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Weekly birding round-up: 7 May - 13 May 2024

A steady week with lots of arrivals including a further seven new species for the 2024 year list, bringing it to 350 species.

 

Bird of the week was a stunning male Lesser Grey Shrike in Hertfordshire at Telegraph Hill, Lilley in the afternoon and evening of 9th May. As with many species utilising the East African flyway, their arrival here is expected later in the spring and the 9th May discovery date made this the second earliest spring occurrence of Lesser Grey Shrike for Britain, following one at sea 12 miles southeast of Start Point, Devon on 6th May 1952. This was the first county record although not wholly unexpected as there are previous records in the nearby counties of Bedfordshire, London, Oxfordshire, and in inland Essex.

 

2023 was a dire year for Whiskered Tern in Britain and Ireland with a just a single juvenile seen; at Stilebridge, Kent on 24th September. On 6th May 2024 an adult Whiskered Tern passed east over the sea at Dungeness Point, Kent and this week two more Whiskered Terns arrived in Kent at Stodmarsh on 12th May. Present for little over an hour, the two adults prompt departure was probably them relocating to their breeding location in haste, as chlidonias terns are so adept at.

 

A belated report from a civilian of a Blue Jay at Dungloe, County Donegal, from 10th May included a photograph of the bird but it is not known if anyone attempted to relocate the bird, possibly due to a natural scepticism of such reports as result of earlier hoaxes.

Previously Blue Jay has been reported in Britain at Llanfarian, Ceredigion during 1987, at Southbourne, West Sussex on 23rd June 2000, and then a well-documented bird at Thornton, Crosby, North Merseyside on 5th June 2003 that was relocated at Hillside, Southport on 7th June 2003. The latter bird was just a few miles from Seaforth Docks and with accepted records of Nearctic landbirds in the immediate vicinity being Song Sparrow (15th-17th October 1994), Slate-coloured Junco (in Thornton on 29th April 1996), White-crowned Sparrow (2nd October 1995), Blackpoll Warbler (2nd June 2000), and Yellow-billed Cuckoo (12th October 2011), it seems likely that it arrived onboard a ship, and this species has previously been documented at sea in the North Atlantic by Alan Durand in his revelationary papers in British Birds in which he documented Blue Jay aboard ships on three of his 100 North Atlantic crossings between 1961 and 1965; 1,300km from New York on 27th April 1961, two birds 200km from New York on 26th May 1962, and more than 480km from New York on 8th October 1962.

There are currently 100 species of Nearctic landbird accepted as vagrants to the Western Palearctic of which 78 have occurred in either Britain, Ireland, or both. Determining which species of Nearctic landbird are capable of crossing the North Atlantic unaided is easy at the extremes but effectively impossible for the majority of species. However, an indication is given by American species that have occurred in the Western Palearctic but not at locations renowned for receiving Nearctic birds in autumn storms such as the Azores, Iceland, and the west coasts of Britain and Ireland. Other factors may determine whether vagrancy in some species is more likely to occur in spring than in autumn but it is still notable that fifteen species have yet to be recorded in autumn at a hotspot for Nearctic Landbirds:

American Hawk Owl (Britain)
Eastern Phoebe (Britain)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Iceland, Britain, and Germany)
Northern Mockingbird (Britain (3) and Netherlands)
Brown Thrasher (Britain)
Evening Grosbeak (Britain (2) and Norway)
Lark Sparrow (Britain)
Red Fox Sparrow (Northern Ireland, Estonia, and Finland)
American Tree Sparrow (Sweden)
Song Sparrow (Britain (11), Norway, Belgium (2), Switzerland, Sweden (2), Spain, Germany, and Netherlands (2))
Eastern Towhee (Britain)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Netherlands and Iceland)
Red-winged Blackbird (Britain)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Norway (2), Britain (5), France, Germany)
Common Grackle (Netherlands)

As a species breeding throughout temperate eastern North America that migrates to an extent Blue Jay is a better fit within the subset of fifteen species already accepted as vagrants to the Western Palearctic than it is amongst species such as Great-tailed Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Tropical Mockingbird, and Seaside Sparrow all of which have reached Europe but have been viewed as port-to-port transportees.

Other North American passerines that have been recorded in Britain but of which all records are presumed to be escapes are House Finch, American Goldfinch, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Black-headed Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, Lazuli Bunting, Varied Bunting, and Painted Bunting.

