Weekly birding round-up: 18 - 24 Oct 2022
Another autumn week under our belts, and there was something for everybody, from Scilly regulars to Shetland stalwarts, east coast and west coast local patch-workers, ringers and sea-watchers, British and Irish birders alike. Easterlies, westerlies, southerlies… we had them all. And, sure enough, they delivered.
Of all the days in the year in which to be thrown back into a pre-internet and pre-mobile phone stone age in Shetland, 20th October wasn’t ideal. Thanks to a trawler severing the fibre optic umbilical cable that joins the islands to the British mainland, islanders awoke on 20th to something approaching the 1980s – mobile phones all incapable of receiving or sending messages or calls, internet down, shops unable to take card payments. It was, for most of the day, proper old skool.
Then, in the late afternoon, some connectivity was restored. Had we missed much news? Turns out the day had been quite lively. A lame duck had limped into the sunset leaving the British economy in tatters, and a fine drake Siberian Rubythroat had been found at Quendale in Shetland’s south mainland.
With news only disseminating by word of mouth until that point, it was little surprise that precious few folk managed to connect with the smart male bird before it high-tailed it over the hills that border the Quendale valley, and was lost to sight. Alas, no further sign of it transpired on 21st.
We speculated last week that Britain was due one, and noted Shetland’s dominance where past records of this ultra-desirable Sibe was concerned. The week just gone boasted six accepted records, five of which had been found in Shetland. And indeed, of the 16 British records to the end of 2021, 13 of them were Shetland birds. Shetland’s reputation for Siberian Rubythroats remains formidable, a dominance that this week’s bird only serves to cement still further.
The autumn of 1999 has been invoked a few times lately by deliriously happy birders with the Scillonian Blackburnian Warbler under their belts – Scilly has been generating that feel-good factor all over again. One of the stars of that year was the cracking male Blue Rock Thrush that graced St Mary’s for a couple of days on 14th-15th October. Back then, this was a really big deal, the chance for pretty much everyone to unblock this attractive thrush in the wake of two prior and fleeting 1980s records.
Our perception of their British status may have been unfairly skewed a little since then, courtesy of the obliging wintering bird that spent 16th December 2016 – 4th April 2017 haunting the rooftops of Stow-on-the-Wold (Gloucestershire) before dropping into Beachy Head (East Sussex) on 6th April for good measure. Anyone who wanted to tick Blue Rock Thrush had ample opportunity to do so with that particular bird.
But they remain truly rare fare on these shores. To the end of 2021 we’ve just nine accepted British records. However, with the exception of the bird that spent 8th-18th November 2019 on Orkney’s Mainland, until this year we’d not had any good records from the eastern side of Britain.
That, of course, changed on 12th May this year with the discovery of an elusive male bird on The Naze (Essex)… and, this week, Norfolk scored its first record of Blue Rock Thrush when a string of intriguing reports from Norfolk in the morning of 20th coalesced into something more concrete.
An ‘unconfirmed report of a Blue Rock Thrush in the east of the county’ seemed to firm up with a mega alert for Winterton North Dunes a few minutes later; then hopes were dashed when the report was reclassified as erroneous; and finally, after another few minutes had elapsed, news came of the bird as confirmed at Winterton South Dunes.
With such a chequered genesis, Norfolk birders could have been forgiven for pausing a moment to see whether the goalposts moved again. Happily, they didn’t, and the bird continued to a) still be seen at Winterton as the day wore on and, b) regular updates kept anyone going for it up to speed on its presence. Unfortunately, it had moved on by the morning of 21st.
It was Ireland that gave us all a hint of what was to come, though of course back then and without the benefit of hindsight we didn’t realise what the tideline corpse of a Brown Booby found at Owenahincha Beach (Co.Cork) on 2nd January 2016 actually portended.
Another clue came later that year, with a bird that spent a couple of days upon the French fishing boat Lours des Mers southwest of the Skellig Islands (Co.Kerry) on 13th-14th August 2016.
But really, did we expect what happened in 2019 to unfold, with four accepted British records in quick succession? Followed by another in 2020, and two more ailing birds taken into care in Britain in early 2022. And that’s not to mention a corresponding surge of records elsewhere in Europe. Something’s happening out there with Brown Boobies - something which, given the finger’s pointing at climate change, probably isn’t great news on the whole. But still. The takeaway birding message here is that they’re turning up with increasing frequency.
