Weekly birding round-up: 30 Nov - 6 Dec 2021
A decidedly peaceful week, for the most part, with the first sustained wintery weather bringing snow to some, and new rare birds to… well, not that many of us. I guess that’s to be expected. It’s early December, after all.
Time then to grab a hot brew and a biscuit, and settle in for the weekly birds. There were a couple of warm items amongst them…
Calling the weekly, concluding wild stabs in the dark about what rarities the coming week holds ‘predictions’ is somewhat disingenuous, given just how wishful and wildly optimistic your own correspondent’s thinking tends to be. But just sometimes we get it right and, in the prior week, in some style – that unprecedented succession of Brunnich’s Guillemots was certainly a contender for the birding event of the year. And speaking of precedent, it’d be interesting to see how old Norfolk records of Brunnich’s fare were they to be resubmitted to the BBRC in the current climate…
Such musings aside, it turns out that Brunnich’s Guillemots weren’t quite finished with us. The week kicked off with another call from Norfolk, where a possible bird was reported heading west past Sheringham on 1st, followed a little later in the day by a confirmed bird seen going north past Fife Ness (Fife).
Fife figured in the news again on 3rd, with a possible seen going east past Pettycur in the late morning; while a confirmed bird was seen on the sea at Alnmouth (Northumberland) that day too, taking us into double figures for Britain since late November.
The uncooperative nature of Lancashire’s male Belted Kingfisher was, perhaps, something of a blessing in disguise this past week, given reports of how challenging the steep terrain was along the banks of the River Ribble. Regular daily sightings would surely have induced more to chance their arm – or break one, or a leg – on the slippery slopes.
As it was, that didn’t happen, as the elusive bird was seen on 30th, but not thereafter. At least it has been seen after George Shannon’s initial sighting of it, thereby slapping down the keyboard warriors who were so quick to pour doubt online upon the record.
There’s a good chance it’s still tucked in deep in the area, and will be reappearing in the news before the year is out…
Speaking of birds coming back out of the woodwork, the juvenile Northern Harrier last reported on 21st November was once more seen this week at Lough Boora Parklands in Co.Offaly on 5th. Missing for a fortnight, it was back again – and, just like aforesaid kingfisher, we might hope it’s going to linger in the area a while yet.
Compared with recent weeks, the tally of some 240 Little Auks noted nationwide this past week was a modest haul, but nonetheless still represented a solid opportunity for many to bump into one from coastal vantage points and, in one instance, inland too – a wayward bird found in Oxfordshire at Pinkhill NR on 30th-1st was picked up and taken to the more promising surroundings of the Somerset coast on the latter date. The week’s peak count came from Shetland, where 43 birds were logged off Sumburgh on 1st, closely followed by 36 at Kinghorn and 34 at Fife Ness (Fife) on 5th.
A Great Shearwater was seen heading south past Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on the morning of 2nd.
Norfolk scored our sole Leach’s Petrel of the week, noted off Waxham on 4th.
On 3rd a White-billed Diver was seen heading north past Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) and Whitley Bay and Seaton Point (Northumberland).
Lastly, a handful of Pomarine Skuas were noted in recent days – single birds on 1st in Holkham Bay (Norfolk); on 3rd off Berry Head (Devon); and on 4th at Hope’s Nose (Devon) and Marshside RSPB (Lancashire).
As we’re rapidly becoming accustomed at this point in the year, we’re heading into winter with numbers of Glossy Ibises settled in southern England – and Ireland too, as one was seen this week at Clonakilty (Co.Cork) on 1st, and one was still present at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 5th. English birds were topped by five still present at Berry Fen (Cambridgeshire) on 1st; while two remained at Dungeness (Kent) on 4th-5th still, and two were again at Fremington (Devon) on 5th; and single birds were present on Tresco (Scilly) still on 3rd, at Shapwick Heath NNR (Somerset) again on 30th, at Allhallows (Kent) still on 5th, and around the African Savannah enclosure of Newquay Zoo (Cornwall) on 30th-5th.
