Weekly birding round-up: 3 - 9 May 2022
Our stuttering spring continued to deliver in fits and starts this week with two of the headlining birds relating to rarities that had already been seen before in Ireland in the recent and somewhat more distant past, and the newest arrival of the most British heft being unavailable for all but the most fortunate of locals. There’s time yet for some more twists and turns in spring’s tale, but for now, here’ s the past week’s birds…
With some 50 accepted British records to its credit these days, Slate-coloured Junco may not have quite the pulling power, at a national level, of some of its Nearctic passerine counterparts on the British list, but that’s neither to say that birders don’t cherish the opportunity to catch up with one on the rare occasion one is found locally, nor that there aren’t still counties in Britain that have yet to be graced by one of these dapper birds.
Both concluding remarks probably apply to the individual photographed in a private garden on Islay near Kildalton on 7th. This was a first for Argyll & Bute – but not one destined to be widely available for not only was the garden in question private but the bird had gone by the following morning.
Somewhat more accommodating in recent times, the Irish Egyptian Vulture, last reported from the Athlone area of Co.Roscommon on 12th March, came back into the news again this week on 6th when it was found sitting on a lamppost on the R446 at Monksland.
It flew off shortly afterwards, leaving in its wake news that it had also been seen in the wider area on 28th April. We usually speculate where next for this bird – somewhat hopefully, truth be told, wondering whether it will deign to come back into British airspace any time soon. Then again, with the anniversary of it first being found in Ireland, on 14th July 2021 at Dunfanaghy New Lake (Co.Donegal), only a couple of months away from us now, perhaps this wayward vulture is simply good and settled and not going anywhere anytime soon.
Hopes were not, perhaps, terribly high that the Greater Sand Plover sp found late in the preceding week at Tramore (Co.Waterford) was going to stick around into the current week. Both of Ireland’s previous records related to one-day birds, after all.
Good news then when, on 3rd, the news came that the adult male bird was still present on Tramore Backstrand. Better still, it stayed put until 5th, showing well at times too. An obliging bird then, and a popular one too.
No sooner had we become accustomed to the adult Black-browed Albatross being a more or less daily fixture at Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) than, this week, it wasn’t. Seen on 3rd, thereafter it went AWOL until 7th-8th. If last year was anything to go by, this is hopefully the bird settling into something approaching a routine, and we’re set for regular sightings as the summer ahead unfolds.
Scottish White-billed Divers for the most part dominated the banana bill scene for another week, with birds noted off Roseisle (Moray) still on 3rd-5th, from Unst (Shetland) on 5th, and off North Uist (Western Isles) on 6th. The exception to the rule was a bird seen from Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 3rd.
For much of the week sightings of Pomarine Skuas were fairly subdued until 8th when passage began to pick up again. Overall, around 110 birds were logged overall in the course of recent days up until 8th, with a highest single site count coming from Selsey Bill in the course of 8th where 13 birds were seen. Then, on 9th, the floodgates broke and some 600 birds were logged streaming up the English Channel, with a peak single site count of 86 birds coming from Dungeness (Kent). Our only Long-tailed Skuas were nine seen from North Uist (Western Isles) on 6th and what was presumably the returning, summering bird reported from Loch of Clumlie (Shetland) again briefly on 9th.
A Balearic Shearwater was noted passing Portland (Dorset) on 9th.
Continuing to dominate the long legged beasties for another week, and feeling set to do so for the foreseeable future, were Glossy Ibises. A bare minimum of 40 were still being reported around Britain and Ireland and, at this juncture, one wonders what mischief they could be capable of getting up to in areas of suitable habitat. Will it be Somerset or Norfolk that’s first past the finishing post? Or somewhere else entirely… The week’s highest tally was, once again, seven birds seen intermittently throughout at Ham Wall RSPB (Somerset).
The only Purple Herons reported this week were the Ham Wall RSPB individual seen again in flight in Somerset on 3rd, 6th, and 8th; one in Kent on 7th at Grove Ferry NNR; and then, on 8th, individuals at Horsey Mere (Norfolk) and Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex).
The second-summer Night Heron remained a daily fixture in Devon at Slapton Ley on 3rd-6th. An unconfirmed report came of another in Devon at Ashburton on 3rd.
