Sandpiper, happily nailing insects around a manure heap.

It’s that sort of place, and this feels like a timely moment to remind everyone that Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust currently continues to fundraise towards the cost of rebuilding the Observatory in the wake of the tragic fire that destroyed the building in March 2019.

The coming week looks like it might deliver some tasty south-easterlies towards Fair Isle so, in a small departure from the usual wild national stab in the dark, with the Obs very much on my mind this week’s prediction is for the magic isle alone – and a species that, for many, is utterly synonymous with Fair Isle. That’s the arch skulker, the streaky mouse – a Lanceolated Warbler. The coming week features 19 historic Shetland records for it, 14 of which were on Fair Isle. It’s a good time of year for one, and there’s nowhere better to find one.

(Apart, perhaps, from somewhere on the English east coast this week, with good parking available…)

 

Jon Dunn
14 Sept 2021

Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos

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