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Weekly birding round-up: 10 - 16 Oct 2023

The fervid events of three weeks ago were such that your own correspondent felt the need to go for a little lie down. Back in the Round Up saddle again this week, and there were still American birds (and butterflies) filtering in to remind us that the autumn to date is really happening, and we’re not living in some sort of weird birders’ fever dream.

That said, compared to what went before, it’s (almost) been a quiet one. That may all be set to change in the week ahead but, for now, our usual spin through the week just gone.

 

There’s never been a year like this for Black-and-white Warblers (or at least, not in Wales), and they just kept on coming this past week – though this was now Ireland’s turn to really shine.

The week began with a mobile bird found in Co.Cork on 10th at Firkeel Glen. But the following day, no more was to be heard of it. And, to put Irish pain into perspective where this monochrome marvel is concerned, it’s been a while, to put it mildly.

The first for Ireland was found on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 18th October 1978. A mere six years elapsed until another, in Loughermore Forest (Co.Derry) on 30th September – 2nd October 1984. But then…. nothing.

One was reported on 5th October 2019 from Inishbofin (Co.Galway), but there was no sign of it the following day. The anguish extended for Irish birders as, in the meantime, Britain slowly but surely notched up bird after bird. That flighty individual in Firkeel Glen seemed typical of the Irish Black-and-white Warbler script. But then, finally, Inishbofin came really good this week.

A bird found on there on 12th was not only still present the following day, but went on to spend the entire week until 16th on the island, at times showing ludicrously well for a steady stream of relieved admirers. There’s no saying how long it will be until the next opportunity to see one on Irish soil…

By way of a British postscript, a wholly unconfirmed report of a possible bird on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 13th came, sadly, to nothing further.

Compared to a lot of the rarefied Nearctic warbler fare we’ve been enjoying lately, one could be forgiven for considering a Yellow Warbler in Shetland this past week a little passé… after all, it’s no first or second for Britain, and Shetland alone can, as of this autumn, already boast three prior records – Britain’s second ever bird, seen in Lerwick for two days in early November 1990; our fifth ever bird, a three day affair at Garths Ness in September 2005; and, most recent of all, the bird on Foula on 5th-11th September this year.

The latter, lest we forget, was followed by another bird in Argyll & Bute on Tiree on 30th September – 3rd October. Two birds in the space of one British autumn was the stuff of unprecedented dreams.

Three birds, two of which were in Shetland, was verging on the realms of fantasy, but here we are this past week – a bird found, on 12th, in the South Mainland at Hoswick settled into the mature stands of sycamore in the area and remained present, occasionally showing superlatively well, until 16th at least.

Given Shetland enjoys a regular turnover of visiting birders at this point in the autumn, it mattered not that the islands had already been blessed with a bird this year – there were plenty of newly arrived admirers who were only too happy to bask in the supernova brightness cast by the bird. While the rest of Shetland was generally pausing to catch its breath and have a rather quiet week on the bird front, this was a stand-out superstar. As visiting birder Andrew Russell put it, retina-burning…

And it was!

Given we’ve been fairly spoilt with Harlequin Duck in the past couple of years, there’s a case to be made for relegating this week’s fleeting bird to the main body of text but… c’mon, it’s a flipping Harlequin, and found in properly dedicated birding circumstances – a female bird seen motoring southwest past North Ronaldsay (Orkney) in the late afternoon of 15th.

And to make that all the more exciting this, if accepted, would be a first record for Orkney – so it does deserve headline status after all.

We’ve said a lot in the past month about Cliff Swallows in Britain and Ireland. For an awful moment it felt like we might not be invited to the party this year, as Iceland was swimming in them for a while, and not a whisper of a bird was to be seen here. And then, as we all know, everything turned out alright for Britain and Ireland.

None of which is to downplay either of this week’s birds – two more for Ireland, found respectively at Great Saltee Island (Co.Wexford) on 12th, and Ballycatten (Co.Cork) on 13th.

