Weekly birding round-up: 29 Nov - 5 Dec 2022
A few more bits and pieces came out of the woodwork in the past week, but on the whole there was a sense that this was, finally, autumn passing the seasonal baton to winter once and for all. Time to readjust our expectations accordingly, perhaps…
In the week prior to this, we heard an unconfirmed report of a White-throated Sparrow in a Kingsmead (Cheshire & Wirral) garden on 25th-26th, but as the week drew to a close there was no further news forthcoming. Was this to be another one of those slightly intangible reports that, ultimately, comes to nothing?
Then, this week, a step in the right direction – confirmation, at least, that the bird was indeed real on 1st, and still present in that Kingsmead garden. The caveat to this being that the garden was one with no general access.
Given this was only Cheshire & Wirral’s third record of the species, and the first since 2008, this was doubtless somewhat frustrating news. A bird of this calibre is always going to engender a certain level of interest, locally at the very least, after all.
On 2nd, a further fillip of good news – the bird was now present in an area of woodland at Kingsmead with footpath access. Game on, surely?
Unfortunately, on 3rd, there was no further sign of the bird. And, on 4th, it was back in a garden with no general access. Not ideal, then – suburban birding is usually something of a compromise. Not every bird is going to be an obliging Oxfordshire-stylee Common Nighthawk… We’ll see if this bird goes on to become in any way dependable in the coming week.
They think it’s all over and perhaps, after a run of activity that’s extended for months, it is now where notable seabirds are concerned. No vast numbers of scarce auks or shearwaters, skuas dwindling at last, not even a sniff of a decent diver. It had to happen eventually, I suppose, and this week was that moment.
Best of the denuded bunch, around 300 Little Auks were logged this week – mostly in small dribs and drabs, with few sites scaling the giddy heights of double figure counts in the space of a single day. Best of those that did was Whitburn CP (Co.Durham), where 33 birds were noted passing in the course of 4th.
A Leach’s Petrel was seen at sea west of Wolf Rock (Scilly) on 29th.
Some 15 Pomarine Skuas were logged this week, representing a reduction by half of those seen the preceding week. These were birds noted on 29th from near Wolf Rock and St Mary’s (Scilly); on 2nd at Hoylake (Cheshire & Wirral), Trimingham (Norfolk), and Sandwich Bay (Kent); on 3rd from Cley (Norfolk), Southwold (Suffolk), and Spurn (East Yorkshire); on 4th at Filey (North Yorkshire), Whitburn CP (Co.Durham), and Holy Island (Northumberland); and on 5th at Spurn again, at Chapel Point (Lincolnshire), and at Cley (Norfolk).
Spurn (East Yorkshire) scored our only Long-tailed Skua of the week on 3rd.
Lastly, by a country mile the rarest seabird on offer this week was the resident Double-crested Cormorant, still present on Doon Lough (Co.Leitrim) on 30th.
Numbers of Glossy Ibises held firm once more this week in Britain and Ireland, with some 30 birds logged across the region. As ever, Cambrudgeshire was the British heartland, with a flock of eight birds seen regularly in the area of Ouse Fen RSPB; four birds were once more seen in Hampshire at Titchfield Haven NNR on 1st-5th; while, in Ireland, three birds were still present at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 2nd-5th.
Kicking off the honkers and quackers with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, Kilmichael (Argyll & Bute) scored a double on 3rd-5th with one apiece of interior Todd’s Canada Goose and hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose. A Cackling Goose lingered on North Uist (Western Isles) on 30th-4th.
Southern England provided Black Brants at Farlington Marshes HWT (Hampshire) again on 2nd-3rd and 5th, Butterstreet Cove (Dorset) still on 3rd, at Seasalter (Kent) on 3rd, and back in Dorset in Poole Harbour at Goathorn Point on 4th.
The drake American Wigeon remained settled at Shapwick Heath NNR (Somerset) on 3rd-5th, while in Scotland the drake remained at Crook of Baldoon RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway) on 1st-5th.
Green-winged Teals held firm, with seven confirmed birds and a couple of further putative birds for good measure. Lingering birds remained at Dungeness (Kent) on 29th-5th, Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 3rd-4th, and Colt Crag reservoir (Northumberland) on 4th still. The new month started well with birds seen on 2nd at Inganess (Orkney) and Tacumshin (Co.Wexford), and on 3rd at Havergate Island RSPB (Suffolk) and on Inland Sea (Anglesey). The putative bird (or a hybrid) remained on the Somerset Levels at Catcott Lows NR on 3rd, and another putative candidate in Cambridgeshire at Grafham Water on 30th-5th.
With reports of some disturbance in the Broads, Norfolk’s recent duck-fest was somewhat muted for much of the week. That said, a female Ferruginous Duck was present on Rollesby Broad on 3rd along with two Ferruginous Duck x Pochard hybrids and then, on 4th, three were once again present on Filby Broad. In Staffordshire, the female Ferruginous Duck remained on Aqualate Mere on 1st.