 

An adult Pacific Diver in County Cork at Toormore Bay from 7th-10th May was presumably the individual seen regularly at nearby Crookhaven since 18th January 2018. A White-billed Diver remained in Moray at Roseisle Forest until 7th May with perhaps the same at nearby Lossiemouth on 10th May, two different adults were on the sea off the Shetland Mainland with one at Leebitten on 7th and another off Tangwick the following day, and one was new in Highland at Brora on 10th-11th May but could not be located on 12th when an unidentified albatross species flew past there to the northeast.

A total of 52 Pomarine Skuas were recorded with the majority along the English Channel were one was seen from the Scillonian III on 7th May before passage increased again from 11th when 18 passed Beachy Head, East Sussex with 15 more there the following day and three on 13th, nine moved east at Dungeness, Kent on 11th and eight on 12th, and on 13th two off Berry Head, Devon, and singles passing both Rosemullion Head, Cornwall and Portland Bill, Dorset. On the north and west coasts three passed Maidens, Ayrshire and one was at Butt of Lewis, Lewis, Western Isles both on 7th May, and two were recorded around the Shetland Isles on 9th May whilst the Irish Sea flyway remained similarly quiet with just two logged at Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria on 8th and one at Heysham, Lancashire on 12th. The only Long-tailed Skua reports were singles on Anglesey at Rhosneigr on 7th May and passing Aird an Runair , North Uist, Western Isles on 9th May.

 

Thirteen Purple Herons were reported including a popular adult at Blakeney, Norfolk on 7th-12th, a mobile first-summer in Nottinghamshire on 12th intercepted at Attenborough, Holme Pierrepont, and Netherfield before pitching in at Langford Lowfields, singles in Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, London, and West Sussex, and two together at Stodmarsh, Kent raising hopes of the possibility of local breeding as occurred in the same county at Dungeness in 2010. The three Night Herons were all aural encounters: on the Isles of Scilly on St Mary's on 7th, in Dorset at Longham Lakes on 8th, and at Longhoughton, Northumberland on 12th. At least eleven Glossy Ibises were logged including three still in Somerset at Ham Wall on 8th, with two reported there and at Steart on 12th, and other singles in Bedfordshire, Gwent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex, and West Yorkshire. A total of thirteen singing Spotted Crakes was estimated near Wheldrake in the Lower Derwent Valley, North Yorkshire overnight on 11th.

 

Two of the wintering Red-breasted Goose remained with Dark-bellied Brent Geese: at Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk until 7th May and a Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire throughout. Single Taiga Bean Geese were reported in Highland at Balnakeil on 9th and in County Donegal on Tory Island on 11th May.

Snow Geese were on the move this week with a flock of 24 present at Marshside, Merseyside on 9th May. Early morning on 10th May saw them 75 miles to the south southeast at Belvide Reservoir, Staffordshire before they apparently departed to the south only for them to relocate 110 miles due north to Halforth, Cumbria in little over three and a half hours (a constant speed of over 30mph) before they once again relocated to Marshside. On 13th May the same flock visited Hale Marsh, Cheshire, a site frequented by a flock of 24 Snow Geese on 20th-21st August before they relocated to Marshside. Another flock of seven on the Western Isles were on Barra on 11th May before moving to Boat of Garten, Highland on 13th May when nine flew over Seisdon, Staffordshire. In recent years flocks of Snow Geese are visiting northwest England with increased regularity; typically occuring on the Cheshire and Lancashire coasts in spring between late April and early June and/or as post-moulting visitors in late August-early September. The best guess for the origin of these birds is Oxfordshire where naturalised birds have existed for over 30 years and up to 104 were counted together at Farmoor Reservoir in 2021 although their current breeding location is unknown.

Notable diving ducks comprised male Lesser Scaups still at Blanket Nook, County Donegal on 10th May and at St Aidan's, West Yorkshire again on 9th May, male Ferruginous Ducks still in Gloucestershire at Whelford on 8th and in Warwickshire at Napton Reservoir on 12th, and five male Ring-necked Ducks: in Cornwall, County Dublin, County Londonderry and the Shetland Isles. the latter at Loch of Hillwell, Mainland on 9th-12th May.

