Weekly birding round-up: 9th - 15th Jan 2024
Only the second week of the new year, and the decent birds continued to come, if not thick and fast, then certainly with a frequency and quality that belied the time of year. Co.Galway had finished the first week of 2024 boasting an enviable duck ‘n’ grebe duo, but was to burst back into the headlines for a second consecutive week. Who wanted more?
The week’s main event, in Britain at least, continued to be the steady presence of Essex’s first ever Northern Waterthrush at Heybridge on 9th-15th. Whereas some had gone away previously with tickable but perhaps not the most confiding of views, the bird continued to perform daily throughout the week and, at times, was showing exceptionally well. Second helpings were for some the order of the day… and who could blame them with such a dapper bird on offer?
Inishmore (Co.Galway), already boasting White-winged Scoter and Pied-billed Grebe (with a side order of American Wigeon), could be forgiven for calling it a day for 2024. That feels like a year’s worth of quality birds in just the first fortnight of January.
But no. The island was far from done with us just yet, as still another superb bird was there for the finding at the weekend – a stonking drake Bufflehead, present there on 13th-15th. Yet another county first, and icing on the cake for those visiting birders who were already considering the day’s birding an unqualified success by that juncture.
Orkney dominated the seabird scene this past week, with a return to White-billed Diver form for Papa Westray on 9th, from which seven birds were noted; two were seen on the same day on the water between Egilsay and Eday. Elsewhere in Scotland a singleton was seen off Isle of May (Fife) on 9th-10th.
Orkney also enjoyed a lingering Little Auk off Kirkwall on 8th-10th. A little to the north, on 9th, four were seen at sea off Sumburgh (Shetland). Lewis (Western Isles) notched up a single bird on 13th.
A Leach’s Petrel was seen at sea off Dover (Kent) on 12th.
Finally, a decidedly unseasonal probable Cory’s Shearwater was seen distantly in Dorset’s West Bay on 9th.
Some 25 Glossy Ibises were logged over the course of the week, undaunted by the gathering cold snap. Trios remained in southern England at Westhay Moor NNR (Somerset) on 9th-13th, with four present there on 14th-15th, and Titchfield Haven NNR (Hampshire) on 9th-15th. Four were again seen at Dungeness (Kent) on 15th. The most northerly outliers remained at Middleton (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 9th-15th, and around St Aidan’s RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 9th-14th, with two birds seen at the latter site on 14th. In North Wales, the recent bird was still to be seen at Abererch (Gwynedd) on 12th-14th.
Mixing things up a little on the long-legged beasty front this week, a first-winter Night Heron was seen at an undisclosed site in Ceredigion on 9th, and a Purple Heron was in Lanvean Valley (Cornwall) on 14th-15th.
Kicking off the week’s honkers and quackers with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, in Co.Mayo an interior Todd’s Canada Goose was seen on 12th at Cross Lough, and a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose near Elly Bay still on 12th. Two more of the latter remained on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 14th, while another was still lurking at Lunt Meadows LWT (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 9th-14th.
Lancashire & North Merseyside also continued to harbour a Red-breasted Goose at Martin Mere WWT until 14th. Additional birds remained in Northumberland around Budle Bay on 12th-14th; in Norfolk at Sheringham on 9th and Stiffkey on 11th; and at Bradwell-on-Sea (Essex) on 9th-15th still.
Bradwell-on-Sea also continued to hold a Black Brant on 9th-13th; further birds being noted this week in Lincolnshire at North Cotes on 10th and Donna Nook on 12th.
Seven adult Grey-bellied Brant were present in Dublin (Co.Dublin) in the Coolock / Raheny area on 11th, with a single bird seen the same day near Sandymount.
Scotland gave us white Snow Geese this week at Dingwall (Highland & Caithness) again on 11th and 14th, Findhorn Bay (Highland & Caithness) on 14th, and on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 9th.
Rounding off the honkers, in north Kent the Lesser White-fronted Goose continued to bounce around the Swale, being seen at Swale NNR on 10th and 14th, and Oare Marshes KWT on 12th.
As we’ve already seen in the headlines, Inishmore (Co.Galway) was the place to be still this week – in addition to the drake Bufflehead, the prior week’s juvenile female White-winged Scoter was still to be seen on 10th-15th. Nor was this the only Irish example of its kind – the drake was once again seen in Co.Kerry in Brandon Bay on 14th, sharing those waters with two Surf Scoter for good measure.
Additional Surf Scoter lately were seen at Belmullet (Co.Mayo) on 12th; off Westray (Orkney) on 9th-10th, with two birds seen here on the latter date; off Rhunahaorine Point (Argyll & Bute) again on 10th; near Cockenzie (Lothian) on 14th; and a popular drake found off Holkham Gap (Norfolk) on 13th-14th.
