Weekly birding round-up: 11 - 17 Jan 2022
We’ve been pretty spoiled of late, like kids who’ve found all their Christmases have come at once where rarities in Britain and Ireland are concerned over the past few weeks. And, just like those kids, knee-deep one day in chocolates, and surrounded by a sea of empty wrappers the next, there had to come a point when the flow of new rarities at the very least slowed down. It’s January, after all. That week, for the most part, was the week just gone.
Nonetheless, just look at our two headline species. No complaints for British or Irish birders there…
The only thing that’s better than a Baikal Teal is, obviously, two of them, and better yet two birds placed at either end of England to make light work of the twitching mileage for those inclined to go and pay their respects. Happily, this past week, that’s exactly what we had, with both recent drakes still available, at least some of the time.
Starting with the trickier of the two, in East Yorkshire the drake started the week still at Tophill Low NR on 12th, before decamping to Swine Moor on 13th, and then heading back to Tophill Low on 14th. It’s not been seen subsequently, but I fancy it may yet reappear in the days to come…
With any luck, it’ll settle into something approaching a routine, rather like the steadier drake in Somerset at Greylake RSPB still on 11th-17th. Sure, there’s a lot of Teal to sift through to locate it, but that never hurt anyone.
Ireland’s star duo owed their origins to a different point of the compass entirely this week – both recent American Coots were seen, intermittently, at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 14th-17th still, and Lough Yganavan (Co.Kerry) on 15th-17th still.
Sure, they may not have the aesthetic star quality that a Baikal Teal oozes, but with just four accepted Irish records to the end of 2018 the species remains a quality proposition. And, just like said teals, there’s surely a lingering suspicion that where there’s two there might yet be another bird waiting somewhere, unseen, in the wings just waiting to be found.
Once more heading up the weekly seabird news this week, the Pacific Diver remained present and showing well on Eglwys Nunydd reservoir (Glamorgan) on 11th-17th. Only time will tell whether it can possibly follow in the footsteps of past wintering birds that have gone on to show site fidelity in years to come but, for now, it’s a deservedly popular star turn in Wales.
A fantastic day in my county today with ?@GlamBirder? ?@PenarthBirder? ?@PortlyLeader? ?@hairyleader? - Cirl Bunting (a Welsh first for me) Pacific Diver (my 2nd in Wales). Good to catch up with ???@OreillyReilly2? and Lyn too pic.twitter.com/Bohm0tsBGk
— Judd Hunt (@Juddhunt1) January 15, 2022
In Shetland, fair conditions allowed the White-billed Diver to be seen once more in South Nesting Bay on 15th.
Little Auks continued to be seen in modest numbers this week – amassing around 140 birds noted nationwide, with some two thirds of those seen in Ireland. Peak counts were the 26 birds logged in Co.Donegal between Tory Island and Magheroarty on 14th, and the 53 birds seen on 15th from Tory Island.
Already fading into the distance in our collective birding rear view mirrors, the relatively recent unprecedented influx of Brunnich’s Guillemots may soon be assuming the mantle of a once in a generation event. A more typical record this week came in the form of an unconfirmed report of this Arctic auk in the harbour at Tobermory (Argyll & Bute) on 11th. Not seen subsequently, at least it wasn’t behaving in the usual manner for the species on these shores – which is to say, laid out dead on the tideline.
A single Pomarine Skua was again seen from Devon’s Berry Head on 11th.
Lastly, a Leach’s Petrel was found on 4th off Weston Shore (Hampshire).
For yet another consecutive week, the spate of Glossy Ibises continued to pour over Britain and Ireland, with another strong showing of some 160 birds logged in recent days. Some inevitable duplication amongst that mobile number aside, it’s a remarkable influx by any standards, not only for volume but also for the sustained manner in which it’s proceeding. While some of the birds of recent weeks have succumbed to the travails of a long journey into the far north – Unst, graveyard of Glossies, we’re thinking of you – others are showing some staying power. Orkney’s Westray continued to host eight birds on 14th still.
