Weekly birding round-up: 29 Mar - 4 Apr 2022
The highlight of the week was the return of the adult Black-browed Albatross to the gannetry at Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire on 30th March after which date it showed well each day. What was surely this same individual was first seen at Bempton Cliffs between 13th-18th May 2017, and again on 28th June 2017, and 2nd-3rd July 2020 before it settled down there in 2021 when present between 28th June and 27th September.
Perhaps it was the same bird as that sat on the sea at Flamborough Head on 26th May 2010, however, with conclusive proof this week of two adult Black-browed Albatrosses present simultaneously in the North Sea - with one photographed at sea west of Hanstholm, Denmark on 2nd April and then passing Salo, Bohuslan, Sweden two days later whilst the bird remained in-situ in Yorkshire - it is becoming increasingly difficult to rationalise records of this species in Europe. In 2021 Black-browed Albatross was voted rarity of the year in an online poll and it is difficult to imagine it not topping it again in 2022.
A group of three adult white morph Snow Geese that arrived at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire on 18th January 2022 remained at the refuge there until 31st March before departing. On 4th April what appears to be the same group was relocated 600 miles to the north northeast on Whalsay, Shetland Isles. Although the origin of these particular birds is unknown and a migration such as this is somewhat seductive there are multiple lines of circumstantial evidence pointing to the source of these birds being feral populations in Germany. On 12th-13th June 2011 a flock of eight Snow Geese at Slimbridge shed feathers on which a stable istope analysis was undertaken that demonstrated that those feathers had been grown in continental Europe, probably the Netherlands or Germany. On 22nd-23rd April 2012 a flock of six Snow Geese on the Orkney Isles at Wasbister, Mainland included a colour-ringed bird that had been ringed as a gosling at Neuss, Dusseldorf, Germany in June 2009 where it had remained amongst a flock of 70 others until April 2010 before relocating to Utrecht and Friesland, the Netherlands in both January and November 2011. Between 21st March 2020 and 20th August 2021 two white morph Snow Geese were recorded at several sites between the Shetland Isles and Norfolk and in summer 2021 they undertook their pre-basic moult on North Ronaldsay, Orkney Isles allowing a flightless bird to be trapped and the ring read and proving the origin to be a zoo in Hanover, Germany. The current birds are noticeably large-billed individuals with prominent grinning patches - perhaps closer to Greater Snow Goose than Lesser Snow Goose - and this is a characteristic shared by the 2020-2021 birds.
A Spatula duck found at Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire on 28th March 2022 was presumed to be the first record of Blue-winged Teal for that county and arrived on the same day as a Blue-winged Teal at Tacumshin, County Wexford. The bird was still at Little Marlow on 4th April and its appearance has attracted comment throughout with suggestions that it may actually be a hybrid Blue-winged Teal x Shoveler.
Some suggested apparent discrepancies with the identification as Blue-winged Teal are:
- a longer and more spatulate bill than expected
- yellowish colouration along the base of the upper mandible
- only a faint dark eye stripe
- a weak loral spot
- an ill-defined white eyering
- the absence of a pale supercilium
- warm brown tones to the body plumage
- prominent pale fringes to the outer webs of the tail feathers
This identification conundrum is not novel here and the identification of a Spatula duck present on Unst, Shetland Isles on 3rd-23rd September 1983 was discussed by the British Birds Rarities Committee in British Birds with the conclusion reached there being that the reason why the Unst bird showed a long and broad bill, indistinct head pattern, and warm-toned plumage was that it was an adult male in alternate plumage and therefore the dark eye eliminated the possibility of Cinnamon Teal. However, this same explanation can not be applied to the current bird as there is no question that the Buckinghamshire bird is a female: as the well as there being extensive black in the greater coverts, and the abscence of any male plumage characteristics in April, the presence of melanin spots (black freckles) on the bill is in dabbling ducks diagnostic of female when they are present as these spots are never shown by males.