Irish birders weren’t completely left in the cold in 2020, with the discovery of a beached bird at Greystones (Co.Wicklow) on 13th July. Still present throughout the day on 14th, by the late afternoon it had been taken into care and, by 18th, it had succumbed. Nonetheless, for the day and half it was on the beach, it afforded Irish birders their very own chance to finally catch up with a bird that was both alive (at least, for a time still) and not many miles offshore.
Co.Dublin got a look in this week, with the discovery of an adult bird at Great South Wall in the late morning of 20th. Alas, by 4pm, it was gone. For those quick out of the blocks, another tickable Irish Brown Booby.
As for our other stellar seabird record this week, the thought of a twitchable bird isn’t one we can countenance. We’ve now four accepted British records of Band-rumped Petrel sp - which could all, variously, conceivably be one or another of Cape Verde, Madeiran or Monteiro’s petrels. They’ve all come since 2007, but all four of them have been classic rare seabird records – the sort where you were either there, at just the right moment in time, or you weren’t.
The sort of birds, for the land-based observer, that reward dedication, a keen eye on the weather charts, and preparedness to tough it out on a Cornish headland. To put in the hours, and to keep the faith when all your hunches and optimism doesn’t pay off.
To date, all three of our land-based, accepted records have come from Pendeen (Cornwall). That may, on the basis of events already in 2022, be set to change, as we’ve had a Band-rumped Petrel sp seen from The Lizard on 5th September, and further probable birds off Cape Cornwall and, inevitably, Pendeen on 9th and 8th September respectively. Plenty for the BBRC to get their teeth into, then.
To that workload of record assessment will be added two further sightings, courtesy of the past week – a Band-rumped Petrel sp seen from The Lizard and Porthgwarra in the afternoon of 22nd.
Right place, right time, once again.
If ever there was a week when we needed a timely reminder that politicians aren’t all self-serving, in-fighting creatures with more of an eye on their salaries and privileges than actually doing stuff that benefits their electorate, this was probably that week. If only more British MPs were like one of their Irish counterparts, Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan…
Because you’ve got to warm to the sort of politician who goes out birding and finds a national second record like an Isabelline Wheatear. Which is exactly what Christopher did at Toe Head (Co.Cork) on 24th.
https://twitter.com/COSullivanTD/status/1584547633158246400?s=20&t=Qb0UqZjXVTFU7jVbgRCCPQNot only giving Ireland it’s second-ever record of the species, and ending a 30 year wait since its one and only prior bird, seen on 10th-17th October 1992 on Mizen Head (Co.Cork), but also perhaps providing a handy example for politicians over here in Britain.
As let’s face it, even the staunchest and most loyal of Tories would have to admit their elected members are struggling a bit at the moment with their optics. And we’re not talking binoculars and scopes here. If any Conservative MP is wanting to endear themselves to a nation’s birders this coming week, in the absence of fixing the economy they could do far worse than finding us a true-blue Siberian Blue Robin…
The writing was, perhaps, on the wall for Shetland this week given what had been seen in Norway on Røst on 20th-21st – a meena Rufous Turtle Dove.
Mind you, while Røst is off the western seaboard of Norway, that’s not to say it’s anywhere approximately near to Shetland – it’s significantly further north even than Britain’s most northerly outpost which, in itself, is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London.
Nonetheless, that faraway bird was surely a distant shot across our bows. Where one had gone, another could perhaps follow. With Shetland blessed with a decent spell of southeasterlies and some rain, that’s just what happened in the morning of 24th, with the discovery of a meena Rufous Turtle Dove hanging out with the local Rock Doves at Quendale in the south of Mainland.
Shetland’s only had three prior Rufous Turtle Dove records to play with, two of which have been in the past decade, and both of those birds elected to hang around for a fair while – the first in the sheltered, wooded gardens of Scalloway on 22nd November – 17th December 2015; and the most recent bird up in North Roe on 7th-17th November 2016. This latest bird comes much earlier than them – whether it also hangs around remains to be seen at the time of writing.
There’s not much left to say about the Blackburnian Warbler on Bryher (Scilly) that hasn’t already been said and, quite frankly, if ever there was a bird where a picture spoke a thousand words, this one has to be that bird. Just look at that thing…
…and, this week, right the way through to 24th, that’s exactly what birders coming onto Scilly were able to continue to do as the bird obligingly wasn’t going anywhere just yet. Enough to test the resolve of many a phased twitcher, I’m sure.