That flock, sizeable though it still is, remains a mere bagatelle compared to others elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Notable counts came from Walmsley Sanctuary CBWPS again, where 18 birds remained on 11th-13th; on the Isle of Wight, where a dozen continued to lob around Brading Marsh RSPB and St Helens Bridge on 11th-13th; and Sandwich Bay (Kent), where 11 birds were noted on 14th.
For another week, the scarce and rare honkers and quackers kick off with the loveliness that are Red-breasted Geese. The recently found bird in Lincolnshire remained at Freiston Shore RSPB on 11th-12th, relocating to Frampton Marsh RSPB on 13th-14th, and back to Freiston Shore RSPB on 17th; and, in Essex, sightings came from Holliwell Point again on 12th, then Blue House Farm EWT on 13th-16th.
Three white morph Snow Geese remained near Lossiemouth (Moray) on 11th, with three seen fleetingly on 15th at Gilston again; further birds were seen in Lancashire at Plex Moss on 13th-17th, on Orkney at Birsay on 15th-16th, and in Co.Sligo at Lissadell on 13th -16th still.
Lincolnshire and Essex also served up Black Brants this week, with birds seen, respectively, at Freiston Shore RSPB on 11th and 15th, and South Fambridge on 13th still. Elsewhere, one was reported in Norfolk at Wells on 12th, and another was present in Kent at Hoo on 12th-14th; while in Dorset, birds were seen on 16th at Wyke Regis and in Poole Harbour at Goathorn, with a further report that day from Ferrybridge too.
Three possible Grey-bellied Brants were seen in Co.Dublin at Kilbarrack on 14th.
Moving now into The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, interior Todd’s Canada Geese at Banks Marsh NNR (Lancashire) again on 12th and 16th; at Muckleton Farm (Norfolk) still on 14th-16th; and on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 11th.
Banks Marsh NNR also provided a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose on 13th again, and at Marshside RSPB on 16th; while two were noted at Lissadell (Co.Sligo) on 13th and again on 16th. Two Cackling Geese remained on North Uist (Western Isles) on 17th.
Onto the quackers, and the drake White-winged Scoter was still kicking around the chilly waters off Musselburgh (Lothian) this week on 11th-16th.
Two of this week’s overall tally of 14 Surf Scoters were also seen intermittently here – indeed, most of the week’s birds were present in Scotland, with eight noted around the country, of which the trio of drakes off Lothian’s Gullane Point still on 11th-14th were the joint highest single site tally, tied for the laurels with the three birds seen on 15th near Old Colwyn (Conwy).
The King Eider was once more seen off Musselburgh (Lothian) on 16th.
Ring-necked Ducks were still numerous in all corners of Britain and Ireland – and Ireland, this week, comfortably took the honours for the highest single site count, with eight birds seen on Lough Gara (Co.Sligo) on 13th. Overall, an impressive 40 birds were noted across the region.
Their rarer cousins continued to feature in the daily news reports. Two Lesser Scaups were still to be seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) until 14th; while elsewhere in Scotland a drake was haunting Ayrshire’s Auchincross on 11th still (and again on 17th), Loch of the Lowes on 13th, and Creoch Loch on 14th-16th; and the first-winter drake remained on Lewis on 15th-16th, and the female on South Uist (Western Isles) on 15th-17th. The first-winter drake remained on Tresco (Scilly) on 11th-14th; while in Dorset the female was still at Abbotsbury on 11th-14th, and a further sighting coming from a little west of there at West Bexington on 14th-15th. Finally, a drake was seen in Ireland at Lough Creenagh (Co.Leitrim) on 12th; a female in Co.Westmeath at Lough Ennell on 16th; and a first-winter drake in Co.Cork at Knockanemore on 16th had been present since 26th December.
The drake Ferruginous Duck was again seen at Thorpe Park (Surrey) on 14th, while on 15th the female was once more present at Belvide reservoir (Staffordshire). A drake was found on 16th in Worcestershire at Ripple Pits.
Green-winged Teals just about scraped into double figures nationally this week, with two present still at Tain (Highland) on 12th-13th the only multiple sighting of recent days.