In fact all the anomalous traits here are characters of Cinnamon Teal which is a frequent escape in Britain (although reports are bias in favour of the males in their distinctive basic plumage). However, fundamentally, in many respects Cinnamon Teal is intermediate in appearance between Blue-winged Teal and Shoveler and there have been several known hybrid Blue-winged Teal x Shoveler seen in Britain in the past. Although the males like this bird at Titchwell, Norfolk are diagnosable, females are much more difficult to prove. Hybrid Cinnamon Teal x Shoveler are also known here, and in Surrey an identification of hybrid Blue-winged x Cinnamon Teal was suggested for an adult male present at Thursley Common on 17th August 2011 and at Cut Mill Pond on 2nd January 2012.
A remarkable record of a Great Shearwater picked-up near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on 1st April and taken into care, mirrored an earlier occurrence of an out of season Great Shearwater inland; at Willen Lake, Buckinghamshire on 27th December 1999.
The second-winter Double-crested Cormorant was still at Doon Lough, County Leitrim on 4th; the only accepted British record of this species was of the same age class and showed equal site fidelity at an inauspicious inland site, visiting Charlton's Pond, Billingham, Cleveland from 11th January 1989 until it was last recorded there on 26th April 1989.
The spring accumulation of White-billed Divers in Scotland continued apace with as many as 36 individuals logged during the period. Portsoy, Aberdeenshire again recorded the lion's share with 17 counted there on 2nd when seven were also off Whitehills, Banff. In Moray, two were off Lossiemouth and one at Roseisle on 2nd April with five together off Cullen on 3rd. Further north, on the Shetland Isles singles were off Unst on 30th March-2nd April and Yell on 1st April, with one at Papa Westray, Orkney Isles on 31st March, and in Highland one off Embo, Highland on 3rd April.
Two Little Auks were reported to have flown north past Saltcoats, Ayrshire on 4th April and fifteen different Red-necked Grebes were reported.
An adult Night Heron at Nanjizal, Cornwall on 31st March was the first of the spring. A total of 72 Glossy Ibises included aggregations of eleven on the Isle of Wight at Brading Marsh on 29th March, eight at Walmsley Sanctuary, Cornwall on 2nd April, seven at Lady's Island Lake, County Wexford on 1st-2nd April, and six on Westray, Orkney Isles on 4th April.
A Spotted Crake remained on show throughout at Exminster Marshes, Devon, with others in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh on 1st-3rd April and Gibraltar Point on 2nd, whilst in North Yorkshire up to seven males were back singing at Wheldrake Ings where the first of the year had earlier been heard on 26th March.
The elusive American Coot was still at Tacumshin, County Wexford on 3rd, where it had first been found on 13th November 2021.
Notable geese included the adult Red-breasted Goose at Blakeney Harbour, Norfolk with Dark-bellied Brent Geese throughout, up to three Richardson's Cackling Geese with Greenland Barnacle Geese on North Uist, Western Isles until 2nd April and a further bird still with the same carrier species on Islay, Argyll at Bowmore on 1st April, single Todd's Canada Geese still on Tiree, Argyll on 31st March and at Banks Marsh, Lancashire until 3rd April, single white morph adult Snow Geese on the Western Isles still off North Uist on Vallay Island on 30th March, at Banks Marsh, Lancashire with Pink-footed Geese until 3rd April, and in Argyll at Drumlemble throughout, and Tundra Bean Geese remained with three at Canewdon, Essex on 3rd April and two at Lurgangreen, County Louth on 31st March.
A male Black Duck on the Shetland Isles at Baltasound, Unst on 2nd April was the eighth for the Shetland Isles but the first for the island of Unst. This was first new Black Duck to be discovered in Britain since 2015 and now that the long-staying male at Strontian, Highland, present in that vicinity from 16th June 2007 and 5th January 2021 has presumably succumbed it is once again a difficult bird to see in Britain.
The male Baikal Teal remained at Swine Moor, East Yorkshire throughout, and nine male Green-winged Teals were logged, but just one American Wigeon: at Nebraska Wetlands, Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire on 1st April having been found nearby the previous day.
The male Blue-winged Teal remained at Tacumshin, County Wexford until 29th March, with a female new at Berry Fen, Cambridgeshire on 30th March-3rd April where it attracted the attention of multiple male Garganey and copulation was noted. In 1988 a female Blue-winged Teal present at Fen Drayton, Cambridgeshire from June until October paired with a Shoveler and reared at least three young, and in 1993 a further female Blue-winged Teal at Blagdon Lake, Somerset between 1st May-10th October was paired with a Shoveler and mating was observed.