2022 continues to be the year that just keeps on giving where scarce and downright rare seabirds are concerned. Granted, no outrageous first for Britain yet, but you’d still not bet against it on the basis of form to date.
Starting in Ireland, the settled Double-crested Cormorant remained on Doon Lough (Co.Leitrim) on 18th.
Playing a supporting role to Cornwall’s headline making petrel, a Barolo Shearwater was seen from The Lizard on 18th.
Not going away any time soon, numbers of Great Shearwaters logged in British waters surged again this week, with at least 13,000 birds reported – the peak count being some 10,000 seen passing The Lizard (Cornwall) alone on 22nd.
Cory’s Shearwaters, on the other hand, were considerably harder to come by, with just 20 or so birds noted lately. Balearic Shearwaters too were fairly subdued, with 16 birds noted from Devon’s Berry Head on 21st the highest tally of the 60 birds recorded nationally over the course of the week.
The Scillonian was proving a reliable platform for Leach’s Petrel sightings, with duos seen daily on 19th-22nd, and five from it on 24th; a single bird was seen off The Lizard (Cornwall) on 22nd; another from Dungeness (Kent) on 23rd; and one from a Scilly pelagic on 24th.
Up in Shetland a White-billed Diver was back in the regular wintering site of South Nesting Bay on 19th-23rd, while another was a surprise off the north coast of Yell on 23rd. A further bird was seen from Lewis (Western Isles) on 20th.
A possible Pacific Diver was seen distantly on Loch Ryan (Dumfries & Galloway) on 21st.
A shade over 30 Little Auks were seen from coastal vantage points – the peak count being half a dozen off Sanday (Orkney) on 20th.
Pomarine Skuas remained numerous with around 110 birds noted nationally, of which 20 off Berry Head (Devon) on 21st were the highest tally. Long-tailed Skuas, on the other hand, were decidedly scarcer creatures, with only a handful of individuals seen – one off Newbiggin Point (Northumberland) on 20th; singles on 21st from Berry Head and the Scillonian; another on 22nd off Porthgwarra (Cornwall); another Cornish sighting from Rame Head on 23rd; and a final bird seen from Filey (North Yorkshire) as the week drew to a close on 24th.
The mainstay of our notable long-legged beasties this week were, as ever lately, Glossy Ibises. Numbers held steady, with around 30 birds in all recorded across Britain and Ireland as a whole. The best of those were in the usual places – Ireland retaining four birds at Lady’s Island Lake (Co.Wexford) on 18th-23rd still, and Britain’s hotspot of Cambridgeshire a peak count of half a dozen at Mare Fen LNR on 22nd.
The honkers and quackers commence once more with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada. Islay (Argyll & Bute) accounts for a plethora of flavours of it this week - a probable taverneri Taverner’s Cackling Goose on 18th still; a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose on 18th-22nd; and interior Todd’s Canada Goose on 19th-20th and 24th, with a Cackling Goose also still present on there on 24th. Away from Islay, the Cackling Goose remained on North Uist (Western Isles) on 18th-20th; an interior Todd’s Canada Goose was in Lothian at Skateraw on 20th-24th; another probable example of this latter iteration was on the Ythan estuary (Aberdeenshire) on 18th; and two more probables at Shalwy (Co.Donegal) on 24th.
An example of British list neophyte Ross’s Goose put in a fleeting appearance over Allan Water (Forth) with Pink-footed Geese on 22nd.
The blue and white morph Snow Geese remained on The Mullet (Co.Mayo) on 20th-21st still. Further birds were reported from Mull of Galloway (Dumfries & Galloway) on 18th, and on 22nd from Murkle (Highland & Caithness) and Findhorn Bay (Moray).
A Red-breasted Goose was seen heading south past Frinton-on-Sea (Essex) on 19th.
Two Black Brants, meanwhile, were seen on the north Kent coast at Seasalter on 19th.
Lincolnshire’s recent Marbled Duck popped up again, this time at Riseholme Lake on 21st-23rd, having been present there for some four days beforehand for good measure.
Also in Lincolnshire, the recent Blue-winged Teal was still present at Winter’s Pond on 18th.