Lastly, drake American Wigeons were present at Crook of Baldoon RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway) on 14th-16th, Big Waters NR (Northumberland) on 15th-17th, and Idle Valley NR (Nottinghamshire) on 17th.
Sure enough, the off and on again adult White-tailed Lapwing was still present in Lincolnshire around the damp margins of East Halton Skitter on 13th-76th. It’s almost getting silly now. At this rate it’ll be applying for residency as a key wader sometime soon.
The Lesser Yellowlegs remained in Ireland at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th-16th, while a fresh bird was found on 16th-17th at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk).
A Dotterel was found on 16th between Beal and Goswick (Northumberland).
A handful of Grey Phalaropes continued to please – the long-staying Shetland bird was last seen at Ireland beach on 11th, but the site passed the baton of consistency to Filey (North Yorkshire), where the recent bird remained on 11th-17th, but was joined there by a second individual on 12th-16th. A final bird was noted in Ireland at Quilty (Co.Clare) on 11th.
We’ll begin the gulls with Ring-billed Gulls and, in Ireland, the lion’s share of the week’s records. Starting in Co.Cork, the adult was still at Ring on 12th, while a first-winter was in Cork on 14th-15th; Co.Kerry’s Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre held an adult on 11th-15th still, with a second bird present there on 14th; and, in Co.Louth, the adult remained at Black Rock on 11th-15th. Scotland enjoyed one bird still at Musselburgh (Lothian) on 11th-15th, and the other again at Strathclyde Loch (Clyde) on 16th-17th; while the Cornish individual remained at Hayle on 11th-16th.
Numbers of white-wingers were pretty typical for the time of year this past week, with a steady 55 Glaucous Gulls and 50 Iceland Gulls to show for British and Irish efforts. Unst (Shetland) did best for the former species, with seven birds seen passing there on 14th, followed by Killybegs (Co.Donegal) on 15th, hosting four birds there. Best of the Iceland Gulls were a trio on Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th.
In Cambridgeshire, the third-winter Kumlien’s Gull was still to be seen in the pig fields at Heydon on 13th-16th; the juvenile remained at Kenmare (Co.Kerry) on 12th; and an adult was seen on Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 13th.
Finally, the adult Forster’s Tern was seen on 16th again at Kinvarra (Co.Galway).
Not a great deal to report for another week in the raptors section of proceedings. A probable Rough-legged Buzzard was seen near St John’s Chapel (Co.Durham) on 12th.
Meanwhile, on Orkney, a Snowy Owl was found on Westray on 15th.
With no positive news from Lancashire’s waterlogged canals and rivers this week, our lead Nearctic passerine is the deservedly popular American Buff-bellied Pipit still in Decon at Prawle Point on 12th-17th.
Up in North Yorkshire, meanwhile, the Richard’s Pipit was proving reliable lately at Filey on 11th-17th; another was in Hampshire at Loddon Valley on 17th.
Not a million miles from there, the Red-flanked Bluetail in Co.Durham was also a popular local draw still on 11th-17th at Bowlees.
Moving into the warblers, the continuing presence of the Hume’s Warbler at Bockhill Farm Wood (Kent) on 11th-17th was gilded by the discovery of another bird a little west along the south coast, on the promenade at Eastbourne (East Sussex) on 14th-17th.
The Cambridgeshire Yellow-browed Warbler was still present at Milton CP on 11th-17th, while in Ireland the recent bird remained at Dungarvan (Co.Waterford) on 11th-14th. One was found in a Weston-super-Mare (Somerset) garden on 13th-17th; another in St Austell (Cornwall) on 12th-17th; and final Cornish bird at Crackington on 16th.
The wintering Pallas’s Warbler remained at Abingdon sewage works (Oxfordshire) on 11th-17th.
Dusky Warblers, meanwhile, remained in Kent at Fordwich on 13th-17th and Wheldrake Ings YWT (North Yorkshire) on 11th-16th; another probable bird was seen on Tresco (Scilly) on 11th also.
The three Penduline Tits lingered at Weston Airfield (Somerset) until 17th.
Cambridgeshire was home to one of the week’s more beautiful birds, a winter Hoopoe at Heathfield on 12th-14th.