Back to Inishmore (Co.Galway) yet again, the drake American Wigeon remained present on 10th-14th; and a female was present on Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 14th. Scotland, meanwhile, held the lion’s share of their ilk – birds seen at Newshot Island (Clyde) still on 9th-15th; on the Lossie Estuary (Moray) still on 9th; at Loch of Ayre (Orkney) still on 9th; at Crook of Baldoon RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway) on 10th-15th; and at Loch Spynie (Moray) again on 12th. England’s sole representative was a bird still in Northumberland at Blagdon Hall on 9th.
The English northeast, however, continued to be graced by a quacker of quality – the first-winter drake Baikal Teal still at Bishop Middleham (Co.Durham) on 9th-15th.
Seventeen Green-winged Teal were logged in the space of the past week. Ireland boasted five – at Termoncarragh Lough (Co.Mayo) on 9th-12th still; at Ballyquintin Point (Co.Down) on 10th-14th; at South Slob (Co.Wexford) on 12th; at Kilbrittain (Co.Cork) on 14th; and at Killarney (Co.Kerry) on 15th. Scotland also notched up five birds – on North Uist (Western Isles) on 9th; at Tain Links (Highland & Caithness) still on 10th; at Meikle Loch (Aberdeenshire) on 10th-14th; at Loch Spynie (Moray) on 14th; and on Barra (Western Isles) still on 14th. The balance of the week’s birds were all in England – at Hayle Estuary RSPB (Cornwall) still on 9th-15th, with two noted there on 15th; at Roadford Reservoir (Devon) on 13th-15th; at Lunt Meadows LWT (Lancashire & North Merseyside) still on 9th-14th; at Campfield Marsh RSPB (Cumbria) again on 12th; at Colt Crag Reservoir (Northumberland) still on 10th-11th; and a final attractive bird in Cambridgeshire at Grafham Water again on 13th-15th.
Back in Ireland, the drake Black Duck was still present on Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 12th.
In Norfolk, both recent Ferruginous Duck were still to be seen on Filby Broad on 9th-12th, with the drake at least still present on 15th; the drake was seen again in Nottinghamshire at Misson on 11th; and the female in Gloucestershire again at Cotswold Water Park on 12th-15th.
Around 25 Ring-necked Ducks were again seen across Britain and Ireland in recent days and, once more, among their number were multiple birds at a handful of sites – two remained at Lisvane Reservoir (Glamorgan) on 9th-15th; two were still at Ardcloony (Co.Clare) on 10th; two on South Uist (Western Isles) on 13th; and two at Keohane Quarry (Co.Cork) on 14th.
New Lesser Scaup continued to appear – this surely being the best winter on record for them to date. Five remained on the Devon/Cornwall border at Lower Tamar Lakes on 10th, with four still present there on 13th, and three still there on 15th; in Devon, single birds were again on Slapton Ley on 13th-15th, and on Roadford Reservoir on 13th also; the drake remained at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 10th-14th; in Pembrokeshire, both recent birds remained at Penberry Reservoir on 9th-14th and Bosherston Lily Ponds on 9th-14th; the drake was still on Knockaderry Reservoir (Co.Waterford) on 11th; and a drake was found on a turlough near Ballymote (Co.Sligo) on 12th-14th. On 14th another drake was to be found on Loch Leven (Perth & Kinross) and, on 15th, a drake was again seen at Auchenreoch Loch (Dumfries & Galloway).
Finally, back to Inishmore (Co.Galway) for an honorary wildfowl – the Pied-billed Grebe was still settled there on 10th-15th.
In Ireland, the American Golden Plover put in another spell of appearances at North Slob WWR (Co.Wexford) on 9th-15th.
In Somerset the female Kentish Plover was still present at Burnham-on-Sea on 10th-11th.
The Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex) on 10th-15th. Ireland came to the fore on 14th with sightings again at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford), and at Dungarvan (Co.Waterford), the latter site holding its bird on 15th.
A Grey Phalarope was seen passing Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) in the morning of 10th.
Two of our recent English Lesser Yellowlegs were again seen regularly this week – in East Yorkshire at Swine Moor still on 9th-15th; and in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB still on 9th-15th – while in Suffolk a first-winter was seen on 14th at Blythburgh. In Ireland, one was again seen at Lurgangreen (Co.Louth) on 11th.
In Co.Antrim, the adult Bonaparte’s Gull was still to be seen at Ballygalley on 12th. The two recent first-winter birds in Cornwall split for the first half of the week, with one seen at Marazion on 10th and 12th, and the other at Hayle Estuary on 9th-10th; both were together once more at Marazion on 13th; one was found dead there the following day. On 15th, perhaps promulgating the three bird theory after all, single birds were seen at both Hayle and Marazion. We’ll see if two are seen together again henceforth…
A Sabine’s Gull was seen from Tankerton (Kent) on 9th.
Honours were split almost evenly between Britain and Ireland this week for Ring-billed Gulls, Ireland just edging it at the last. In Britain, one remained at Hayle Estuary RSPB (Cornwall) on 9th and 14th, and another at Strathclyde Loch (Clyde) on 9th also; while in Ireland, one remained at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 11th, another at Blackrock (Co.Louth) on 13th-14th, and the North Bull Island (Co.Dublin) bird again on 15th.
