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Weekly birding round-up: 10 - 16 Sept 2024

As the first east coast fall of the autumn faded quickly into the year’s rear view mirrors this week, westerlies cracked open the door for some vagrant birds from another point of the compass altogether. While nobody seriously expects a repeat of the Great Fall of 2023, when Nearctic passerines poured into Britain and Ireland in unprecedented volume, it’s still a joy to be reminded that almost anything’s possible at this point in the year. And speaking of boundless possibilities, we’ve some decent seabirds again this week…

 

Almost half a century since Britain’s first Tennessee Warbler blew into Fair Isle (Shetland) on 6th September 1975, followed a little over a fortnight later by Britain’s second record, also on Fair Isle, the jewel in Shetland’s birding crown was at it again this week with another bird – the third for Fair Isle, and the fourth (or fifth, should last year’s Fetlar bird be accepted by the BBRC) for Shetland as a whole.

Found on Fair Isle on 15th, this week’s bird remained settled on the island as the week drew to a close on 16th.

Last year was, as we all know, a stellar one for American wood warblers in Britain and Ireland, with the headlines and the bushes seemingly dripping with birds at the height of it. Amongst that colourful cast were more Tennessee Warblers - while the British list presently sits on six accepted past records (and Ireland just the one), that’s set to change when the Rarity Report is finally published later this year – 2023 saw fresh birds found in the Western Isles, Shetland and Co.Galway. 2023 may have been an anomalous blip where Nearctic vagrancy was concerned, but Tennessee Warbler does seem to be turning up with a little more regularity these days. Was this week’s Shetland bird the last of autumn 2024? You wouldn’t necessarily bet against another should the wind swing to the west again.

Tennessee Warbler feasting on aphids in the angelica heads @FI_Obs today - a lovely little glowing gem of a bird! pic.twitter.com/OmnXMi0acq

— Alex Penn (@AlexPenn_1) September 15, 2024

 

Similarly, it doesn’t seem too preposterous that we’ll enjoy another Catharus thrush before the autumn’s out. Our 2024 account opened this week with a Swainson’s Thrush found on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 10th.

The Western Isles – indeed, the Scottish islands as a whole – are no strangers to wayward thrushes from across the Atlantic these days. Where back in the day we reasonably expected their kind to be found on Scilly, the focus has shifted north in the past couple of decades. Since the turn of the century, 23 Swainson’s Thrushes alone have been found on Scotland’s islands – an impressive haul when one considers that to the end of 2022 as a whole, Britain has just 49 accepted historic records on the books.

It’s much the same story with Grey-cheeked Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Veery. Should we get another Catharus this autumn, recent form suggests it will be in the north.

 

Fortune, they say, favours the brave.

Ask anyone who’s spent a few days sitting in the teeth of a gale on a headland staring out to sea hoping for a rare seabird to blow their way, and they might beg to differ. All too often that effort isn’t richly rewarded.

Then again, parking yourself on a headland with a thermos flask of tea, some Snickers bars, and the knowledge your car, within walking distance, can whisk you to a hot shower, a square meal, and a soft warm bed at the end of the day… that’s not really brave, is it?

Bravery looks like this. Chartering a 22 metre steel hulled yacht, and heading out to the continental shelf edge, where Europe drops vertiginously beneath the waves to the abyssal plains far below, where rich upwellings of nutrients billow towards the surface, fuelling an explosion of marine life, attracting cetaceans and seabirds alike. And that, by the way, is rather a long way offshore – bravery, in this instance, means spending a week on that yacht some 160-180 nautical miles southwest of Scilly.

It’s easy to say, after a few hours on a pelagic just off Scilly or Cornwall, that you’d be well up for that. But really? Challenger yachts are no gin palaces. They were designed to sail around the world… the wrong way, against the prevailing wind. They’re tough, working vessels. And the whole being at sea thing revolves – and pitches, and yaws – around one core tenet. It’s rarely still out there. A week at sea can be, if you’re prone to motion sickness, an appalling eternity.

But. Imagine this – the possibility of some spectacular seabirds, maybe some of the rarest, perhaps even a first for Britain? No pain, no gain…

Step forward the man of the moment – Scott Reid, a familiar face to those who’ve headed to Scilly hoping for a decent seabird or two, was part of the genesis of chartering Challenger 1, and joined by a small crew of intrepid birders, headed out into the Atlantic this past week. News broke on 16th of just how well that had worked out for them…

Modest numbers of large shearwaters, in the hundreds; a few skuas, with only

Pomarine breaking (and only just) into double figures; three Sabine’s Gull; and a respectable 88 Grey Phalarope. Put like that, it sounds like a lot of effort for what might pass for a normal day at Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) in recent weeks.