In Norfolk, the recent Corncrake continued to be heard rasping from the depths of Welney WWT on (Norfolk) on 3rd-6th.
The waters of the rarity duckpond were beginning to adopt a more unruffled appearance in the past week, with still fewer honkers and quackers of note reported as the days wore on. We’ll soon enough be into the Sargasso Sea-like weeks of summer but, for now, there were still some birds of note to go at.
Topping the geese again, though surely about to do one and leave sometime soon, the Red-breasted Goose was still present in Norfolk at Blakeney on 3rd-9th; and, in East Yorkshire, the Black Brant was seen again at Kilnsea on 3rd and 7th-9th.
The drake American Wigeon remained in Northumberland at Cresswell Pond NWT on 4th-7th; and another was found on 5th at Loch Connell (Dumfries & Galloway).
Just the two Green-winged Teals were reported this week – one present still at Loch of Kinnordy RSPB (Angus) on 3rd; and one found on 9th at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire).
Numbers of Ring-necked Ducks fell again, below double figures now for the first week in heaven knows how long. Starting in Scotland, in Clyde a drake was seen at Kelvingrove Park Pond on 4th-5th, Dawsholm Park on 7th, and Bingham’s Pond again on 8th, and a female at Lochwinnoch RSPB on 6th; and a drake was still at Blairdrummond GPs (Forth) on 4th. English birds numbered the drake still in Devon at Slapton Ley on 3rd-4th; one still in Lincolnshire at Baston & Langtoft GPs on 3rd; a female still at Appleford GPs (Oxfordshire) on 4th; and a drake at Dungeness (Kent) on 7th-9th.
The female Ferruginous Duck remained at Grimley (Worcestershire) on Camp Lane Pits on 3rd-7th.
In Cleveland, the recent first-winter drake King Eider was still seen from between Marske and Saltburn on 3rd, and from Redcar on 4th; while the longer staying individual remained off Musselburgh (Lothian) on 3rd-9th still.
Lothian’s Surf Scoter contingent stayed on two birds again at Musselburgh on 6th, with just one seen off there on 7th, and two in Gosford Bay on 8th.
Finally our honorary wildfowl, the adult Pied-billed Grebe, was again seen in Argyll & Bute at Loch Feorlin on 4th and 8th.
Black-winged Stilts continued to feature highly in the shorebird news for another week, particularly in Norfolk where one at Hickling Broad NWT again on 5th-6th was followed by four birds present there on 7th-8th (and three still on 9th) while two were reported from Potter Heigham marshes on 6th and one again near Denver Sluice on 8th. Elsewhere, one was seen in London at Beddington Farmlands on 3rd, with one present in Kent at Worth Marsh on 3rd-4th and two at the latter site on 8th. Three were reported flushed from Orford Ness (Suffolk) on 6th and seen to head off south. On 9th, two arrived at Abberton reservoir (Essex).
In Suffolk a Lesser Golden Plover sp dropped into Minsmere RSPB in the afternoon of 5th, but flew off high north later on. An American Golden Plover was seen on 4th up in Northumberland at Grindon Lough.
A female Kentish Plover was found at Pegwell Bay (Kent) on 5th.
Norfolk’s Thornham peaked with seven Dotterels logged there on 4th; six were present on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 6th-7th. Three were found on 8th in Gwynedd on Foel-fras. Single birds were found on 3rd-4th at Congleton (Cheshire); on Bryher (Scilly) still on 3rd; and on 7th-8th at Sunk Island (East Yorkshire) and Pendle Hill (Lancashire).
Numbers of Temminck’s Stints picked up noticeably this week. Birds were noted at Pulborough Brooks RSPB (West Sussex) on 4th; at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 6th-8th; at Egleton NR (Leicestershire) on 6th-7th and 9th; at Letham Pools (Fife) on 7th-9th; and at Havergate Island RSPB (Suffolk) on 7th, where two birds were noted passing over. On 8th one was found in Hampshire at Keyhaven Marshes; three in Norfolk at Cley NWT with one at Salthouse earlier, and two at North Point Pools; and one in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB. On 9th two were again seen at Cley, while three were seen at Hickling Broad NWT (Norfolk).