Starting the honkers and quackers with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, we’ve a few to go at this week. Interior Todd’s Canada Geese were seen on 1st at Marshside RSPB (Lancashire); on 2nd on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) still; on 3rd at Banks Marsh NNR (Lancashire) and Mersehead RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway); and on 4th-5th on Yell (Shetland) again. The Scottish emphasis continued with a Cackling Goose still present on North Uist (Western Isles) on 1st-5th; and the hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose still on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 1st-2nd, while another remained at Ballygilgan (Co.Sligo) on 3rd-5th.
The Dorset Black Brant remained on The Fleet on 1st-2nd; one was present in Norfolk at Cley on 1st-4th still; and a Kentish bird was seen at Chambers Wall on 4th.
The three white Snow Geese remained in Moray at Loch Spynie on 30th still; on 5th, one was again seen at Skinflats Lagoons RSPB (Forth), and another was present on North Uist (Western Isles); while in the English northwest a white morph was present at Banks Marsh NNR on 3rd-4th and Marshside RSPB (Lancashire) on 4th; and in Ireland, a white morph was present at Ballygilgan NR (Co.Sligo) on 5th.
Stimulating renewed interest amongst birders in the wake of the elevation of the species to the British list lately, the Ross’s Goose remained at Hunterston (Ayrshire) on 1st-6th.
Moving into the quackers, we’ve got to start with the putative Stejneger’s Scoter seen on 30th and again on 3rd in Holkham Bay (Norfolk). If accepted as such, this would be a first for Britain. Oh for a straightforward drake…
…like the obliging White-winged Scoter still present in Lothian off Fisherrow on 2nd-5th, or the Black Scoter still off Lossiemouth (Moray) on 1st.
Fisherrow (Lothian) retained two drake Surf Scoters this week until 6th, with three birds again seen from there on 5th; while single birds were seen in recent days off Barra (Western Isles) still on 30th-4th, South Uist (Western Isles) on 5th; and in Wales at Pensarn (Conwy) still on 30th-3rd and Broad Haven (Pembrokeshire) still on 3rd-5th.
Finishing off the seaducks, Shetland was the King Eider capital this week, with drakes still present off Wester Quarff and Wadbister on 3rd, and two more drakes off Unst’s Uyeasound on 3rd also. The first-winter drake remained off Portobello (Lothian) on 30th-2nd.
The remnants of the recent influx of Lesser Scaups lingered here and there in recent days – in the English southwest, the young drake was still present on Tresco (Scilly) on 3rd, while two females remained at Beesands (Devon) on 30th-6th; in Scotland, three first-winter drakes were still on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 2nd, one remained on South Uist (Western Isles) on 1st-2nd, and the Lewis (Western Isles) drake was still present on 5th; and in Ireland, the drake was still to be seen on Cloonacleigha Lough (Co.Sligo) on 2nd, and in Co.Cavan the drake was still on Lough Sheelin on 5th, with a drake on 6th at Round Lough.
While they only just crept into double figures this week – a staggering thought in itself for those of us for whom a single Lesser Scaup was a mega back in the early 1990s – the same couldn’t be said for Ring-necked Ducks, of which a shade over 30 birds were logged in recent days. Notable aggregations were five birds still present on Lough Gara (Co.Sligo) on 2nd; as many as 10 birds on Dozmary Pool (Cornwall) on 5th, with six drakes amongst them; and three still present on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 2nd.
Drake Ferruginous Ducks were logged this week in Hampshire at Blashford Lakes on 2nd-5th, and at Thorpe Park (Surrey) again on 1st-6th.
In Bedfordshire, the drake American Wigeon was still at Marston Vale Millennium CP on 1st-2nd; one remained on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 2nd; and a fresh bird was present at Carr Vale NR (Derbyshire) on 30th-6th.
