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Weekly birding round-up: 9 - 15 Nov 2021

I know we usually finish the weekly Round Ups with a blindly optimistic nod to yesteryear and a gaze into the murky depths of the rarity prediction crystal ball but, if you’d told me beforehand that we were set to enjoy quite such a varied and rare week as that just gone in early November, I’d perhaps have been a little cynical. But there where we go – the week just gone had pretty much something for everybody.

Quality rarities in both Britain and Ireland? Check. Some Nearctic colour to light things up? Check also. And, away from the headlines, some lingering new rarities that afforded birders a chance to catch up with them before they departed? Thanks to some decent wheatears, that too.

A good week, then. And that’s before we get on to what’s just been added to my house list…

 

Readers of a certain vintage will remember a feature in a copy of Not BB that ran along the lines of ‘Colour in the Blue Tit’. The joke being that, with a certain amount of awkward embarrassment, it could prove challenging to accurately colour in a black and white line drawing of a bird we could all identify in a heartbeat. I’m reminded of that when it comes to locating Co.Offaly on a map. As a British birder who doesn’t keep a British and Irish list – and no, the lid stays firmly shut on that particular can of listing worms – I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t offhand tell you where in Ireland Co.Offaly actually is.

Or rather, until this week I couldn’t. As of today, I can, because one of two excellent Nearctic birds found this week in Ireland was to be seen, on 12th-15th, at Lough Boora Parklands in Co.Offaly – the bird in question being a fine juvenile Northern Harrier.

(And, as you ask, Co.Offaly is bang in the heart of Ireland. In the middle.)

To the end of 2019, Ireland’s eight accepted records owed themselves to Co.Wexford and, to a lesser extent, Co.Wicklow, the first being as recently as 2010 and the only surprise, really, being that it took until 2020 for Co.Cork to get a look in with the juvenile present at Barry’s Head on 2nd-4th October that year. These, though, are coastal counties, and we all know they tend to get better coverage, whether that’s in Britain or Ireland. A Northern Harrier is an excellent find, wherever it may be, but inland… that’s a really top drawer bird.

 

Rarer still, though always with the sneaking suspicion that it’s surely overlooked, in both a British and Irish context is American Coot. And yes, it’s easy to be underwhelmed by the prospect of them, but trust me, they’re more exciting in the flesh than one might anticipate, particularly when they’re on this side of the pond, so to speak.

It’s seven years since Ireland’s last bird was found, one that overwintered on Lough Gill (Co.Kerry) on 5th November 2014 – 5th March 2015. Indeed, of Ireland’s four prior birds, the last three were all found in November, and all wintered, lasting into either March or April of the following year. There’s some precedent then for what, hopefully, will be to follow for the bird found this week at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th – a county first too, for good measure.

Still present at Tacumshin as the week drew to a close on 15th, it’s surely set to be a regular feature in the news in the weeks to come…

 

Which brings us to a bird that, for sheer rarity alone, ought to be at the top of the headlines. Alas, the transitory nature of the sighting compared with its settled Irish headline companions relegates the Nutcracker found in Caithness at Dunnet Bay on the morning of 10th to third billing.

Did those who saw the bird that spent almost a month in Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire) in the late autumn of 1991 appreciate, at the time, just what a blocker Nutcracker was shaping up to be? At that point, Nutcrackers were still being found, albeit sparingly, every few years in Britain, and memories of the great influx of 1968 weren’t so very faded either.

In 1998, when a bird was found in Kent at Kingsdown on 6th-7th September, it was still soon enough after the 1991 individual for it to feel like a chance for those of us who’d missed the 1991 bird to claw one back – satisfying, but not that urgent. There’d be more, right? Though, to be fair, I doubt there was anyone faster across the ground in east Kent on 6th than yours truly…

But after 1998, nothing. Or rather, not quite nothing. A bit like Ghost Orchids, there’ve been regular enough reports of subsequent sightings, but they’re always ephemeral. Nothing, to date, has made the grade with the BBRC, let alone been twitchable. Nutcracker has emphatically assumed the mantle of a proper blocker once more. Had the bird Rob Hughes found this week only lingered and not vanished into the trees at Dunnet Bay, it might well have proven popular enough to lure many a birder north of the Scottish border. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

 

Finally, in the headlines for a second consecutive week if only because it continues to tease and hasn’t yielded itself readily to mass consumption, Lancashire’s first Belted Kingfisher, initially seen and photographed during the prior week on the River Ribble, near Brockholes LWT in the morning of 8th, resurfaced again in the news in the current recording period.