A couple of the prior week’s Pectoral Sandpipers lingered a while – in Gloucestershire at Pilning Wetland on 3rd-5th still, and in Suffolk at Hollesley Marshes RSPB on 3rd-5th also. One more was found on 6th between Holkham and Wells (Norfolk).
Lesser Yellowlegs marked a strong return to the weekly waders with a flurry of sightings – one in Suffolk at Buss Creek Marsh on 3rd-8th; one in Northumberland at Maidens Hall Lake on 7th; and, in Ireland, sightings at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) still on 4th, Timoleague (Co.Cork) on 6th-8th, and Lough Beg (Co.Derry) on 6th-8th.
Also in Ireland, a Grey Phalarope was seen at Lady’s Island Lake (Co.Wexford) on 6th and 8th. A female Red-necked Phalarope was present at Grindon Lough (Northumberland) on 9th.
And finally, still in Ireland, a pratincole sp was seen in Co.Cork at Dunmanus on 8th flying towards Toormore.
Back at the head of the weeks gulls were a handful of Bonaparte’s Gulls - mainly at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) where an adult lingered on 3rd-5th, and a first-summer was also seen on 3rd – though a further possible bird was noted heading past Rushington (West Sussex) on 7th.
Numbers of Glaucous Gulls dropped once more, with barely 10 birds noted over the course of the week. Likewise, Iceland Gulls weren’t setting the world on fire either, with a mere 15 or so birds again reported nationwide.
Providing a little variety, the juvenile Kumlien’s Gull was once more seen on Barra (Western Isles) on 3rd.
Westray (Orkney) was clearly the place to be this week, with a wholly unconfirmed report of a possible Sooty Tern on 4th being too couched in caveats to make the headlines, but a confirmed Gull-billed Tern heading east past there on 5th providing some decent compensation for the Sooty’s absence that day.
Obvious distraction in Ireland aside this week, the potentially best of the balance of the week’s rare raptors was the male Montagu’s / Pallid Harrier seen over Snettisham RSPB (Norfolk) on 7th. In Cornwall, sightings of an immature male Montagu’s Harrier came on 8th at Trewey Common and nearby again on 9th, and males were seen on 9th in Suffolk at Lakenheath Fen RSPB and in Norfolk at Honing.
Also in the headlines but for the usual cautious caveats, a possible Eleonora’s Falcon was seen heading northwest over Hollingbury Camp (East Sussex) in the late morning of 6th.
A few Black Kites continued to be noted during the week – at Dungeness (Kent) on 3rd and 9th; on 5th at Bishopstone (Kent) and Leigh Park (Hampshire); on 6th in Glamorgan at Deri and in the Darran Valley, and in Suffolk at Orford and Boyton; on 8th at Marazion Marsh (Cornwall); and on 9th in Derbyshire at Flash Lane NR.
The Western Isles scored the week’s only Snowy Owl, a female, but not on the anticipated St Kilda – this was a bird on North Uist on 8th-9th. With no reports of the St Kildan female recently, could it be that she’s relocated and, if so, is this is a permanent move?
Another week, another warbler species heading up the passerines but, this week, it was the turn of Iberian Chiffchaff to have a bit of a moment. We kick off with a singing male in London in Regents Park on 4th-9th; another was heard in song on 6th at Bordon (Hampshire). Hampshire had another probable bird on 6th-8th near Otterbourne that had been heard there for some nine days previously. A possible bird was trapped and ringed on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 7th; while another was found on 7th in Somerset at Rowberrow Warren. As the week drew to a close, another singing bird was found in Shropshire early on 9th at The Wrekin.
Also providing some variety this week were Savi’s Warblers - one reported from Belvide reservoir (Staffordshire) on 3rd-4th was trapped and ringed there on 5th; another was in Essex at East Tilbury on 2nd-3rd; and one more in song at Potter Heigham (Norfolk) on 5th.
The wintering Dusky Warbler remained at Stiffkey (Norfolk) on 3rd-6th.