A male American Wigeon was in County Cork at Skibbereen on 7th whilst in County Mayo on The Mullet the male Black Duck was confirmed as still present at Cross Lough on 11th May with a Green-winged Teal on nearby Termoncarragh Lough on the same day. The male Cinnamon Teal was still in Northumberland at Bamburgh on 7th May at which point it was described as approaching observers to within five feet.

Four Surf Scoters comprised lingering first-winters in Suffolk at Walberswick until 7th (male) and in County Galway at Gurteen Bay until 11th May (female) and two new birds on 9th: a brief female off Dawlish Warren, Devon and a first-winter male in Argyll at Calgary Bay, Isle of Mull on 9th-13th.

 

Nearctic waders comprised two Long-billed Dowitchers in Ireland - one at Tacumshin, County Wexford until 8th and another new at Harper's Ireland, Cork Harbour, County Cork on 13th, three over-wintering Lesser Yellowlegs still present at Swine Moor, East Yorkshire until 7th, at Castletown River, County Louth until 12th and at Frampton Marsh throughout, American Golden Plovers at Tramore, County Waterford on 9th and in-flight at Kilcoole, County Wicklow on 10th, and five Pectoral Sandpipers most notable of which was inland at Audenshaw Reservoir, Greater Manchester on 10th.

The dire spring for Dotterel continues with just six migrants at five locations across Pembrokeshire, Norfolk, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, and the Orkney Isles where two were on North Ronaldsay on 12th-13th. Temminck's Stint put in a much better showing with 42 located at 29 localities across 17 counties during the week with high counts of three in Norfolk at Cley on 9th and at Denver Sluice on 13th, and at Tinker's Marshes, Suffolk on 12th.

Just a single Black-winged Stilt remained, in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh throughout although it had an away day at Gibraltar Point on 10th; lone Black-winged Stilts in spring are prone to such wanderings presumably as they search for a mate.

 

The adult Elegant Tern remained in County Mayo where it relocated to Inis Doire, Belmullet from 11th, and in Dorset the second-summer Forster's Tern was still at Arne on 7th but was not reported again by the week end; I expect this bird to roam more widely this summer than last year and is likely to visit tern colonies as it scopes out potential breeding locations. An adult Gull-billed Tern was located in County Wexford at Cahore on 7th-9th but the two adults appear to have gone from the Western Isles and in doing so quoshing hopes of a repeat of the succesful breeding by the species at Abberton Reservoir, Essex in 1950. Two adult White-winged Black Terns graced North Cave Wetlands, East Yorkshire on 10th and on the following day an adult was tracked east along the coast between Pennington Marshes, Hampshire and Selsey Bill, West Sussex. Away from breeding sites, Roseate Terns were noted at Saltholme, Cleveland on 7th and Belfast Lough, County Antrim on 11th whilst up to 40 birds gathered at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland.

Three Bonaparte's Gulls comprised a new adult in County Antrim at Belfast Lough on 10th, and two first-summers in Dorset: still at Swineham on 9th and passing south at Ferrybridge on 11th, whilst just two Ring-billed Gulls consisted of adults at Dungarvan, County Waterford on 7th, and at Loch Turret, Perth and Kinross throughout. A Sabine's Gull was reported off Magheraroarty, County Donegal on 11th, Kumlien's Gulls were logged in Cornwall, County Cork, and County Kerry, with around island totals of three Glaucous and seven Iceland Gulls.

 

Highlights amongst the birds of prey were relocating juvenile Pallid Harriers in Gloucestershire at Sapperton on 9th and on the Shetland Isles at Levenwick and Sandwick, Mainland on 13th, Red-footed Falcons reported again in Norfolk at Hickling Broad on 8th and in Kent at Stodmarsh on 10th-12th and Worth Marsh on 11th, and six Black Kites between Cornwall, Flintshire, Orkney, Shetland, and Suffolk; all brief encounters.

Twelve locations in England recorded Montagu's Harriers most notable of which were a lingering first-summer male in Somerset at Greylake throughout, a first-summer male at Leasowe, Wirral on 9th, and females at St Aidan's, West Yorkshire on 11th and Kynance Cove, Cornwall on 13th. Honey Buzzards were recorded from seven counties in England including singles at Bromyard, Herefordshire and Islip, Northamptonshire on 7th, and Wombwell, South Yorkshire on 12th. Raptors seemingly intent on heading northeast to Fenno-Scandia but trapped by the sea were a (unringed) White-tailed Eagle in Norfolk at Hickling Broad until 13th, a juvenile Goshawk on the Shetland Isles at Norwick, Unst on 8th, and a Rough-legged Buzzard at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire on 9th-10th, with another Rough-legged Buzzard at Lochindorb, Highland on 8th.