Reported on 14th, again on the Ribble, and again near Brockholes LWT, hopes once more rose locally and further afield alike. But, as before, the bird promptly vanished. It remains to be seen if it reappears again and if, at the third time of asking, it lingers long enough for local birders, let alone those from further afield, to connect…

So, a bit of a theme this week. Mega rarities in Ireland choosing to be settled and, dare we say it, reliable… and those in Britain very much neither of those things. We’re due a lucky break in the week to come, surely.

 

While, compared to the preceding week, where Little Auk numbers soared north of 10,000 birds, recent days were much quieter, that’s not to say that there weren’t still plenty of them on the move – around 950 were logged nationwide, with Fife once again enjoying the lion’s share of sightings. Peak count from there came on 12th when 459 birds were seen from Fife Ness.

All of the week’s sightings of White-billed Divers owed themselves to Scotland – and there nowhere more than Orkney’s Papa Westray, where half a dozen were noted on 13th. Elsewhere, single birds were seen from West Sands (Fife) on 9th; Dunbar harbour (Lothian) on 10th; off Skye (Highland) on 13th; and in the traditional site of Shetland’s South Nesting Bay.

In Northumberland, the settled Great Shearwater remained hanging around Stag Rocks (Northumberland) on 9th-13th; on 11th two were seen, one apiece in the morning and afternoon, off Ballycotton (Co.Cork). A probable Cory’s Shearwater was seen off St Abb’s (Borders) on 13th.

A very few Leach’s Petrels were noted this week – one from Helvick Head (Co.Waterford) on 11th, another from St Ives (Cornwall) on 12th, and one from Pendeen on 13th.

Finally, numbers of Pomarine Skuas were significantly reduced, with around 10 birds seen nationwide, of which three off Thorpeness (Suffolk) on 14th were the only multiple single site tally. A Long-tailed Skua was seen on 13th from Pendeen (Cornwall).

 

Numbers of Glossy Ibises held steady for another week, with some 30 birds again logged lately. As we’re becoming accustomed, the Cambridgeshire Six were still around Bluntisham on 11th; elsewhere, in Ireland a trio was seen at White’s Marsh (Co.Cork) on 10th, and two near Waterford (Co.Waterford) on 13th; and in Britain, duos were seen at Dungeness (Kent) still on 9th-13th, at West Wittering (West Sussex) still on 9th, at Fremington (Devon) again on 13th-14th, and over Steart WWT (Somerset) on 14th.

 

Starting the honkers and quackers, we have to turn to Essex this week where a Red-breasted Goose present at Dengie Marshes on 8th-10th was joined there on 11th-15th by a second individual – while on Islay (Argyll & Bute), the recent bird remained at Loch Gruinart RSPB on 9th-13th.

The Essex birds shared Dengie with a Black Brant on 11th-15th; while another was again seen at Ferrybridge (Dorset) on 10th-11th and, on 15th, one was found at North Bull Island (Co.Dublin).

Turning then to The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, on Islay (Argyll & Bute) the hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose remained on 10th-12th, with another on 15th sharing The Mullet (Co.Mayo) with an interior Todd’s Canada Goose. Further Todd’s Canada Geese were seen on Barra (Western Isles) on 9th, in Northumberland at Budle Bay still on 9th-11th, on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) still on 15th, and near Docking (Norfolk) on 12th-15th.

The three white Snow Geese remained in Moray around the Loch Spynie area on 9th-12th, while in Clyde a probable seen over Newshot Island on 9th was followed by a confirmed white morph at Loch Thom on 10th.

And so to the quackers. Starting in Bedfordshire, the popular American Wigeon was still at Marston Vale Millennium CP on 10th; while in Scotland, birds remained at Udale Bay (Highland) on 9th-14th and on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 9th-15th.