Some 25 Ring-necked Ducks were recorded this week, with Co.Sligo’s Lough Gara again contributing the lion’s share, with nine individuals still present on there on 3rd. Elsewhere, two birds were present in Norfolk on Rollesby Broad on 3rd; two in Berkshire on Theale GPs on 2nd; two still at Lisvane reservoir (Gamorgan) on 5th; and two again on Lough Beg (Co.Derry) on 5th.
The drake Lesser Scaup remained at Dunfanaghy New Lake (Co.Donegal) on 4th-5th.
Two Surf Scoters were still present off Llandulas (Conwy) on 30th; one was lingering off Burghead (Moray) on 2nd-4th; and another off Benbecula (Western Isles) on 5th.
In Cleveland the second-winter drake King Eider remained a popular draw in the Redcar area on 29th-5th; a possible female was found on 4th in Moray off Lossiemouth.
The recent Hooded Merganser picture took a twist this week, with the recent drake still at Rosduane (Co.Mayo) on 29th-5th joined in the news by another drake, this time in Staffordshire at Doshill NR on 29th-2nd. On the one hand, with the recent Irish arrival that felt fairly auspicious; and then again, the bird was seen to be ringed. The taint of escape, then, hangs around this one.
The weekly wader news was getting ever quieter in recent days, and we’ve Dungeness (Kent) to thank for the most unusual record of the week – a very late Dotterel found there on 3rd and nearby Lydd on 4th-5th.
In Essex, the settled Spotted Sandpiper was again seen on the margins of Hanningfield reservoir on 1st and 4th.
A Long-billed Dowitcher was a good weekend find in Norfolk at Titchwell RSPB on 4th-5th. One would assume this is the same individual last seen hanging around the Cley area on 21st…
Finally, 16 Grey Phalaropes were recorded this week, with numbers off Clahane Strand (Co.Clare) again making most of the running, and peaking with nine birds seen from there on 1st.
Two Sabine’s Gulls were seen this week, both from Skye (Highland & Caithness) on 30th.
The adult Bonaparte’s Gull was again seen at Stag Rocks (Northumberland) on 29th, while in Ireland the adult remained at Ballygalley (Co.Antrim) on 29th-4th.
The biggest Irish gull news was, however, on the Ring-billed Gull front, with a fine haul in Co.Kerry on 3rd of three adult birds at Blennerville and a first-winter at Black Rock; Britain’s birds were the recent individual again at Lelant Saltings (Cornwall) on 1st-5th, an adult back in Hampshire at Blashford Lakes HWT on 4th, and an adult in neighbouring Dorset at Longham Lakes on 5th.
Imminent northerlies may herald more white-wingers in the week to come, but for now their numbers remained stubbornly low. Glaucous Gulls were noted at Llys-y-Fran reservoir (Pembrokeshire) still on 29th-3rd; at Loch of Brow (Shetland) on 30th; at Loch of Skaill (Orkney) on 2nd; on 3rd at Dun Laoghaire (Co.Dublin) and Southwold (Suffolk); and on 4th at Pendeen (Cornwall) and St Mary’s Island (Northumberland).
Iceland Gulls did a little better for themselves, with a shade under 20 birds noted in the course of the week. Providing variety, the juvenile Kumlien’s Gull was still present on Unst (Shetland) on 29th-4th and, in Cambridgeshire, an adult was back at Heydon on 30th.
Chief amongst the raptors was the tantalising, though not wholly unsurprising, report of a possible Egyptian Vulture at Ballymahon (Co.Longford) on 30th. It feels like only a matter of time before Ireland’s resident sheep-scavenger is pinned down again.
On the Norfolk coast, the recent juvenile female Pallid Harrier continued her sojourn around the Warham Greens area on 29th-1st.
A probable Rough-legged Buzzard at Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) on 30th was followed by confirmed birds at Bank Island (North Yorkshire) on 2nd, Birsay (Orkney) on 3rd, and Costa (Orkney) on 4th.
Showing birds were still on the move at this late juncture, a Black Kite was seen coming in off the sea at Holmpton (East Yorkshire) on 1st.
Numbers and variety of scarce and rare passerines were still dropping this past week, a trend surely only set to continue as the mercury falls in the week to come. Chief amongst what was on offer was a new Red-flanked Bluetail in Lincolnshire, seen at Deeping Lakes LWT on 29th, and again on 2nd; while the recent Scillonian bird remained on St Mary’s on 29th-2nd.
Just refound the Red-flanked Bluetail at Deeping Lakes, Lincs @RareBirdAlertUK @BirdGuides @lincsbirders @Lincsbirding pic.twitter.com/X7YAlx56Iv
— Paul Bolton (@paolobolton) December 2, 2022
St Mary’s also retained two Dusky Warblers on 29th-3rd, with a bird seen on neighbouring Tresco on 29th. Across the water in Cornwall, two were present in Nanjizal Valley on 29th, with at least one still present on 30th; and a bird not a million miles away in Polgigga on 3rd too. Lewis (Western Isles) also enjoyed a bird on 30th-2nd, while one found outside Bradford-on-Avon on 4th-5th was an excellent Wiltshire bird.