Green-winged Teals were found on the Lossie estuary (Moray) on 19th, at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 21st, and on 23rd on Barra (Western Isles) and at Tain Links (Highland & Caithness), both remaining the following day.
The drake American Wigeon remained on Grafham Water (Cambridgeshire) on 18th-24th, while another was found in Lancashire & North Merseyside at Banks Marsh NNR on 20th; and the recent Irish bird remained on Inishmore (Co.Galway) on 18th.
The resident drake Black Duck was once again seen on Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 20th.
A drake Lesser Scaup was found on 24th on Loch Leven (Perth & Kinross).
The first-winter drake Ferruginous Duck was still present on Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 21st-22nd; a female was found in Co.Donegal on 24th at Inch Island Lake.
Some 20 Ring-necked Ducks marked another increase in their British and Irish abundance this week, helped in no small part by the flock of five birds on Lough Gara (Co.Sligo) on 22nd. Further multiple sightings involved duos on Lisvane reservoir (Glamorgan) on 18th-24th still, Loch of Spiggie (Shetland) on 21st-22nd, and on Inch Island Lake (Co.Donegal) on 24th.
Also in Shetland, the drake King Eider continued haunting Scalloway Harbour throughout the week until 24th. In Lothian the second-winter drake was again present off Musselburgh on 18th-20th.
The Northumberland drake Black Scoter remained off Cocklawburn Beach on 18th-22nd.
Numbers of Surf Scoter picked up somewhat, with two drakes now in Sound of Taransay (Western Isles) on 21st; another tracked heading north in Northumberland on 20th off Newbiggin and Seaton Point; and a juvenile in Doughmore Bay (Co.Clare) on 23rd.
Lastly, our honorary wildfowl, the adult male Pied-billed Grebe, was once more seen on Loch Feorlin (Argyll & Bute) on 24th.
Wader-watchers had plenty of variety to go at this week with not one but two pratincole species stealing the show – a probable Collared Pratincole at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 18th followed by a confirmed and confiding individual at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 20th-24th, and a Black-winged Pratincole at Ince Marsh (Cheshire & Wirral) on 22nd. The latter bird, unhelpfully, was in an area with no general access and, to compound matters, flew off and wasn’t reported thereafter.
In Shetland, the archipelago’s second ever Black-winged Stilt made it into the new week on Yell on 18th, but wasn’t seen again after that.
Scilly retained much rarer fare still with the recent Wilson’s Snipe sitting tight on St Mary’s on 18th-24th.
Numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs picked up a little this week, with the recent Cleveland and Cornish birds augmented by some fresh blood. But first, the settled birds – one still at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 18th-24th, and two still on Cornwall’s Hayle estuary on 18th-19th. One remained at the latter site on 20th-22nd, while a further Cornish sighting came from the opposite coast at Gillan on 20th, and two were again at Hayle on 23rd, dropping back to one again on 24th. Lancashire & North Merseyside got in on the act with a bird seen on 18th-19th at Leighton Moss RSPB and, on 22nd-24th, at Marshside RSPB.
American Golden Plovers remained at Llanrhystud (Ceredigion) and on Myroe Levels (Co.Derry) on 18th, and at Port Seton (Lothian) on 18th-19th; while the recent bird cropped up again on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 19th-21st. Additional birds were found at Annagh Marsh (Co.Mayo) on 19th-21st, and on Out Skerries (Shetland) on 22nd.
The recent White-rumped Sandpiper at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) was still present there on 18th, and followed on 22nd by sightings also in Co.Wexford at Carne and Lady’s Island Lake..
A Semipalmated Sandpiper was found in Co.Kerry on 23rd at Black Rock Strand.
A Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen on Yell (Shetland) on 19th.
A little over half a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers were seen in recent days – at Long Nanny (Northumberland) still on 18th-22nd, and at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) still on 18th-19th; and on 20th at Exminster Marshes RSPB (Devon) and Middlebere Lake (Dorset), on 21st-24th at Misson (Nottinghamshire), on 22nd-24th at Cossington Meadows LRWT (Leicestershire), at Blithfield reservoir (Staffordshire) on 24th, and on Lough Beg (Co.Derry) still on 24th.
The Spotted Sandpiper remained out on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 18th-21st.
Long-billed Dowitchers were seen in Conwy at Llanfairfechan on 18th and again on 22nd-24th; at Cley NWT (Norfolk) on 19th-24th; and at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire & Wirral) on 21st-22nd.