And will they be the last of the autumn? You’d not bet against at least one more coming out of the woodwork in the next fortnight or so…

And finally for the headlines what would, if it were to be accepted, prove to be the first latter day record of its kind for Kent – a Solitary Sandpiper said to have been photographed in Kent at Stodmarsh NNR. Kent’s one and only prior record is a bird seen, midsummer, at Littlestone on 18th July 1908. One of those records that seems hard to countenance viewed from this far off, over 100 years later…

And then there’s this week’s bird. Posted on a Facebook ID page on 15th asking if it could be a Green Sandpiper or a Wood Sandpiper, the only certain thing is that the bird couldn’t be re-found at Stodmarsh the following day.

It’s certainly possible, in this of all autumns – look at what else has blown across the Atlantic including, not so very far away or long ago, not one but two Solitary Sandpipers on Guernsey. One then for Kent birders to keep an open mind about, and their eyes peeled for…

Given the scale and the calibre of the seabirds on offer this week, you’d have been forgiven for thinking we were back in the heady days of late August and early September, but no… this was a week in mid-October, albeit a week in one of the strangest of autumns to date.

Visitors to Scilly were blessed with a rare treat with the reappearance of the Red-footed Booby on the Bishop Rock Lighthouse once more on 11th.

Its somewhat commoner counterpart in our waters, Brown Booby, showed no signs of vacating the weekly news either, with a feeding bird found off Chale (Isle of Wight) on 15th.

In Ireland, meanwhile, the resident adult Double-crested Cormorant remained present on Doon Lough (Co.Leitrim) on 11th-14th.

Large shearwaters were once again a substantial presence in the news, not least in the warm waters off southwestern England. Around 7,500 Cory’s Shearwater were logged in the course of the week, with a peak count of 1,200 off St Agnes (Scilly) on 13th; and some 16,500 Great Shearwaters, of which 10,388 off Start Point (Devon) was mightily impressive, not least for the counting skills of those involved. An honourable mention in all of this needs to be made of Portland (Dorset) – a site famed for Balearic Shearwaters but not, on the whole, so much for their larger counterparts. This week, however, Portland shone on 13th with 200 Cory’s and 688 Great recorded.

As for Balearic Shearwaters, there Portland was as we might have expected the best site at which to see them – 88 birds off there on 11th were the highest tally of the week’s overall 310 birds noted nationwide.

Leach’s Petrels crept into double figures again this week. The Lochmaddy / Uig ferry (Western Isles) continued to notch up sightings, with a single bird on 10th followed by two birds on 14th; two were seen from St Ives (Cornwall) on 13th; and single birds on 11th from Bloody Foreland (Co.Donegal), Maidens (Ayrshire), and Tiree (Argyll & Bute); on 13th from Mull (Argyll & Bute); on 14th from Pendeen (Cornwall), Cley NWT (Norfolk), Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire), and Iona (Argyll & Bute); and on 15th from Staithes (North Yorkshire) and Sheringham (Norfolk).

Skuas remained on the move, with some 360 Pomarine logged nationally, and rather fewer Long-tailed. Of the Poms, Papa Westray (Orkney) proved the top Scottish vantage point for them, with 33 birds noted from here on 12th; and Holme Dunes NWT (Norfolk) took the English honours with 49 birds noted there on 15th. 28 Long-tailed Skua were seen this week, with a few sites notching up duos – on 13th, Berry Head (Devon) and Southwold (Suffolk); and on 14th Holme Dunes NWT (Norfolk) – and four birds being seen from Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) on 15th.

A few signs of the gathering autumn pace and change came in the form of a handful of Little Auks - at Bloody Foreland (Co.Donegal) on 13th, Nybster (Highland & Caithness) on 14th, Skateraw (Lothian) on 15th, Dunnet Bay (Highland & Caithness) on 15th, and Skye (Highland & Caithness) on 15th; and then, on 16th, from Low Hauxley (Northumberland), Whitburn CP (Co.Durham), Spurn (East Yorkshire), and Thorpeness (Suffolk) – and reports of White-billed Divers on the move too – one off Sandsend (North Yorkshire) on 13th, and another probable seen passing Sumburgh (Shetland) on 13th also.