The week kicked off with two Hume’s Warblers still at Low Newton-by-the-Sea (Northumberland) on 29th, with at least one of them still there until 5th. An additional bird was found in Norfolk at Brancaster on 29th-5th.
Numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers held firm, with 23 birds in all recorded during the week. A couple of sites held more than one individual, duos being noted in a garden at Hook (Pembrokeshire) on 29th, and at Helston Loe Pool (Cornwall) on 3rd.
A Pallas’s Warbler turned up on Portland (Dorset) on 30th-1st.
Late autumnal variety came in the form of a Barred Warbler in Ireland at Tarmon (Co.Mayo) on 4th.
The small recent flock of Penduline Tits in East Sussex at West Rise Marsh contracted to one bird present there this week on 29th-3rd before, on 4th, two birds were again noted there.
Numbers of Waxwings remained pleasingly high, with some 1,000 birds noted in the course of recent days. Eastern Scotland continued to be their stronghold and, in Aberdeen (Aberdeenshire), our largest flock, 150 strong, was recorded on 29th.
Only a couple of Great Grey Shrikes were reported lately – the settled individual in Hampshire at Pig Bush on 29th-30th still, and another up in Northumberland in Harwood Forest on 3rd.
Making it into yet another week, and a new month, the Isabelline Wheatear remained at Mynydd Mawr (Gwynedd) on 29th-1st.
In Cornwall, the recent Red-throated Pipit was still present at Nanjizal Valley on 1st.
St Mary’s (Scilly) notched up an American Buff-bellied Pipit on 29th – was this a new bird, or the autumn’s prior individual having lurked unseen on the island for a while since last being seen on 10th coming back out of the woodwork?
A quartet of Richard’s Pipits were logged this week – one on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 29th; another still on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 30th; one up on Anglesey at Rhoscolyn on 1st; and one over Butterstreet Cove (Dorset) on 3rd.
In Highland & Caithness the Eastern Yellow Wagtail remained tucked into a farmyard at Loch of Wester on 5th.
Didn’t expect to bump into this again today! Back in the area two weeks after initially finding it and the Eastern Yellow Wagtail was still present by Loch of Wester. I believe this will be the first for the Scottish mainland if accepted. Glad people connected today! pic.twitter.com/46yvXxYPuu
— George Dunbar (@georgedunbar_) December 5, 2022
A Common Rosefinch was trapped and ringed on Skye (Highland & Caithness) on 29th.
Adding to the Highland & Caithness scarce finch haul, the male Serin remained on Eigg on 29th also. One of the recent duo was again seen on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 1st and 3rd; and another was found this week in Kent at North Foreland on 29th.
An Arctic Redpoll was a fittingly chilly shot across our bows as the week drew to a close, found on 5th in Lincolnshire at Gibraltar Point NNR.
The week was a good one for Little Buntings, with three birds found in recent days. One lingered in Cornwall between Cot Valley and Boscregan on 29th-5th; in the north, another stopped in Fair Isle (Shetland) on 29th-30th; and a locally popular London bird was found at Lower Morden Equestrian Centre on 30th-5th.
Went hunting a Little Bunting. Possibly walked past it a dozen times! Lower Morden Equestrian Centre. Light was terrible this afternoon so was glad to get some shots. pic.twitter.com/orNPkLP7K9
— Penny Smallshire (@AnasPenelope85) December 4, 2022
While Germany’s World Cup journey may be over before it even really began, the country’s birding laurels continue to be unsurpassed. The country’s third record of Syrian Woodpecker was found on 1st at Frankfurt; while the country’s first Red-breasted Nuthatch remained at Tonsheider Wald on 30th-1st.
In France, the Northern Harrier was still present on Ouessant on 2nd-4th, and the Eastern Long-legged Buzzard still at Thibie on 2nd-4th also.
In Hungary, the Sandhill Crane was again seen in flight near Debrecen on 29th.
An African Crake was taken into care in Israel at Eilat on 29th, and released again there on 5th – a contrasting approach to that taken by those in Britain seemingly obsessed with repatriating exhausted vagrant birds back ‘where they belong’; two Verreaux’s Eagles were seen on 2nd at Nahal Atek; and a Three-banded Plover at Nov on 4th-5th.
Finally, on Cape Verde, two Black Herons were seen at Tarrafal on 3rd.
Winter, finally, appears to be coming this week, albeit surely far too late to save 2022 from being the warmest year on record. The forecast is for an icy blast, with snow extending down through Scotland as the week begins at least.
Time, surely, to turn our speculative attention to an early high Arctic gull. The coming week boasts no fewer than 13 historic records of Ivory Gull, so we’ve ample precedent for the species at this juncture given a fair following wind and something fragrant on the foreshore to lure one in.
(Recent south-easterly storms in north-east Scotland may have provided a useful harvest of unfortunate Grey Seal pups for this very purpose…)
Definitely one to look out for in the coming days.
Jon Dunn
6 Dec 2022
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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