Some 55 Glaucous Gulls marked an uplift on the preceding week, much of this upturn coming courtesy of Westray (Orkney), where 18 birds were tallied on 13th, helped along by 11 birds at Loch of Skaill on Orkney Mainland on 14th. Iceland Gulls were less numerous, with around 25 birds recorded, of which three at Hale (Cheshire & Wirral) on 12th were the best single site return.
The third-winter Kumlien’s Gull was again seen on Westray (Orkney) on 9th-12th, with the adult again there on 14th; and the adult at Helmsdale (Highland & Caithness) again on 13th-14th. A second-winter bird was found inland at Stanford Reservoir (Northamptonshire) on 11th-12th, and a juvenile was again seen at Hayle Estuary RSPB (Cornwall) on 14th.
Pallid Harriers were once more featuring in the news pretty much daily, not least this week in Norfolk where the second-winter female continued to haunt the countryside at and around Warham Greens on 9th-14th. In Wales a slew of sightings came on 13th from all the usual places – at National Wetlands Centre WWT (Carmarthenshire), Llanrhidian Marsh (Glamorgan), and Pen-clawdd (Glamorgan) – sightings also coming from the former two sites on 14th for good measure. This was preceded by sightings on 11th-12th at Castlemartin Corse (Pembrokeshire). The week began with an unconfirmed report of a bird again in Ireland at Ballynamona (Co.Cork) on 9th.
While interesting passerines were, understandably given the time of year, thin on the ground this week – apart from Waxwings, which continued their determined drive towards ubiquity – that’s not to say the week was wholly without incident.
Indeed, if you’d opted to choose an oriole that might be found in Britain this winter, chances are it would have been a Baltimore Oriole tucked in to a suitably generous garden environment, given the strongly American flavour of the preceding autumn. But no. Instead, we were treated to an unprecedented Golden Oriole in Cornwall at Gulval on 9th-15th, a bird sufficiently remarkable and untimely to tempt more than a handful of birders to head west to catch up with it.
Great Grey Shrikes, meanwhile, remained sparsely scattered in Britain – birds were still to be seen at Ramsley Moor (Derbyshire) on 9th-15th; Budby Common (Nottinghamshire) on 9th-12th; Doddington (Lincolnshire) on 13th; near Peebles (Borders) on 11th-14th, and on 15th at Leadburn Community Woodland (Borders). Back in Derbyshire a bird was seen near Great Longstone on 12th.
In East Yorkshire the male Black-throated Thrush was last seen at Tophill Low NR on 11th before, on 14th-15th, popping up there once more; and one was again reported from Wilmslow (Cheshire & Wirral) on 9th.
Two Yellow-browed Warblers were again at Oakthorpe Flash (Leicestershire) on 9th, with at least one bird still present there on 10th-11th. Another was found this week in Devon at Buckfastleigh on 9th.
In Cornwall the recent Richard’s Pipit was still hanging around The Lizard on 10th-15th while, in Gloucestershire, the other wintering bird remained outside Awre on 9th-15th still.
In Shetland, a Black-bellied Dipper was hunkered down in the sheltered twists and turns of the Burn of Lunklet on 10th-13th.
Two exilipes Arctic Redpoll were once more seen at Fontburn Reservoir (Northumberland) on 11th.
A male Two-barred Crossbill was seen briefly in Birkshaw Forest (Dumfries & Galloway) on 9th.
Finally, at least one Little Bunting remained in Cornwall at Tremethick Cross on 9th-13th, with two confirmed there again on 14th.
Cream of the overseas crop this week has to be the African Crake found on 13th at Ponta da Erva – only the 25th Western Palearctic record of its kind, and a first for Portugal.
Closer to home, in Luxembourg the male Blue Rock Thrush remained at Durbuy on 9th.
Finally, out in the Azores on Terceira, an American Coot was seen on 9th.
Were we regular birders on the Iberian Peninsula, or in the islands of Macaronesia, the coming week would see us on high alert for something wayward from Africa – the past week’s Lesser Moorhen on Cape Verde, and mainland Portugal’s African Crake being shots across our collective bows that the wind’s coming out of Africa and potentially carrying something interesting our way.
However, most of us aren’t those birders.
The flavour of the coming week in Britain and Ireland is decidedly less spicy and considerably more chilly – the week just gone concluded with strong, uninterrupted winds sweeping down into northern Britain from the Arctic and, at the time of writing, that looks set to continue until the coming weekend.
That can mean only one thing – white-winged gulls are on our radar. Worst case scenario being greater numbers of brutish Glaucous Gulls heading southwards but, if we’re lucky, there’s the possibility of an Ivory or Ross’s Gull.
The wind’s looking promising, and the timing is bob on too – the coming week, historically, is prime time for either of these High Arctic wanderers, with the diamond-tailed dovelike Ross’s ever so slightly more numerous, with 10 accepted records on the books. Either would do us just nicely in the coming days.
Jon Dunn
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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