The influx of Glossy Ibis showed no signs of abating this week, with settled birds augmented by more arrivals or, at least, new finds. We start their kind in the Western Isles where, on Barra, nine birds remained on the island on 10th-11th, at least two of which were still to be found by 14th. Down on Scilly, a mobile bird was kicking around St Mary’s and St Agnes on 10th-16th – or was it two all along, as two birds were seen on St Mary’s on 15th. Onto the English mainland, three were seen in Somerset at Steart WWT on 10th; one at East Chevington NWT (Northumberland) on 10th; two remained at Titchfield Haven NNR (Hampshire) on 12th, with one still there on 14th, and three present by 16th; three remained at Dungeness (Kent) on 11th-15th; three were still present at Aldeburgh Town Marshes on 14th; one was again seen at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) on 12th; inland sightings came from Rye Meads RSPB (Hertfordshire) on 13th-15th, Summer Leys NR (Northamptonshire) on 14th, and Stanstead Abbotts GPs (Hertfordshire) on 15th-16th; a bird on the move was seen over the A19 at Sunderland (Co.Durham) on 14th; two came in off the sea at Marazion Marsh RSPB (Cornwall) on 15th; one was seen in Cornwall over Penryn on 16th; and two on Skye (Highland & Caithness) on 16th also.

In Wales, one bird at Aber Dysynni (Gwynedd) on 10th rose to two there on 13th. Finally, in Ireland five birds remained at Lady’s Island Lake (Co.Wexford) on 11th-13th, with one still present there on 14th; three were still to be seen at Cahore (Co.Wexford) on 10th; three were present at Sligo (Co.Sligo) on 10th also; one was seen on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 11th-12th; another single at Lurgangreen (Co.Louth) on 12th-13th; and a final bird on Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 16th.

In Somerset, the recent juvenile Squacco Heron remained at Ham Wall RSPB on 10th-16th. Another was noted in flight over Marazion Marsh RSPB (Cornwall) on 10th while, on 15th-16th, one was reported present at a site in the west of the county without public access.

Marazion Marsh RSPB also gave us another sighting of Purple Heron again on 14th-16th; while a possible was seen at Martin Mere WWT (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 12th.

On 15th a Black Stork came in to Kirton Marsh (Lincolnshire) in the late afternoon.

The honkers and quackers this week were starting to fill up nicely with plenty of variety and volume alike, not least in the latter regard where Ring-necked Ducks were concerned – 22 birds in total were recorded in Britain and Ireland in recent days, with three birds at Lough Gara (Co.Sligo) on 15th, and two birds at Dozmary Pool (Cornwall) on 15th-16th. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, a female / juvenile drake Lesser Scaup was also uncovered, present at Cahore Marsh (Co.Wexford) on 10th-12th; and another probable female at Dozmary Pool on 16th.

In Bedfordshire, the drake Ferruginous Duck remained at Broom South Quarry on 10th.

The two recent Blue-winged Teals were also still sitting tight at Tophill Low NR (East Yorkshire) on 10th-16th.

East Yorkshire also accounted for a goodly proportion of our American Wigeon sightings this week, with birds noted at Beacon Ponds NR still on 10th-16th, at Watton NR on 12th, and Tophill Low NR on 14th. A female was present on Foula (Shetland) on 10th. Irish birds were logged on Inishmore (Co.Galway) still on 10th-11th; on Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 14th-15th; and on Lough Beg (Co.Derry) still on 14th.

A Green-winged Teal was found at Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park (Norfolk) on 14th, and another (or a hybrid) on 14th-16th in Devon at Dawlish Warren NNR; and a final bird for the week on 16th on Lewis (Western Isles).

And so to seaduck… Pick of them was the drake Black Scoter off the Northumbrian coast at Goswick on 11th, but there were a handful of Surf Scoter too by way of variety – one on Corbally Road Reservoir (Co.Antrim) still on 10th-12th; another still off Yell (Shetland) at Burravoe on 10th-13th; one in the traditional site of the Sound of Taransay off Harris (Western Isles) on 12th-16th; one in Dunnet Bay (Highland & Caithness) on 15th; and a final bird in Devon seen passing Prawle Point on 16th.

Honkers next and chief amongst them were Red-breasted Geese - one still present at Budle Bay (Northumberland) on 11th-16th; and another on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 11th-13th.