Red-rumped Swallows continued to feature, albeit in much smaller numbers than during the preceding week. Single birds were seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 4th, Budle Bay (Northumberland) on 5th, and Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 7th; while two were present on North Ronaldsay on 7th also.
Just one Wryneck made it into the news reports this week, seen on 5th at Holland Haven CP (Essex).
Numbers of Hoopoes too were well down on what had gone before – single birds being seen in Enfield (London) on 2nd-3rd; at Heacham (Norfolk) on 3rd; New Polzeath (Cornwall) on 5th; Braishfield (Hampshire) on 6th; Robin Hood’s Bay (Northumberland) on 6th; and Foreness Point (Kent) on 9th.
A singing male Golden Oriole was hanging around St Mary’s (Scilly) on 5th-9th; another bird was found on nearby Bryher on 9th while, also on 9th, a female was seen in Cornwall at Crows-an-Wra.
A Bee-eater added further colour to the week at Sizewell (Suffolk) on 8th.
Cornwall got itself another Woodchat Shrike this week, this time on The Lizard on 4th; another was found on Portland (Dorset) on 8th; and the week ended with one found in the far north on Foula (Shetland). A Red-backed Shrike was also found on 8th, at Spurn (East Yorkshire).
Numbers of Blue-headed Wagtails dipped a little, barely ascending into double figures again in recent days, with a Grey-headed Wagtail at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 9th adding some variety – but the wagtails of the week were still another iberiae Spanish Wagtail, on this occasion a first-summer male found in Conwy at Conwy RSPB on 6th-8th; and a female Citrine Wagtail at Cemlyn (Anglesey) on 8th.
Wonderful wagtails in Wales.
— Steve T (@xbirder) May 9, 2022
Citrine and Blue Headed at Cemlyn Bay and Iberian at Conwy RSPB. Beautiful #Wales #wagtails #Birding pic.twitter.com/t6vlCDGoet
A Richard’s Pipit was found at Holland Haven CP (Essex) on 6th.
The year’s first Tawny Pipit, however, was tracked heading west through Norfolk on 6th, being noted initially that morning at Weybourne Camp and shortly afterwards at Gramborough Hill. Fair Isle (Shetland) scored a Red-throated Pipit on 8th.
If numbers of some scarce passerines dipped lately, that can’t be said for Serins, with 14 birds in all noted over southern Britain and Ireland, with one more northerly outlier in their number at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 7th.
Speaking of northerly pioneers, an Ortolan Bunting spent a couple of days showing well in a Lewis (Western Isles) garden on 4th-5th.
The Ortolan Bunting has just appeared again.#OuterHebrides pic.twitter.com/NmrF4DP0ON
— Ness Nature (@Nessnature) May 5, 2022
Not a million miles away from us, France and Holland were enjoying a good week too. Starting with France, in the early part of the week there was a flurry of activity – a Steppe Eagle found on 3rd at Mers-les-Bains and, on 4th, Greater Sand Plover and Elegant Tern at Polder de Sebastopol, and Brown Booby at Ilot Saint-Ferreol.
Holland, meanwhile, held onto the settled Western Swamphen at Het Nieuwe Waterschap on 3rd-5th, but gilded the lily with an Egyptian Vulture over Dwingelderveld on 7th, and a hemprichii Caspian Stonechat on Texel on 7th-8th.
Another Steppe Eagle was logged this week, in Denmark at Skagen on 9th.
Further afield, in Turkey the site-of-the-moment delivered again, with a Tibetan Lesser Sand Plover at Milleyha Wetland on 3rd.
Lastly, out on the Azores the Yellow-crowned Night Heron was still present on Sao Miguel on 8th.
We need look little further than Orkney’s Westray this week for a timely reminder that as May begins to step up through spring’s gears, rare terns are on the move. Double figure historic records of Gull-billed, Caspian, Whiskered, and White-winged Black Terns all augur well for the coming week.
Nor should those be the incentive we need to keep our eyes peeled for terns. Rarer options have also been found in the past – a Bridled Tern at Rye (East Sussex) on 16th-17th May 1993 and, more recently, an Elegant Tern in Dorset at Stanpit Marsh on 10th May 2005.
Go see what you can turn up on your local patch…
Jon Dunn
10 May 2022
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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