The recent Red-necked Phalarope remained at Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex) on 19th-24th, while numbers of Grey Phalaropes dropped substantially, with around a dozen scattered birds noted in recent days.
First winter Red-necked Phalarope on the small saline pool near Gasson's Ruin @ryeharbour_NR
— Sussex Wildlife Trust ?? (@SussexWildlife) October 19, 2022
They move so fast that this is slowed down 20%, but they are still like clockwork toys. pic.twitter.com/f4Qdv6B90e
A few Sabine’s Gulls continued to enliven seawatches around the British coast this week – single birds being seen on 19th at Breydon Water (Norfolk) and off Southwold (Suffolk); on 20th off Aldeburgh (Suffolk) and St Mary’s (Scilly); on 21st from Hengistbury Head (Dorset); on 22nd from Flamborough (East Yorkshire) and Beadnell (Northumberland); and on 24th off Pendeen (Cornwall). The sole Irish sighting came from Dalkey (Co.Dublin) on 21st.
Also in Ireland this week, a Bonaparte’s Gull was seen in Co.Kerry at Lough Leane on 22nd.
Co.Clare landed a first-winter Ring-billed Gull on 22nd at Kilkee.
Co.Derry’s resident Glaucous Gull remained in Coleraine on 20th; further birds this week being seen on 18th on Fair Isle (Shetland); on 19th on Lewis (Western Isles); on 20th on Tory Island (Co.Donegal); on 21st at Loch of Spiggie (Shetland); and by 24th, one had strayed as far south as Pendeen (Cornwall), while additional birds were seen on Dursey Island (Co.Cork), and North Ronaldsay (Orkney).
Iceland Gulls were once again thin on the ground. The settled bird was still present at Magheroarty (Co.Donegal) on 18th; another was seen on Yell (Shetland) on 20th; and, on 24th, one was found at Gairloch (Highland & Caithness).
A little variety came in the form of an adult Kumlien’s Gull seen near Peterhead (Aberdeenshire) on 19th.
Finally, the adult Whiskered Tern remained settled at Forfar Loch (Angus) on 18th-24th.
Easterly winds were conducive this week to a small arrival of continental raptors on our shores, starting with a probable Pallid Harrier at Cliffe Pools RSPB (Kent) on 21st, and followed by confirmed birds on 23rd at Three Castles Head (Co.Cork) and St David’s Head (Pembrokeshire). Another possible bird was seen on 24th in Norfolk at Salthouse.
Rough-legged Buzzards were found in Suffolk at Hollesley Marshes on 21st, and on 22nd at Thorne Moors NNR (South Yorkshire) and Hornsea Mere (East Yorkshire). On 24th Spurn and Sammy’s Point, and Welwick (East Yorkshire) supplied a bird, while another was seen in the morning that day at Commondale (North Yorkshire).
A Black Kite was seen on 18th at West Moor (Somerset), followed by another possible on 19th at Bainton GPs (Cambridgeshire).
Pick of the week’s also-ran headline contenders, and up there but for its unavailability to almost all, has to be the Dusky Thrush trapped and ringed at an undisclosed site in Lothian on 21st. Intriguingly, another probable bird was seen fleetingly in a Watton (Norfolk) garden that day also…
Anyone looking at this will understand why I normally take photos! This sketch is from notes and quick drawings taken at the time. My overall impression was of a striking black and white thrush that does not really come out in the sketch. pic.twitter.com/RysMECWcYm
— Martin Hosier (@HosierMartin) October 21, 2022
Also frustratingly transitory, a probable Black-throated Thrush was reported passing over Kynance Cove (Cornwall) on 20th. What else will the recent waves of thrushes from the continent bring with them?
Well, on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 23rd, the answer was an emphatic White’s Thrush and, for good measure, an Eastern Black Redstart too, the latter lingering into the following day.
The latter’s said to have a similar breeding and wintering range to Desert Wheatear and, with some symmetry, Shetland scored the first of the autumn’s records of that particular species at Scatness on 20th-23rd.
Staying in Shetland a moment, the eastern stonechat sp thought probably to be a Siberian Stonechat remained at Quendale on 18th-22nd, with another putative candidate for this species found on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 24th; while another bird, found in Fife at Crail on 22nd-24th was thought to be probably a Stejneger’s Stonechat.