A blue morph Snow Goose was seen on 14th-16th again at Pilling Back Marsh (Lancashire & North Merseyside); and another Snow Goose was found on 15th-16th on North Uist (Western Isles).

And finally, The Goose Formerly Known As Canada - we had an interior Todd’s Canada Goose on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 10th-13th; and hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Geese at Lissadell (Co.Sligo) on 14th-15th, near East Halton (Lincolnshire) on 15th, and on North Uist (Western Isles) on 16th still.

The weekly waders continued to boast a cornucopia of goodies in recent days, with something more or less local to almost everyone.

Starting out on Cape Clear (Co.Cork), the Upland Sandpiper remained present there on 10th-13th; in Cornwall, one again flew through Polgigga on 10th.

The week began with a Baird’s Sandpiper reported from Loch Fleet (Highland & Caithness) on 10th; additional birds were found in the unfolding days at Goswick (Northumberland) on 11th, East Halton Marshes (Lincolnshire) on 14th-15th, and at Clonakilty (Co.Cork) on 16th where two birds were seen.

A White-rumped Sandpiper settled on Achill Island (Co.Mayo) on 11th-13th.

Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) again hosted a Semipalmated Sandpiper on 10th-16th; and additional birds this week were to be seen at South Slob (Co.Wexford) on 13th, and Sandymount (Co.Dublin) on 15th-16th.

Co.Wexford also gave us one of the week’s Buff-breasted Sandpipers, a bird present at Tacumshin on 10th and again on 16th. Additional birds were seen during the week near Polgigga (Cornwall) on 10th-11th, and on Scilly – on St Mary’s on 12th-13th, and St Martin’s on 12th.

The week was still a busy time for Pectoral Sandpiper, with 18 birds logged the length and breadth of the region. Three sites held multiple birds – duos at, respectively, Buckroney Marsh (Co.Wicklow) still on 10th; Alderburgh Town Marshes (Suffolk) still on 10th; and Abberton Reservoir (Essex) on 13th-16th.

A Spotted Sandpiper was seen in Co.Kerry in the vicinity of Lough Gill on 10th-16th.

Just beating Pecs for sheer volume during the week, 20 American Golden Plovers were logged lately, from Shetland in the north to Scilly in the south, and in Ireland too. Tiree (Argyll & Bute) went one better than all other sites, scoring two birds on the island on 12th.

Scilly was the focal point for the few Dotterel noted recently – sightings of at least two birds came from St Martin’s, Tresco and Bryher on 12th-15th. Elsewhere a single bird was seen in Cumbria at Crag Fell on 11th, and singletons in Cornwall on 15th at St Agnes Head and Windmill Farm CBWPS.

Rare snipe were playing a little hard to get this week – an unconfirmed report of a Great Snipe over Holme Dunes NWT (Norfolk) on 12th came to northing further; and a probable Wilson’s Snipe on St Mary’s (Scilly) until 15th retained the probable prefix for now.

Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Rosscarbery (Co.Cork) on 12th-13th, and Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 10th-16th. Additional birds were seen this week at Abberton Reservoir (Essex) on 10th-16th; South Uist (Western Isles) on 11th; at Grune Point (Cumbria) on 14th; and at Inch Island Lake (Co.Donegal) on 15th-16th.

The settled Norfolk Long-billed Dowitcher continued to kick around Cley and Stiffkey on 10th-15th; while in Ireland birds were seen again at Cahore Marsh (Co.Wexford) on 10th-15th, and White’s Marsh (Co.Cork) on 12th-14th. A fresh adult was found on 16th in East Sussex at Cuckmere Haven.

The week was a fairly busy one again for Grey Phalaropes, with a shade under 40 birds noted over the course of it. Peak counts came with four birds on 10th at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford), and three off Pendeen (Cornwall) on 14th.

Lastly, a Red-necked Phalarope was seen at Snettisham CP (Norfolk) on 14th.

20 Sabine’s Gulls provided the best of the Larid interest this week. Cornwall, once again, did well for itself, with a couple of sites exceeding single birds – two were noted from The Lizard on 11th, and four from Pendeen on 14th. Two were also seen from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 13th.