Duos of Green-winged Teals were again seen at Courtmacsherry (Co.Cork) on 4th and Barra (Western Isles) on 2nd, while one remained at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 30th. One was present at Kinsale Marsh (Co.Cork) on 5th still, while in England one was still present in Lancashire at Conder Green on 5th, another was seen at Blagdon Lake (Somerset) on 6th, and a final English bird was present in Hampshire at Ripley Farm reservoir on 30th-4th, sharing the site with some pretty but unedifying company…
Ripley Reservoir at dawn today was a duck spectacular with the drake Green-winged Teal showing well in the gloom and no less than three species of Shelduck including this lovely Cape Shelduck! @hantsbirdnews @HOSbirding pic.twitter.com/41StNBlwEg
— alan lewis wildlife stuff (@LewisStuff) December 4, 2021
East Yorkshire’s long-term resident, the adult White-tailed Lapwing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB, made it into another month this week, being seen there again on 2nd and again on 4th. With sightings becoming more sporadic of late, one wonders if it’s getting itchy feet at long last…
On Scilly, the Spotted Sandpiper remained on St Mary’s on 5th-6th.
The balance of the week’s wader news concerned Grey Phalaropes - around a dozen were seen in recent days, including a couple of lingering birds: at Aldeburgh Town Marshes (Suffolk) still on 30th-2nd, Covenham reservoir (Lincolnshire) on 30th-6th still, and Dunnet Bay (Highland) on 3rd-5th.
Grey Phalarope covenham res; Friday morning slow motion footage of it bathing Digiscoped through a @SwarovskiOptik STX @GPCbirding @Lincsbirding @bentleybirdman1 @DonnyBirding pic.twitter.com/f76b0vUWpQ
— BOB USHER (@bobubirder) December 5, 2021
We start the best of the week’s bin bag botherers in Ireland, with an adult Bonaparte’s Gull at Seafield (Co.Clare) on 1st-2nd, sharing the site with a first-winter Ring-billed Gull on 1st. Another adult of the latter species was still present at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 4th-5th.
Cornwall got a look in with an adult Ring-billed Gull on the Hayle estuary on 6th.
Numbers of white-wingers continued to mount steadily this past week, with 35 Glaucous Gulls and some 45 Iceland Gulls logged nationwide. The best count of either was the five Glaucous Gulls at perennial gull hotspot Killybegs (Co.Donegal) on 2nd, closely followed by four Glaucous Gulls seen on Fair Isle on 6th.
In Cambridgeshire, the third-winter Kumlien’s Gull was again in the pig fields at Heydon on 4th-5th.
A Rough-legged Buzzard was seen on 2nd in flight by the A1(M) at Darlington (Co.Durham).
Out on St Kilda (Western Isles), the resident female Snowy Owl was still present on 4th.
So, one of the few things that annoy the Snowy Owl here is the Ravens, you can hear them here calling as they do a fly by. pic.twitter.com/tBoozNxFIm
— St Kilda Soay Sheep Project (@SoaySheep) December 4, 2021
Topping a distinctly denuded passerines section this week has to be the cracking male Desert Wheatear found in Devon at Berry Head on 2nd-3rd – the fifth of the autumn for Britain as a whole, of which this individual was the third to be uncovered in Devon alone in recent days.
Desert Wheatear Berry Head this afternoon at end of quarry - the 9th or 10th for Devon pic.twitter.com/MXc5NOZAT0
— Mark Bailey (@markrabailey) December 2, 2021
Dating to a little earlier in the autumn, it emerged this week that Shropshire’s first record of Red-flanked Bluetail had been recorded on a trailcam set up to capture footage of passing Pine Martens in recent weeks. Nice work, Shropshire – footage of a White’s Thrush next, please…
Can anyone @sosbirds @jannerdriver confirm that this bird is what I think it is? Bit different to a #pinemarten in Shropshire! Recorded on #cameratrap a few weeks ago but only seen today. pic.twitter.com/mVlPiTbnOi
— Stuart Edmunds (@PinemartensUK) November 30, 2021
In Pembrokeshire, the Isabelline Shrike sp remained near Dale on 30th.