At least eight Green-winged Teals were seen in recent days, with a further probable bird briefly on 13th in Lancashire at Leighton Moss RSPB. Confirmed birds were seen at North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire) still on 9th-11th; Nanpean (Cornwall) again on 9th-11th; on the Lossie estuary (Lothian) on 12th; and, in Ireland, at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) still on 13th, at Killala (Co.Mayo) on 14th, on The Mullet (Co.Mayo) on 15th, and at Courtmacsherry (Co.Cork) on 13th, where two birds were present.

The recent female Ferruginous Duck remained at Belvide reservoir (Staffordshire) on 9th-15th.

First-winter drake Lesser Scaups, meanwhile, were still to be seen in Scilly on Tresco on 9th-13th and on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 9th-15th.

Numbers of Ring-necked Ducks remained fairly constant, with a little over 30 birds noted across Britain and Ireland. Once again, Cornwall’s Dozmary Pool was the best site for them, with numbers climbing there from the prior half dozen to eight birds on 9th-11th, and holding onto six still at the week’s end on 15th.

We did well for rare scoters this week in Scotland – in Moray, a drake Black Scoter was present off Lossiemouth on 11th-15th; while in Lothain, the drake White-winged Scoter remained off Musselburgh on 9th-15th.

The week’s peak count of Surf Scoters was also to be seen at Musselburgh this week, with three birds still present there on 9th-15th. 10 were seen across Britain and Ireland as a whole – the only other multiple being two juveniles at Lossiemouth on 11th-15th.

Back at Musselburgh, the first-winter drake King Eider was again seen on 13th-15th, the drake was still off Hopeman (Moray) on 9th-15th and, in Shetland, the drake remained in Wadbister Voe on 11th-13th.

Finally, our honorary wildfowl, the male Pied-billed Grebe on Loch Feorlin (Argyll & Bute), reappeared in the news once more this week, still going strong there on 11th.

 

Numbers of rare and scarce waders were notably contracting this week but, that said, we continued to be able to rely upon the steady White-tailed Lapwing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB in East Yorkshire – still present there this week on 9th-14th. No news on 15th, though. Has it finally called it a day and moved on?

In Ireland, the Semipalmated Plover was still present in Co.Kerry at Black Rock Strand on 10th.

The juvenile Pacific Golden Plover was still to be seen in Lincolnshire near Deeping St James on 9th-10th, while the adult was still present in Cambridgeshire at Thorney Dyke on 9th.

An American Golden Plover was seen on 14th at The Gearagh (Co.Cork).

Back in Lincolnshire near Deeping St James, a late Dotterel was seen on 10th.

Two Pectoral Sandpipers were seen this week – one still present in Devon at South Huish Marshes on 9th-15th, and another in Lothian at Musselburgh Lagoons on 13th.

Last seen on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 4th, the juvenile Spotted Sandpiper was again seen at Porthloo on 14th-15th, now acquiring just a few spots. They grow up so quickly…

In Ireland, very much playing second fiddle at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford), the Lesser Yellowlegs was still present on 10th-14th; while another was seen on Montrose Basin (Angus) on 11th.

Numbers of Grey Phalaropes fell back to low double figures this week, with 10 birds in all logged – of which lingering birds were seen in Norfolk at Ken Hill Marsh on 9th-13th, and on 13th-15th at Whixall Moss (Shropshire).

 

In a fairly peaceful week for gulls of note, the adult Bonaparte’s Gull in Northumberland at Stag Rocks again on 10th-11th and 14th-15th was our main highlight until 15th, when another adult was seen in Pembrokeshire on the Gann estuary.

In Ireland, the adult Ring-billed Gull remained at Blackrock (Co.Louth) on 9th.

A handful of Sabine’s Gulls were reported in recent days, one seen from Hengistbury Head (Dorset) on 12th while, in Kent on 14th, sightings came from Minnis Bay and North Foreland. On 15th, Kent came into its own with three noted from North Foreland, and another seen from Sandwich Bay.

Around 25 Glaucous Gulls this week were the best of the white-wingers and, of them, the 10 birds seen on Unst (Shetland) at Norwick on 10th were comfortably the highest tally. Iceland Gulls, meanwhile, were made of scarcer stuff, with just a dozen birds logged nationwide.