Staying in Ireland, the adult Ring-billed Gull was still to be found at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 11th.

Strong northwesterlies over the week surely augured some white-wingers, and so it proved - Glaucous Gulls were seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 13th; on 14th at Loch of Spiggie (Shetland), and Redcar (Cleveland); on 15th on Papa Westray (Orkney), where two birds were noted, Fair Isle (Shetland), and Hillswick (Shetland); and on 16th on Unst (Shetland), and North Uist (Western Isles). Iceland Gulls, meanwhile, were seen at Runkerry Beach (Co.Antrim) on 14th; on 15th on Westray (Orkney), Whalsay (Shetland), and Winterton Dunes (Norfolk); and on 16th from Lewis and North Uist (Western Isles), and Skye (Highland & Caithness).

Down in Dorset the first-summer Forster's Tern was seen again in Poole Harbour at Arne RSPB on 12th-15th.

What a week it proved to be for rare harriers…

Lingering quality kicked things off with juvenile Northern Harriers again to be seen on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 10th-13th (and reported again there on 16th), and in Ireland at Tirraun (Co.Mayo) on 11th. The latter was followed, on 12th-15th, by another juvenile bird at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford).

And then there were Pallid Harriers… Southern England was blessed, with the lingering juvenile male bird in Kent haunting the boundless flatlands around Dungeness still on 10th-15th joined in the news by a couple of birds much further west – a juvenile was proving mobile around the Crows-an-wra vicinity of Cornwall on 12th-14th, perhaps accounting for the juvenile Pallid / Montagu’s Harrier seen the preceding day at Trevean and Polgigga; while another juvenile was found on Scilly on 13th-14th, also mobile as she moved between St Martin’s, St Mary’s, and Tresco. Finally, up on Shetland, one was again seen at Kergord on 12th.

A Black Kite was reported from Yeadon (West Yorkshire) in the afternoon of 15th.

Starting the week’s passerines with the warblers, there’s nowhere better to kick off than the Iberian Chiffchaff on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 13th-14th. That’s a bird that was heard only on 13th. Could you at this time of year? I don’t think I could. Deeply impressive. Another was found this week on Holy Island (Northumberland) on 11th.

Holy Island also scored Dusky Warbler and Radde’s Warbler on 11th. Additional Radde’s filtered in elsewhere – one was trapped and ringed on Portland (Dorset) on 11th, and seen again there on 14th; one appeared on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 16th; and in Co.Cork a possible was heard only near Goleen on 12th, and a probable seen at Ballyrisode on 13th-14th.

Back to Holy Island, the Arctic Warbler remained on there on 10th-13th; one was still present on Barra (Western Isles) on 10th; and additional birds found lately on St Martin’s (Scilly) on 11th-14th, and trapped and ringed at Burgh Castle (Norfolk) on 12th.

An Arctic or Greenish Warbler was also seen on St Martin’s (Scilly) on 15th.

Some 120 Yellow-browed Warblers were logged nationwide this week. Will the coming week see the floodgates open for them this year?

A mere 16 Barred Warblers were noted across the country this week, with two at Brae (Shetland) on 15th notable. Also notable at this juncture is the almost total absence of Blyth’s Reed Warblers - just one was seen this week in Lincolnshire, at Anderby Creek on 16th, with another, a possible, reported from St Mary’s (Scilly) on 12th.

Staying on Scilly, a Melodious Warbler was again seen on Bryher on 10th. Another was again at St Levan (Cornwall) on 12th; and a further Cornish sighting came from Porthgwarra on 11th.

Bumped from the headlines but for the fact that the county’s already had a bird this year, and besides, the county in question enjoys a near monopoly on them anyway, a Short-toed Treecreeper was trapped and ringed at Dungeness on 16th.

We enjoyed a decent spread of shrikes this past week, headed in terms of novelty at least by a Lesser Grey Shrike present on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 10th-15th.

A Great Grey Shrike was found in Kent at South Foreland on 10th.

Up in Shetland, the smart adult male Turkestan Shrike was again seen on Fair Isle on 13th.