We were finally awash with Red-flanked Bluetails this week, with 15 birds recorded in Britain in recent days. Shetland was spoiled with four birds, including an elusive adult male at Kergord on 18th-24th; two were seen on Isle of May (Fife); and two at Easington (East Yorkshire). Glamorgan’s recent bird remained at Wenallt on 18th, and was the only non-east coast bird of the week.
The recent Bluethroat remained on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 18th; another was seen on Westray (Orkney) on 19th-23rd; and a final bird on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 22nd-24th.
Red-breasted Flycatchers crept into double figures, with 10 birds seen nationally this week – two of which were present at Fife Ness (Fife) on 20th.
Perhaps the most pleasing event of the past birding week had to be the mass arrival of Pallas’s Warblers in recent days. DIM Wallace’s seven-striped sprites are always a welcome sight and, for a time, it felt like anyone birding on the east coast was in with a fair chance of a self-found bird – in all, at least 55 birds were recorded this week, with some sites enjoying multiple individuals. Nowhere did better for them than Ian Wallace’s former stamping ground of Flamborough (East Yorkshire), where a peak of five birds were logged on 21st. He would, undoubtedly, have enjoyed that immensely.
With around 180 Yellow-browed Warblers recorded this week, we were still a long way off classic years where thousands have turned up but, nonetheless, that wasn’t stopping some more unusual warblers filtering in too.
A possible Hume’s Warbler was on Barrys Head (Co.Cork) on 20th – there’s plenty of time yet for this typically later-arriving species to crop up in Britain and Ireland.
A late Arctic Warbler was found on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 22nd-24th. Another bird, either this species or a Greenish, was on Bryher (Scilly) on 18th.
A Bonelli’s Warbler sp was found on 20th at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire); another bird was reported from Winterton North Dunes (Norfolk) on 21st.
A dozen Radde’s Warblers were seen this week, predominantly down the east coast, with a westerly outlier on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 20th-23rd, and the south coast getting a look in with a bird at Beachy Head (East Sussex) on 21st-22nd joined there on 22nd-23rd by a second individual.
Dusky Warblers were a little less numerous – birds were seen on 19th at Rimac (Lincolnshire), Spurn (East Yorkshire), and on Yell (Shetland); on 20th-24th at Sand Point (Somerset) and Southwold (Suffolk); on 21st at Winterton North Dunes (Norfolk) and Saltburn (Cleveland); on 21st-22nd at Flamborough; and on 23rd at Benacre (Suffolk). A further probable was at Burnham Overy (Norfolk) on 22nd.
St Mary’s (Scilly) was enjoying a superb week for passerines – more of which anon – and, amongst the attractions on 18th were a Booted Warbler and a possible Melodious Warbler.
St Mary’s also had a possible Blyth’s Reed Warbler this week on 22nd-24th. Confirmed birds however were seen on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) still on 18th-24th; on Shetland Mainland near Bigton on 20th-24th; on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 21st; and near Loch Borralie (Highland & Caithness) on 23rd.
There's a plantation at Durness that never has any birds in it, in 10+ years I have found 2 Yellow-browed Warblers in it. Somewhat masochistically I keep birding it, ignoring that fact that it clearly doesn't "work", today with @macaskill_dean it did work - Blyth's Reed Warbler! pic.twitter.com/ddKZcu8PBn
— Peter Stronach ???????? (@macstronach) October 23, 2022
Two Subalpine Warbler sp were seen this week – one present at Tynemouth (Northumberland) on 21st-24th, and the other on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 22nd.
Barred Warbler numbers continued to hold firm, with some 20 birds in all recorded over the course of the week.
To pipits next, and one of the stars of this year’s Scilly season – the Pechora Pipit found on St Mary’s on 19th was only the third record of the species for Scilly – but not an amenable bird, going AWOL after its discovery, and followed only by a possible in flight on 20th.
St Mary’s also played host to a Red-throated Pipit on 18th-24th, with a brief possible on St Agnes on 24th too. Further birds were logged over Portland (Dorset) on 20th and Park Head (Cornwall) on 23rd, and in the north on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 22nd and Fair Isle (Shetland) on 22nd.
St Mary’s didn’t get a confirmed Olive-backed Pipit this week – that honour went to neighbouring Tresco on 22nd, with just a possible on St Mary’s on 24th – while further birds were seen elsewhere: in Shetland at Brae still on 19th-20th, at Burn of Valayre on 19th, and on Out Skerries on 24th; on 20th at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk); on 21st-22nd at Easington (East Yorkshire); and on 22nd at Loop Head (Co.Clare) and Balcomie (Fife). Another was reported from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 18th, and a probable on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 21st.