 

Away from the obvious distraction in Co.Offaly, the week’s only other notable raptors were a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards - one again in Kent at Reculver on 12th, and another that day further north at Cleadon (Co.Durham).

 

Where to begin with the passerines this week? Close to home, I think, where your own correspondent’s writing of the weekly Rarity Round Up was already badly hampered on 15th by the presence of two lingering Humpback Whales just offshore at Skaw on Whalsay (Shetland), and was significantly further interrupted by a phone call from one of the island’s other resident birders to alert me to a Black-throated Thrush feeding actively amongst a loose flock of Redwing and Blackbirds on my neighbour’s croft.

A quick dash upstairs to see it from the bedroom window – tick! – and then outside for better views… Not a bad day of wildlife watching in Shetland, by any standards, and even better for local birder Phil Harris, whose record-breaking Shetland yearlist reached 160 with this bird. Phil heads to the Scottish mainland shortly, with the Scottish record set firmly in his sights.

Enough Shetland birding drama. Birders on the British mainland were far from hard done by this week, with a small fall of rare wheatears to brighten up mid-November. The week began with a first-winter female Desert Wheatear in Devon at Thurlestone on 9th-12th.

Further rare variety came in the form of a trio of Pied Wheatears - two at the opening end of the week, Co.Durham’s first record at Whitburn on 10th-15th, and the other at Reculver (Kent) on 11th-12th; and the last a fleeting bird seen in Suffolk for an hour or so on the outskirts of Sizewell on 14th before it moved inside the security fencing and was lost from view in the power station compound.

Returning, briefly, to thrushes, a dead White’s Thrush was picked up in Cornwall at Mawnan Smith on 12th, the second window casualty of its kind this autumn. How many are still lurking, unseen, in some lush woodland or dense garden someplace?

In East Yorkshire, the recent Red-flanked Bluetail remained at Flamborough on 9th-10th.

The probable Siberian Stonechat was once more seen on Yell (Shetland) on 13th; another probable eastern stonechat sp was found on 14th at Filey (North Yorkshire). Poop scoops at the ready.

And so to warblers, where a scatter of good things kept interest levels keen for birders. Starting on Scilly, a Radde’s Warbler was present on St Mary’s on 9th-12th, with another bird found on 14th-15th at Newhaven (East Sussex) fluctuating in identity between this species and Dusky before it was heard to call, finally settling the matter as the latter species after all.

Further Dusky Warblers were noted at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 9th-12th; at South Walney NR (Cumbria) on 10th-13th; at Talacre (Flintshire) on 13th-15th; and on 14th at Porthgwarra (Cornwall), where two birds were found. On 15th St Mary’s (Scilly), Spurn (East Yorkshire), and Stiffkey (Norfolk) got in on the act with additional birds. An additional elusive, probable bird was seen on 14th at Benacre (Suffolk), and one was reported that day also at Holme Dunes NWT (Norfolk).

Back on St Mary’s (Scilly), the best of the week’s 15 Yellow-browed Warblers were two birds seen on there on 13th-14th.

The English south coast, however, laid claim to a couple of Pallas’s Warblers - one on 10th at Beachy Head (East Sussex), and another on 13th at Durlston CP (Dorset) – while further birds were found on 14th further north, at Theddlethorpe (Lincolnshire), Blakeney Point (Norfolk), and Flamborough Head (East Yorkshire). On 15th two remained on Flamborough, and that quickening pace continued with further birds found at Happisburgh and Waxham (Norfolk), and South Foreland (Kent).

Scotland’s sole warbler of note was a Barred Warbler in Dundee (Angus) on 12th.

Also in Scotland, the adult Rose-coloured Starling was again seen at Balnakeil (Highland) on 13th, while a juvenile was present at Glanton (Northumberland) on 12th-15th. Another bird was reported from Redwall Marsh NOA (Norfolk) on 15th.

In Norfolk, the Short-toed Lark remained at West Runton on 9th-11th.

A couple of Hoopoes were found in the course of the week – one at Trebetherick (Cornwall) on 10th, and the other in a garden at Bronant (Ceredigion) on 12th-15th.