And down on Scilly, the Red-backed Shrike remained on Bryher on 10th-13th, with a bird on St Mary’s on 15th-16th also. Additional birds were found on 15th at Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex) and Blacksod (Co.Mayo). An unconfirmed report came of another this week at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) on 10th.

Hoopoes nudged towards double figures this week – birds were seen at Rhoshirwaun (Gwynedd) again on 10th; at Newport Wetlands NNR (Gwent) on 10th; at Grim’s Dyke Golf Course (London) on 11th; at Tayvallich (Argyll & Bute) on 11th-16th; at Chynhall’s Point (Cornwall) on 12th-16th; at Drumguish (Highland & Caithness) on 13th; and on 14th on The Lizard (Cornwall) and at East Prawle (Devon).

Wrynecks lingered on Scilly on St Mary’s on 10th-16th, and Bryher on 11th; in Cornwall, one was found at Porthgwarra on 13th; one lingered on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 11th-13th; and in Ireland a bird was seen near Five Mile Point (Co.Wicklow) on 12th.

A Short-toed Lark was found on Harris (Western Isles) on 12th.

A strong sign of autumn passage came in the mounting numbers of Waxwings noted this week in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles – around 190 birds being seen, with a peak count coming from Hoy (Orkney), where 24 birds were logged on 14th. A single pioneering bird made it to Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 14th-15th and will, doubtless, have been given more than a cursory second glance at first discovery…

Co.Cork gave a succession of sightings of Rose-coloured Starling, with the bird still on Cape Clear on 11th-12th followed by one at Garretstown on 13th, and a probable at Kinsale Marsh on 14th briefly. Scillonian sightings, meanwhile, came from St Mary’s still on 10th-15th; Bryher on 10th-12th; and St Martin’s on 11th.

The week began with two rare thrushes still on station in their respective Scottish archipelagos. In Shetland, the magnificent White’s Thrush remained on Bressay on 10th…

…while on Barra (Western Isles) the Swainson’s Thrush was also still to be seen there on 10th.

A Bluethroat was found on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 12th. On 16th, another was found in Shetland at Bakkasetter on Mainland, while a bird was trapped and ringed in Lincolnshire at Saltfleetby NNR.

Red-breasted Flycatchers this week had a distinctly southwesterly distribution – one was trapped and ringed on Portland (Dorset) on 10th; another was seen on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 10th and 14th-15th; and one settled on Toe Head (Co.Cork) on 11th-13th.

Eastern Stonechat sp, however, remained a northern preserve, with birds still present his week on Shetland Mainland on Lunna on 10th-15th; on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 10th-12th still; and on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 11th still.

Shetland also held onto its recent Pied Wheatear on 10th-11th.

The British mainland got in on the rare wheatear act with a superb Isabelline Wheatear discovered on 10th at South Gare (Cleveland).

Best of the pipits this week was the American Buff-bellied Pipit found in Cornwall at Nanjizal Valley on 10th. Surely there’s one or two more of those lurking out there somewhere to be found?

Scilly got a look in with a Red-throated Pipit noted over Tresco on 12th, and a succession of Richard’s Pipit sightings around the islands in the wake of two birds on St Mary’s on 10th – single birds were seen on 10th also on St Agnes and Bryher, while one was also seen on St Martin’s on 11th-12th. Away from Scilly, Richard’s Pipits were seen in Norfolk at Beeston Regis on 10th, Winterton on 14th, on 16th at Blakeney Freshmarsh and Titchwell RSPB, and a further possible at East Runton on 15th; in Cornwall on 15th at Porthgwarra; in Dorset on 16th over Portland; and in Cornwall on 16th over The Lizard, and reported from Pendeen too that day.

On 15th two more mobile Red-throated Pipits were found – one passing over Paull (East Yorkshire), and another transiting Beachy Head (East Sussex).

Shetland laid claim to two Olive-backed Pipits this week – one still on Fair Isle on 10th, and another found on Fetlar on 13th. One found at Cissbury Ring on 14th was an excellent West Sussex record. On 15th another was found on St Agnes (Scilly), and a possible was noted over Porthgwarra (Cornwall).