Back on St Mary’s, however, the recent American Buff-bellied Pipit remained present on 18th-24th.
Some 15 Richard’s Pipits were logged this week – widespread from Unst (Shetland) in the north to Portland (Dorset) on the English south coast; and, of course, St Mary’s (Scilly), where a bird was found on 23rd.
A possible Eastern Yellow Wagtail was in Highland & Caithness at Skirza on 20th, and another putative bird over Bryher (Scilly) on 24th.
An unconfirmed report came of a Citrine Wagtail at Troon (Ayrshire) on 24th.
Fair Isle landed a peach of a Black-bellied Dipper on 20th-24th.
As the week drew to an end, Fair Isle also got itself a Hoopoe on 24th. This followed prior birds on Mull (Argyll & Bute) still on 18th, and in Norfolk near Beeston Bump on 20th-23rd.
Wrynecks were mostly the preserve of the southwest, with the exception being a bird in Lancashire & North Merseyside at Walton on 20th, and an Irish sighting at Dunquin (Co.Kerry) on 24th. Southwestern birds were seen in Scilly on St Agnes on 20th-24th, and St Mary’s on 21st; on Portland (Dorset) still on 18th-23rd, with another in the county on 24th at Longham Lakes still; and on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 22nd.
In Glamorgan, the Red-backed Shrike remained at Kenfig Pool NNR on 18th-23rd.
Great Grey Shrikes were filtering in lately – at Staines Moor (Surrey) and Port Clarence (Cleveland) on 19th; at Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 19th-21st; at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 20th-22nd; at Dunstanburgh Castle (Northumberland) on 21st; on Shetland at Quendale on 21st-24th; at Whixall Moss (Shropshire) on 22nd-23rd; and at Boulby (Cleveland) on 23rd.
Shetland landed the first Waxwing of the year on Yell on 19th. That heralded a small arrival of some 35 further birds spread down the east coast between Shetland and Norfolk – if hearsay is to believed, we’re in for a good winter ahead for these funky birds. We’ll see…
Two widely separated Short-toed Larks were recorded this week – one on St Agnes (Scilly) on 18th-24th, and the other at Fellgate (Co.Durham) on 18th.
A Red-rumped Swallow at Aberdaron (Gwynedd) on 19th gave a small clue as to what was to follow, albeit on the opposite side of Britain – on 22nd single birds were seen in North Yorkshire at Hunmanby Gap, and East Yorkshire at Holmpton, while three were present near Bempton (East Yorkshire) that day too. On 24th single birds were seen in Lincolnshire at Anderby Marsh and Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR, and on Scilly’s St Mary’s.
Up there with Pallas’s Warblers as one of the week’s most popular highlights was the arrival of Pallid Swifts in the latter stages of the week. We kicked off on Scilly with one present on St Agnes on 21st, and a possible that day on St Mary’s too followed by a confirmed bird on St Mary’s on 22nd. On 22nd a confirmed bird was present in Co.Louth at Cooley Point, with two possibles in Cornwall at Towan Head. Possibles and probables continued to confound here and there on 23rd, with observers having to contend with suboptimal viewing conditions and, of course, uncooperative birds too. That said, further confirmed birds were seen that day over St Mary’s and Tresco (Scilly), at Pilling Lane (Lancashire & North Merseyside), Birchington (Kent), and as far north as North Uist (Western Isles); while duos of probables were seen in Norfolk at Cley and Glandford. The week ended strongly on 24th with two birds confirmed in Norfolk at Cromer, and a singleton at Sheringham; Suffolk sightings at Benacre and Covehithe; East Yorkshire sightings at Spurn, Kilnsea and Flamborough, with two birds at the latter site; and still another, at Little Ormes Head (Conwy). Additional probables on 24th were seen at Scarborough (North Yorkshire), and Lowestoft (Suffolk).
In Cornwall, the Rose-coloured Starling remained at Pendeen on 18th-22nd; another was at Kinneff (Aberdeenshire) on 21st; and a possible at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 22nd.
Common Rosefinches were still few and far between – one lingering on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 18th, another found in Norfolk at Burnham Overy Dunes on 19th and, on 24th back on Scilly, a bird on St Martin’s.