All three recent Great Grey Shrikes were again seen in recent days – these being the individuals at Waxham (Norfolk) on 9th-15th still; at Backley Bottom (Hampshire) still on 9th-14th; and at Backwater reservoir (Angus) still on 10th. Another was present on 14th-15th at Llyn Brenig (Denbighshire).

Absent from the news for I don’t know how long, the first appreciable Waxwings in ages were found this week – 25 birds in Thurso (Highland) on 10th-11th, a further couple of birds in Moray at Bishopmill on 12th, and some 20 over Edzell (Angus) on 14th.

A handful of Richard’s Pipits were noted lately – one heard only over Abbotsbury (Dorset) on 9th, with further birds that day at Pendeen (Cornwall) and Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire); single birds on 13th at Porthgwarra (Cornwall) and on 13th-14th at Spurn (East Yorkshire); and on 14th, at Trevescan (Cornwall), and Hunmanby Gap (North Yorkshire).

Five widely separated Serins were logged – one at Shuart (Kent) on 9th, another at Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall) on 11th, one at Portland over the Obs on 14th, and two at Land’s End (Cornwall) on 15th.

In Shetland, an Arctic Redpoll was found in Brae on 15th.

Finally, remaining in Shetland, Little Buntings were found on 12th at Grutness and on 13th at Cullivoe on Yell – with one down in East Sussex also on 14th-15th at Poundgate – whilst on Unst, the White-crowned Sparrow was still present at Easting on 9th, but not thereafter.

 

Once again we have to start the overseas news in Scandinavia, where one of the ultimate birds on the Western Palearctic list was unblocked, for those fortunate enough to be within striking distance of Porkkalan Luotsiasema in Finland on 9th – when what was initially reported as a Little Auk was dramatically re-identified as the WP’s second ever Ancient Murrelet. Many British birders will have fond memories of the returning Devonian individual, but that was a long time ago, and had begun to feel like a once in a lifetime occurrence. Maybe there’s still a thin sliver of hope for another British example after all…

Swedish birders got a blast of colour in the form of their second ever Siberian Rubythroat, a male bird at Vargön on 15th; while a Steppe Eagle lingered near Stora Ek on 10th-14th.

Norway, meanwhile, was ticking over with a meena Western Rufous Turtle Dove at Hegevika on 13th-14th; and a Desert Wheatear and a Brown Shrike at Lista lighthouse on 13th, the latter bird remaining on 14th also.

In Belgium the country’s first Western Swamphen remained at Het Vinne on 10th-13th, ill-founded reports of its demise apparently relating to a blue plastic bag tangled in the reeds…

Holland’s first Eastern Olivaceous Warbler remained settled at Nieuwvliet-Bad on 9th-15th, while the resident Pygmy Cormorant was still present at Utrecht on 9th-15th also.

In Spain, an Eyebrowed Thrush met an untimely end in Muchante on 12th; and a White-backed Vulture was seen at Los Barrios on 11th.

Finally, news from the Azores. Terceira held onto Belted Kingfisher on 10th-11th, two Snowy Egrets still on 10th, and a Great Blue Heron on 10th also; two Great Blue Herons remained present on Corvo on 9th; and a Snowy Egret was on Sao Miguel on 13th.

 

While it’s tempting to listen to news of Pine Grosbeaks on the move in Scandinavia and speculate that we’re on for one here, preferably somewhere on the east coast this weekend, that’s too optimistic even for this perennially glass-half-full rarity predictor.

Not gonna happen, people…

The third week of November is starting to feel distinctly like the dying breath of autumn. Could there be a last hurrah, or is it really just death rattle territory now?

A decidedly westerly flavour to the week ahead doesn’t inspire much confidence for volume, but maybe, and especially given the Nearctic leanings of the autumn to date, we might yet score something from that quarter, either newly arrived or simply finally uncovered.

Last week’s exhortation to check Grey Herons for a Great Blue remains a gauntlet thrown down, and is joined this week by a plea to give Little Egrets a second glance too. Britain’s first Snowy Egret was found 20 years ago in November in Argyll & Bute. There hasn’t been one subsequently. But surely one could so easily go overlooked…

 

Jon Dunn
16 Nov 2021

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

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