We did a little better for Great Grey Shrikes this week than of late, with half a dozen recorded across the country. In Hampshire, the bird remained at Backley Bottom on 12th; one was still present at Llyn Brenig (Denbighshire) on 12th-17th; the Killington reservoir (Cumbria) individual was again seen there on 12th-16th; the recently reliable bird remained at Wistow (North Yorkshire) on 11th-17th; and in Scotland, birds remained at Backwater reservoir (Angus) on 13th and in Glen Feshie (Highland) on 11th-17th.
Numbers of Waxwings were still rather unremarkable this week, with just 19 birds noted in all. Amidst these, a few small flocks had coalesced – two birds at Guisborough (Cleveland) on 11th; four birds at Cathkin Marsh SWT (Clyde) on 15th; and five in Bramley (West Yorkshire) on 12th.
An intriguing record came from Norfolk on 15th – a Short-toed Lark in flight with Skylarks at West Runton. Presumably this was the bird last seen there two months ago on 11th November? If so, it’s been flying under the radar ever since.
The juvenile Rose-coloured Starling remained at Lower Boscaswell (Cornwall) on 11th-16th.
An Arctic Redpoll was found on 15th at Moveen (Co.Clare).
Our two wintering Little Buntings remained at Upper College Farm (London) on 12th-16th, and in West Sussex at Iping Common on 13th-15th.
They are not, however, the final call in this week’s British and Irish round up. That honour has, for once, to go to a local rarity of some substance – this being the male Cirl Bunting marvellously unearthed on 12th near Marcross (Glamorgan) at Ty’n-y-caeau Farm by Tom Wright. Cirl Buntings are scarce enough outside of Devon, let alone in Wales where they’re frankly monster rare. Still present on site in the morning of 17th, this was a brilliant and popular find by Tom.
We simply have to kick off the overseas news with another wandering Allen’s Gallinule - as if making it dead or alive to Ireland or the Canary Islands wasn’t enough, one was taken into care this week on 13th deep out in the Atlantic on Terceira (Azores).
Speaking of the Canary Islands, a Semipalmated Plover was found on Tenerife on 15th.
A Sociable Lapwing was seen in Portugal at São Brás do Regedouro on 12th.
In France, two Pygmy Cormorants were present at Paliere on 11th.
Switzerland’s meena Western Rufous Turtle Dove remained at Sulgen on 12th.
In Austria, a Great Black-headed Gull flew over Rust on 12th.
Belgium’s first-winter Ross’s Gull remained at Nieuwpoort on 14th-16th.
Holland was still busy this week, with the Western Swamphen remaining at Het Nieuwe Waterschap on 13th-15th, the Pygmy Cormorant still at Utrecht on 13th-14th, and a Spotted Eagle on 16th at Goedereede.
In Sweden the male Siberian Rubythroat remained at Vargön on 12th-16th.
Last, but by no means least, Norway scored a fine Glaucous-winged Gull at Trondheim on 15th.
Well, we closed last week saying there had to be at least one more scarce or rare warbler out there waiting to be found, and happily that proved to be spot on with the discovery of the Eastbourne Hume’s. And who’s to say that’s the end of that? I’d bet there’s still a Dusky lurking somewhere warm in Cornwall at the very least…
It’s hard to stop daydreaming about rare Rallids though, given another remarkable, obdurate Allen’s Gallinule did its damnedest to cross the Atlantic this week. The coming week features a couple of birds that came the other way, from west to east, since the turn of the century, with mixed results – one dead, one alive. Either would be most welcome in the week to come were one to come out of the woodwork in a damp wetland margin somewhere in, say, Devon.
They are, of course, the American Purple Gallinule picked up dead in Devon at Horndon on 24th January 2011; and the Sora found alive and kicking in Devon at Stover CP on 18th January 2000. The latter went on to thrive there until 5th April – a stay that pleased many a birder at the time, and a species that would be welcomed anew were a repeat to be in the offing in the wake of an excellent autumn for transatlantic vagrancy.
Jon Dunn
17 January 2022
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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