Shetland held onto a dusting of Arctic Redpolls - one still on Fair Isle on 18th-22nd; another on Bressay on 18th; and Mainland birds at Watsness on 19th, Lerwick on 20th, and Hillswick on 22nd. Orkney’s sole bird this week was present on North Ronaldsay on 24th.
A Serin was seen in Kent at South Foreland on 21st, and another at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 24th.
Just one Parrot Crossbill remained on Unst (Shetland) on 18th.
Numbers of Little Buntings picked up this week. The recent St Mary’s (Scilly) bird remained on there on 18th-20th; Shetland got birds on Bressay on 18th, Fair Isle on 19th, and Out Skerries on 20th; North Ronaldsay (Orkney) a bird on 20th; a far-flung individual out on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 20th-22nd; east coast birds at Sizewell (Suffolk) on 19th, and Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 20th-22nd; one on Lundy (Devon) on 24th; and an Irish example on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 22nd-23rd.
Nor was that all for Cape Clear, as it also scored a Rustic Bunting in a quiet autumn hitherto for the species on 21st-22nd.
We draw the passerines to a close in Ireland with a final Nearctic flourish – the Myrtle Warbler remained at Kilbaha (Co.Clare) on 20th-22nd; and Red-eyed Vireos in Co.Cork at Lehanmore on 18th-22nd, and Mizen Head on 21st still. A further probable Red-eyed Vireo was seen on 23rd in Cornwall at Tremough.
With our British and Irish prospects very much in mind, news from the near continent of a bunting nature this week was tantalising, to say the least…
Starting in the Netherlands, a Yellow-browed Bunting hung around near Donderen on 21st-24th. Imagine the scenes had our recent Kent bird been so obliging… Elsewhere in the Netherlands a Black Scoter was seen at Schiermonnikoog on 19th.
Belgium, meanwhile, had to make do with a Rock Bunting at Membach on 24th.
Next to France and, where else but the island of the moment, Ouessant. In a frankly gobsmacking week, birders there turned up France’s second-ever Black-faced Bunting on 20th-24th, Isabelline Wheatear on 19th, an Isabelline Shrike sp on 19th-20th, and these in addition to the lingering Northern Harrier still on 19th-24th and Red-eyed Vireo still on 19th-22nd still too. With two of the latter present on 19th, just because Ouessant can. Elsewhere in France, an Eastern Long-legged Buzzard lingered at Thibie on 20th.
Scandinavia next, starting in Norway where a shot across Shetland’s bows came with a meena Rufous Turtle Dove on 20th-21st at Rost.
Then to Sweden, where the second Swedish record of Song Sparrow was trapped and ringed on 19th at Högnalöv.
Faroe’s southerly outpost, Suðuroy, was having a fine time of it too this week, with Snowy Owl and American Buff-bellied Pipit on 21st, and White-crowned Sparrow and Black Duck on 23rd.
Heading south and further afield now, in Spain an Elegant Tern was seen on 23rd at Chipiona.
Less news emanated from the Azores this week. Corvo held Brown Booby and Rose-breasted Grosbeak on 18th-19th; and Sao Miguel a Wood Duck on 19th.
Well there we go – in the blink of an eye that’s us almost done with October. And what an October it’s been. But wait just a moment – there’s still a full week of it left. And, being October, that can still spring some birds of considerable heft if we’re lucky.
The week to come looks set to deliver another smorgasbord of wind directions much like the week just gone – a mixture of some frisky southwesterlies for much of Britain and Ireland, windows of south-easterlies for northern Britain at least, and some southerlies sweeping up to us for good measure.
Game on.
It’s clearly not too late for another roll of the Nearctic dice – Co.Cork scored Ruby-crowned Kinglet on 27th October 2013 and, if that’s too delicate a bird to inspire much hope, there are multiple past records for the coming days of Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Catharus thrushes of various flavours, and American Robin - all substantial birds more than capable of adding to our already burgeoning haul of American passerines this autumn.
However, surely we’re on for another rare wheatear this coming week? Shetland’s had our first Desert Wheatear of the autumn lately, but another somewhere more accessible feels likely. And what about a Pied Wheatear too? The coming week boasts past records of both in the mid-teens, so there’s ample precedent.
Jon Dunn
25 Oct 2022
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
Share