Denbighshire, meanwhile, was bossing recent sightings of Great Grey Shrikes, with four birds logged at Llyn Brenig on 2nd, at least one still present the following day, and one still there on 5th. Elsewhere, single birds were seen at Waxham (Norfolk) still on 30th-6th, near Killington reservoir (Cumbria) on 3rd-6th, and on 5th on Bonsall Moor (Derbyshire) still, and at Wistow Clough (North Yorkshire).
A late Barred Warbler was showing well at times at Wiveton (Norfolk) on 3rd-6th.
A mere handful of Yellow-browed Warblers were seen this week – after such a poor autumn for them, we’d expect wintering numbers to be down this year. One remained on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 1st, while one present at Dale (Pembrokeshire) on 1st-2nd had been there for four days prior to 1st. On 4th-5th another was found in Devon at Clennon Valley Lakes, while on 5th a Cornish bird was found in Helston at Loe Pool.
What, at this juncture, feels like an exceptionally late Wryneck was seen in Cornwall on 5th at Botallack.
Co.Durham landed the week’s few mobile Waxwings, with one noted over Washington on 2nd and three over Chester-le-Street on 4th.
A juvenile Rose-coloured Starling was seen in a Lewis (Western Isles) garden on 2nd; in Cornwall, the Pendeen juvenile was still present on 5th; one more juvenile was still present in Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire) on 6th, having been seen in the area for the preceding week too.
In Devon, a probable American Buff-bellied Pipit was seen in flight over Lundy on 2nd, but wasn’t subsequently relocated. A Richard’s Pipit was present on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 3rd.
Last, but never least, a female Serin was present at Royal Oak (Co.Durham) still on 30th-5th.
If the news was relatively quiet in Britain and Ireland this past week, the same couldn’t be said for further afield. Starting fairly close to home, the same northerlies that ushered in our recent spate of Brunnich’s Guillemots delivered another Arctic waif to Belgium – a first-winter Ross’s Gull at Westerstaketsel on 1st and Zeebrugge on 2nd, a national first. Elsewhere in the country, the Spotted Eagle remained near Puyenbroeck on 30th-3rd.
In Holland, meanwhile, the Caspian Plover was still present around Groningen on 30th-5th, and the resident Pygmy Cormorant was still present at Utrecht on 2nd-6th.
Scandinavian goodies were on offer in Sweden, where the male Siberian Rubythroat remained at Vargön on 2nd-6th; and in Finland, where a sumptuous Dusky Thrush was gracing Helsinki on 2nd.
A German garden in Oelsnitz was graced by a Siberian Accentor on 2nd.
In France, two Pygmy Cormorants were seen at Les Iles on 2nd, and a first-winter Ross’s Gull at Leffrinckoucke on 6th.
Spain, meanwhile, enjoyed a Sociable Lapwing still at El Hondo on 4th.
Heading further afield now, in the Azores a Great Blue Heron was present on Faial on 2nd.
And finally, Israel was enjoying a good week’s birding – with a Three-banded Plover at Avney Eitan on 1st and what, if accepted, would be the country’s first ever Baikal Teal at Kfar Barukh reservoir on 4th.
Buoyed by the rare success of an accurate prediction of late, it’s time to optimistically gaze once more into the murky depths of the RBA crystal ball and see what might be in store if we’re very lucky in the coming week.
A succession of strong westerlies coming our way across the Atlantic, starting early in the week with Storm Barra, are hard to ignore. It’s late in the year, so surely we daren’t dream big?
Could these be the winds to drop us another long-awaited Great Blue Heron? On 7th December 2007 decent westerlies did just that on Scilly…
Or maybe there’s another passerine in the post? The coming week boasts three historic American Robins - they travel late, after all. Could it, for perfect serendipity, even be on Barra?
Jon Dunn
7 Dec 2021
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
Share