 

Following the fall of drift migrants on 2nd May birds bound for Fenno-Scandia continued to be found with the first Red-throated Pipits of the year recorded on 7th at Hartlepool, Cleveland and North Ronaldsay, Orkney, Ortolan Bunting still at Hornsea Mere, East Yorkshire on 7th, Little Bunting at Beachy Head, East Sussex on 8th, a probable Thrush Nightingale on the Shetland at Frakkafield, Mainland on 7th was followed by confirmed birds singing in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh on 8th and Saltfleetby on 9th, a Rustic Bunting on Foula, Shetland on 8th, the first Marsh Warbler of the year singing at Chambers Wall, Kent on 13th.

Supporting cast included two Red-breasted Flycatchers including one on Holy Island, Northumberland on 12th, two Grey-headed Wagtail, three Common Rosefinches on Shetland, five Red-spotted Bluethroats including three together on Fair Isle, Shetland on 7th, seven Icterine Warblers on Shetland, nine Red-backed Shrikes including a female at Spurn, East Yorkshire on 13th, 10 Waxwings (including an adult on Bryher, Isles of Scilly on 10th), 13 Golden Orioles (all singles and including three in Ireland), and a total of 17 Wrynecks including eight on Fair Isle on 7th and three on Out Skerries, Shetland on 13th.

Highlights from the south were on 7th a male Eastern Subalpine Warbler on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, a female Subalpine Warbler species on Blakeney Point, Norfolk, a Melodious Warbler trapped at Dungeness, Kent, and a Short-toed Lark on Unst, Shetland Isles (until 11th), on 8th the first Great Reed Warbler of the year was in song at Carr Vale, Derbyshire, on 9th a singing male Iberian Chiffchaff was trapped and ringed at Kilnsea, East Yorkshire, the first Tawny Pipit of the spring was at Pendeen, Cornwall on 11th, and nearby a candidate Spanish Wagtail was at Marazion on 12th-13th. Associated scarce migrants included four Serins (all brief), five Woodchat Shrikes, and 11 Hoopoes.

Of aerial Mediterranean species a Red-rumped Swallow flew over South Foreland, Kent on 7th, Alpine Swifts were at Ballycastle, County Antrim and Christow, Devon on 11th, and 10 scattered Bee-eaters included two each at both Penryn, Cornwall on 8th and Acres Down, Hampshire on 9th, and an individual tracked west along the North Norfolk coast between Weybourne Camp and Hunstanton Cliffs on 13th.

The male White-spotted Bluethroat remained on territory at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire throughout and Savi's Warblers continued to sing at Stonetown, County Louth until 9th, and at both Rutland Water, Leicestershire and North Cave Wetlands, East Yorkshire until 13th.

A Lapland Bunting was at Boisdale, South Uist, Western Isles on 7th and a Shorelark was at Skaw, Unst, Shetland Isles on 11th.

 

The undisputed highlight of the period was the first Red-breasted Swallow for the Western Palearctic present in Denmark at Rørtangvej, Espergærde on 9th-11th May. This occurrence represents the first example of vagrancy to Europe of a passerine that breeds only in the Afrotropical realm but follows from there four species of rail (African Crake, Lesser Moorhen, Allen's Gallinule, and Striped Crake), four herons (Dwarf Bittern, Black Heron, Black-headed Heron, and Yellow-billed Egret), three vultures (Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture and Rüppell's Vulture), Bateleur, and Horus Swift all of which similarly breed only in Africa south of the Sahel but have reached Europe. Previously, the extralimital occurrence of Southern Pochard, Red-billed Teal, Black-headed Lapwing, Marabou Stork, White-throated Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Diederik Cuckoo, and Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark in the Western Palearctic in Israel have been attributed to a vagrancy mechanism related to the Jordan Rift Valley itself being the northern limit of the Great Rift Valley but Diederik Cuckoos also in Cyprus in 1982 and again in 2023, and especially a Southern Carmine Bee-eater in Turkey at Kizilirmak Delta, Samsun on 21st May 2023 were game-changers. The status of Pied Crow in Europe is forever clouded by escaped or potentially ship-assisted birds but the revelation of a Red-breasted Swallow at 56° North may be reason enough to revisit African species in Britain previously presumed to be certain escapes, such as Northern Carmine Bee-eaters at Mundesley, Norfolk on 24th May 2002, and in 2018 at Cherington, Warwickshire on 20th May and Sutton Benger, Wiltshire on 13th-16th June.