Unusually given the time of year, Common Rosefinches were decidedly scarce fare – just half a dozen birds were seen in recent days, or at least, until 15th. One remained on South Uist (Western Isles) on 10th-15th; one was on Whalsay (Shetland) on 10th; Barra (Western Isles) had a bird on 11th; St Martin’s (Scilly) a bird on 14th-16th; and Irish records came from Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 12th-16th, and Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 14th. On 15th the pace quickened just a little, with new birds seen in Cornwall at Porthgwarra and Maen Valley; and on Bardsey (Gwynedd).

A hornemanni Arctic Redpoll was lingering on Unst (Shetland) on 10th-13th, and another seen on Foula on 12th; a possible was present on Fair Isle on 14th; and an exilipes at Noness (Shetland) on 15th.

Perhaps one of the more startling snippets of news this week was the report of half a dozen Serin over Great Ormes Head (Conwy) on 10th – are there many prior records of flocks of them? A single bird was present on Bryher (Scilly) on 10th also.

Sticking with Bryher a moment, it held an Ortolan Bunting on 10th-12th.

Seventeen Little Buntings were a reasonable British showing this week, with a couple of sites holding duos – two on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 12th, and two on St Agnes (Scilly) on 13th.

Scilly also gave us a Rustic Bunting, found on St Martin’s on 11th-12th.

A fresh Red-eyed Vireo was found on Bryher (Scilly) on 16th.

Finally, on Fetlar (Shetland), the White-crowned Sparrow held on into the new week, remaining there at Houbie on 10th-11th.

The return of an occasional section of the round up this week is prompted by the appearance of a couple of quality Nearctic butterflies – a stunning, smart Monarch, seen on Portland (Dorset) this week on 12th-14th, is not totally unexpected given the time of year and the supporting cast of transatlantic birds that have made it here lately – but an American Painted Lady on St Mary’s (Scilly) is made of much rarer stuff – a true mega in the context of vagrant butterflies to Britain. Those who were fortunate enough to see it can count themselves very fortunate indeed – it may (or may not!) prove to be the rarest thing they see on Scilly this year…

Biggest news this week, at least from a wishful thinking perspective, was the continued presence of the Dark-sided Flycatcher in Norway on 10th at Øygarden. Just imagine…

Sweden meanwhile got itself a Swainson’s Thrush at Nabbelund on 10th.

A Sociable Lapwing remained in the Netherlands at Wildervank on 10th. Another was present in France at Villandry still on 12th, while France also retained two Yellow Warblers on Ouessant on 10th.

Drawing further away from us, in Spain the Belted Kingfisher was still present on the Rio Lea on 10th-16th.

And finally, the Azores, where there was still lots of stuff.

Oh, okay. A snapshot from Corvo gives you an idea of the lay of the land way out there in the mid-Atlantic. On 10th the island held two Ovenbird, and single Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Cliff Swallow, Red-eyed Vireo, and White-eyed Vireo. And that was just 10th… on 11th we learned of at least 20 White-rumped Sandpipers on there, and the continued presence of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron over on Flores. It’s a different birding world out there.

The week ahead is looking pretty promising where some easterly vagrancy’s concerned, and we’re bang in the middle of the prime time for something monster to come stalking over the horizon…

A glance at the historic records for the past half century gives so much mouthwatering precedent it’s hard to know where to begin with it. Warblers? The likes of Eastern Crowned Warbler at Trow Quarry (Co.Durham) on 22nd-24th October 2009 – when will that finally fall in Shetland? – and, on Scilly, the dead-on-arrival Pale-legged Leaf Warbler picked up beneath the lighthouse on St Agnes on 21st October 2016.

If the wind blows right through, those eastern megas could be unlocked and unblocked…

We’re surely due some more Red-flanked Bluetails this coming week – almost a formality, these days – but the days to come have much finer prospects when we look back to the not-too-distant-at-all past…

One Siberian Blue Robin, at Minsmere (Suffolk) on 23rd October 2000; one Rufous-tailed Robin, on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 23rd October 2004; and seven(!) Siberian Rubythroats.

And who’d complain about the commonest of the above roll-call? None of us. So let’s be hoping for a Siberian Rubythroat in the coming week.

At the very least…

 

Jon Dunn
17 October 2023

 

Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos

 

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