Notable diving ducks comprised eight Lesser Scaups with three still on the Western Isles on South Uist, the pair still on Woodend Loch, Clyde throughout, a female in County Cork at Lough Clubir on 31st March-3rd April, a male still at Castle Loch, Dumfries and Galloway on 29th March, and, most notably of all, a male new-in at Abberton Reservoir, Essex on 2nd-4th April. A total of 42 Ring-necked Ducks included six still together at Margam Opencast, Glamorgan and five at Lough Yganavan, County Kerry both on 3rd April, and three each at sites in Argyll, Nottinghamshire, and Perth and Kinross. A female Ferruginous Duck at Belvide Reservoir, Staffordshire on 30th March was presumably the individual first seen there on 22nd October 2021 (although it has not been seen there since 15th January 2022) and was observed mating with a Pochard, as if so often the case with extra-limital individuals of this species. Eleven Smew remained in Britain.
Seaducks were headlined by the adult male White-winged Scoter still off Musselburgh Lagoons, Lothian on 2nd April where up to three Surf Scoters remained until the following day. The first-winter male Surf Scoter was still in Cornwall at Pentewan on 2nd April although it had not been reported there since 11th March. An adult male Black Scoter was again seen at Rossbeigh Strand, County Kerry on 1st April after it was first suspected there this winter on 5th March. The first Irish record of Black Scoter was at the same location intermittently between 8th January 2015-28th December 2018 and may well be the same individual. Two male King Eiders were still on the Scottish mainland on 3rd April; the adult at Loch Fleet, Highland, and the first-winter at Musselburgh Lagoons, Lothian.
A Pacific Golden Plover was a surprise find with Golden Plovers at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk on 3rd-4th April and is only the eleventh record of this species in Britain in spring, and the third earliest arrival date on record.
The White-tailed Lapwing remained at Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire until the early morning of the 3rd April but could not be located later; perhaps it is Norfolk next for this bird? Another long-stayer confirmed as still present this week was the Semipalmated Plover at Crookhaven, County Cork on 3rd April, and a Lesser Yellowlegs was still at Tacumshin, County Wexford on 2nd April.
The Temminck's Stint remained in Kent at Cliffe Pools until 3rd April when it briefly crossed the Thames Estuary to visit East Tilbury, Essex, and another notably early spring record was a Pectoral Sandpiper at Ballycotton, County Cork from 3rd April.
Nice to see just my second spring Pec Sandpiper at Ballycotton. It’s the one at the front ?? pic.twitter.com/GYPxA4y8jl
— BirderPaul (@PaulBirder) April 5, 2022
The second-winter Bonaparte's Gull showed well at Chichester Gravel Pits, West Sussex throughout but just two Ring-billed Gulls were logged: first-winters still on Tiree, Argyll on 29th March and at The Lough, Cork, County Cork on 3rd April.
A total of 52 Iceland Gulls included seven together at Kyles Paible, North Uist, Western Isles on 30th March, and a showy bird in Middlesbrough, Cleveland throughout, whilst of 25 Glaucous Gulls the most popular was a second-winter in Norfolk at Winterton on 1st-3rd April. Two Kumlien's Gulls were both long-stayers: the juvenile still at Craigston, Barra, Western Isles on 1st April and the returning bird, now in third-summer plumage, again at Smithey Fen, Cambridgeshire on 2nd-3rd April.
A ringtail Pallid Harrier reported at Pen Anglas, Pembrokeshire on 3rd April was later reifentified as a Hen Harrier.
The persistent northerly airflow delivered a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll to Fair Isle, Shetland Isles on 4th April, with single Lapland Buntings noted at Tarbat Ness, Highland, and Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire on 2nd, and at Hillwell, Shetland Isles on 4th.
Meanwhile from the south came a flyby Alpine Swift at Chilling Cliffs, Hampshire on 29th March, a male White-spotted Bluethroat trapped and ringed at Charleston Reedbed, East Sussex on 31st March, and seven Hoopoes; six in southwest England between the Isles of Scilly and Dorset, and one reported in northernmost Scotland at Tongue, Highland on 2nd April.