Within Africa some populations of Red-breasted Swallow are long-distance migrants with birds breeding in southern Africa in the austral summer in July-March then migrating to winter far to the north in tropical Africa. Other populations breed in West Africa in the rainy season between April and August, and in East Africa in May and June. It becomes the fifth species of African hirundine on the Western Palearctic list all of which are ultra-rare: Banded Martin (Egypt 15th November 1998), Ethiopian Swallow (Israel 22nd-23rd March 1991 and Egypt 19th March 2004), White-throated Swallow (Saudi Arabaia 26th June 2021), and Preuss's Cliff Swallow (Cape Verde 13th September 2020).

The two adult Ross's Geese that have been present in Europe since 18th September 2023, and including one wearing a metal-ring fitted in Arctic Canada, having wintered in Belgium were in Estonia on 17th-24th April before they returned to Norway at Mo i Rana, Nordland on 9th May only for the metal-ringed bird to relocat to Finland at Kuopio, Juankoski alone on 12th-13th May; it has now visited Norway (twice), Denmark, the Netherlands (twice), Belgium, Germany, Estonia, and Finland. Elsewhere in Europe a dark morph Western Reef Egret was in Montenegro at Shkodra Lake on 8th May, a White-tailed Lapwing in Poland at Goczalkowice Reservoir, Slaskie on 10th, an Alpine Accentor in Denmark at Skagen, North Denmark on 11th, in France on 2th at Red-necked Nightjar at Rue Justin Bertrand, Aude, and a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater at La Batie-Montsaleon, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and on 13th May a juvenile Black Vulture and an adult Egyptian Vulture left Belgium for the Netherlands at Wuustwezel, Antwerp.

Otherwise the immature Yellow-billed Stork remained in Israel at Eilat, Southern District until at least 12th May and on 13th May a White-backed Vulture at Jbel Mousa, Tanger-Assilah was trapped and fitted with a GPS transmitter; the eigth record of this species in Morocco.

 

The coming week, 14th May-20th May, has, in history, seen many great rarities with firsts for Britain including on 15th May Marmora's Warbler in South Yorkshire at Midhope Moor in 1982, White-crowned Sparrow on the Shetland Isles on Fair Isle in 1977 with Thrush Nightingale new there on that day in 1911, Little Swift in Cornwall at Skewjack on 16th May 1981, White-winged Black Tern in Norfolk at Horsey Mere on 17th May 1853, Elegant Tern in Devon at Dawlish Warren on 18th May 2002, and Rock Thrush in Hertfordshire at Therfield on 19th May 1843, with first Irish from this week in the past being Western Black-eared Wheatear in County Wexford at Tuskar Rock on 16th May 1916, Great Reed Warbler in County Cork at Castletownsend on 16th May 1920, Rock Thrush in County Louth at Clogher Head on 20th May 1974, White-crowned Sparrow in County Cork at Ballinacarraige on 20th May 2003, and Bermuda Petrel at sea west northwest of Slea Head, County Galway on 19th May 2014. Whilst in Europe mega rarities have included Atlas Wheatear in Italy at Campo Imperatore, Abruzzo (14th May 2020), in Sweden a Great Black-headed Gull at Stora Veka, Hornborgasjön (17th May 2014) and a Kurdish Cinereous Bunting at Sundre, Gotland (17th May 2019), Yellow-headed Blackbird in the Netherlands at Polder Waal en Burg, Texel (18th May 1982), Yellow-shafted Flicker in Denmark at Ålborg (18th May 1972), Kurdish Wheatear in France at Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne (18th May 2015), and Pied Bush Chat in Finland at Utö, Korppoo (19th May 2017).

However, more likely to occur here over the coming seven days are those regular scarcities and rarities still to be recorded in 2024 such as Red-necked Phalarope, Caspian Tern, Black Stork, Collared Pratincole, or one or more of Broad-billed, Buff-breasted, Spotted, or Semipalmated Sandpiper.

 

Chris Batty

14 May 2024

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

 

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