The male Belted Kingfisher remained along the River Dawren at Roach Bridge, Lancashire throughout, and two of the overwintering Penduline Tits were still at Weston Airfield, Somerset on 29th March.
Asian passerines comprised the Hume's Warbler still in Eastbourne, East Sussex on 3rd April, the Yellow-browed Warbler showing throughout the week in Bridport, Dorset, Dusky Warblers still in London at Walthamstow Marsh on 31st March and at Stiffkey, Norfolk throughout, and a Little Bunting briefly at Polgigga, Cornwall on 3rd April.
Four Great Grey Shrikes were recorded this week with lingering birds in Angus at Backwater Reservoir, Norfolk at Sparham, and North Yorkshire at Cropton Forest, with a second bird in the latter county at Ten Acre Reservoir on 29th March. Four Shorelarks remained in Holkham Bay, Norfolk on 3rd April.
The cold northerly winds stalled the journeys of spring migrants but the first Grasshopper Warbler of the year was singing a Red Rocks, Wirral on 1st April, the first Swift was over Richmond Park, London on 3rd April, and what appeared to be the first Wood Sandpiper of the spring was in Northamptonshire at Upton County Park on 4th April, although it is probably no coincidence that the only over-wintering Wood Sandpiper in the country this year was present at nearby Pitsford Reservoir between 4th November 2021 and 21st January 2022.
Other migrants logged in the migrant matrix this week were:
The highlights in Spain this week were a Seebohm's Wheatear at Guadalhorce, Málaga on 29th March, on 30th March a Moussier's Redstart still in Valencia at L' Albufera de Valencia, a Cream-coloured Courser still in Andalucia at Cabo de Gata-Nijar, and the Brown Booby still at Cabo de Higer, Basque Country, and showing throughout the week was the Black-and-white Warbler at Sant Joan de Mediona, Catalonia. In France the Austrian satellite-tagged juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle pinged from Mayenne on 30th March when in the Netherlands the Western Swamphen was still at Alblasserdam, South Holland. In Denmark a Sandhill Crane was at Tranekaer, Langeland on 31st March and in Sweden on 3rd April the Siberian Rubythroat remained at Vargon, Gotalands lan, and a Stejneger's Scoter at Mellbystrand, Skane lan. Further afield an Asian Buff-bellied Pipit was on Cyprus at Anarita on 31st March, and on the Azores a Great Blue Heron was on Terceira at Praia da Vitoria on 3rd April.
On the Shetland Isles the Sperm Whale remained trapped in South Whiteness Voe, Mainland until 30th March when it was guided to the open sea.
Operation Sperm Whale: a two minute video diary of the monumental & successful eight hour effort to herd this truly magnificent animal back out to deeper water. Thanks to the @scotseafarms crew & Martin Robinson for their outstanding boat skills & logistical support. @nature_scot pic.twitter.com/M6eaXbZcTg
— Hugh Harrop Wildlife (@HughHarrop) March 31, 2022
Headline discoveries for this coming week in previous years are:
- 6th April Wallcreeper Ecclesbourne Glen, Hastings, East Sussex, 1977
- 7th April American Bittern Carlton Marshes, Suffolk, 2018
- 8th April Alpine Accentor Portland, Dorset, 1978
- 9th April Song Sparrow Fair Isle, Shetland Isles, 2020 (following another there from 11th April 1989)
- 10th April Sociable Lapwing Brimpton, Berkshire, 1991
- 11th April Ipswich Savannah Sparrow Portland Bill, Dorset, 1982
Further rarities from the south have included three each of Great Spotted Cuckoo and Sardinian Warbler, four Iberian Chiffchaffs, five Scops Owls, and eight Little Bitterns, whilst from the north and west four of both Killdeer and Ross's Gull, thirteen Snowy Owls, and sixteen each of Gyr and Bonaparte's Gull.
Several common spring migrants are still be recorded here this spring and their median arrival dates here this millennium are, in order of likely appearance:
- Arctic Tern 3rd April
- Nightingale 3rd April
- Turtle Dove 5th April
- Little Tern 6th April
- Blue-headed Wagtail 6th April
- Wood Warbler 10th April
- Black Tern 12th April
- Spotted Flycatcher 17th April
- Nightjar 2nd May
Chris Batty
6 April 2022
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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