But that’s not the whole story. Because the rarities came, and oh sweet god of Pterodroma, what rarities they were. There were Wilson’s Petrels, of course there were – almost 200 of them – but on 10th, the first Band-rumped Petrel sp of the trip hove into view. Or was there more than one? Potentially three birds were observed during a three hour period drifting eight miles over the Dangaard and Explorer Canyons. While the team felt the sightings probably involved two individuals, it couldn’t be ruled out that all three observations involve the same bird, so erring on the side of caution, just one bird was recorded for the day.

Not that this was a problem – a further sighting of Band-rumped Petrel sp came on 13th and, by way of a supporting cast, a single Barolo Shearwater on 10th was followed by two birds on 11th, and a further individual on 12th.

And what else? On 11th, a Fea's/Desertas Petrel spent many minutes circling the yacht. Initially thought this might be confirmed as Britain’s first Desertas Petrel, the identification of this dusky Pterodroma has yet to be concluded. Irrespective of the outcome, what is not in doubt, is that the band of birders on-board Challenger 1 got just rewards for their audacious trip to the edge of the continental shelf.

It’s probably worth noting, in passing, that the legal definition of British territorial waters states that these extend 12 nautical miles from land. That said, our Exclusive Economic Zone goes out as far as 200 miles from the nearest low tide mark of British land, and for the purposes of the British list, BOURC is happy that this wider area encompasses the scope of what’s within their remit.

The recent admission of Madeiran Petrel onto Category A of the British list is an illuminating and timely case in point – the bird in question went unseen, but thanks to a GPS tag it bore, it was logged in British waters some 285 km southwest of Bishop Rock (Scilly) on 16th-17th November 2021, and avoided being lumped beneath the Band-rumped Petrel sp umbrella that encompasses Madeiran, Monteiro’s and Cape Verde Storm-petrel.

The rarities committees are certainly going to have plenty of submissions to sink their teeth into after this past week’s pioneering pelagic…

 

Relegated from the headlines solely on the basis that there’s been a few of them in Britain and Ireland already this year, that’s in no way to undermine how pleasing the South Polar Skua will have been for those concerned off the quay at Brandon Bay (Co.Kerry) on 10th.

Numbers of the scarce skuas continued to pour past British and Irish coastal vantage points – around 140 Pomarine Skua were logged, with a peak count of 28 birds seen from Dun Na Mbo (Co.Mayo) on 10th; and some 130 Long-tailed Skua, of which 57 seen from Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) on 10th were the peak count.

Numbers of Cory’s Shearwater contracted noticeably, with just 2,250 birds seen over the course of the week, of which the peak count of 531 seen off St Martin’s (Scilly) on 10th accounted for a good proportion.

Great Shearwater on the other hand continued to be seen en masse, with around 14,750 birds logged during the week. Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) provided a goodly proportion of those, with 9,850 birds seen from here on 10th.

Numbers of Balearic Shearwater were paltry stuff, with a mere 300 or so birds recorded across the region, of which 104 seen from North Foreland (Kent) in the morning of 16th were the best tally.

Eyes fixed out to sea, however, had their just rewards, for Fea’s Petrel sp enjoyed a good week. The week began strongly in Ireland, where two were noted on 10th passing Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo); while also on 10th a bird was tracked up the north-eastern coast of England, heading north past Anderby Creek (Lincolnshire) and presumably also accounting for the probable seen heading north past Withernsea (East Yorkshire) later in the morning. Could the selfsame bird also be that seen on 12th passing North Ronaldsay (Orkney)? Another was seen on 12th from the Scilly pelagic.

The Scilly pelagic of 12th also notched up a Wilson’s Petrel; further birds this week were seen from Irish watchpoints – singletons past Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) on 10th and 11th; one past Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 11th; and two seen from Malin Head (Co.Donegal) on 11th. Discounting the 192 birds seen from the Challenger Expedition on 9th-15th, a final bird was seen from Challenger 1 between Wolf Rock and Falmouth (Cornwall) on 16th.

The week was a good one for Leach’s Petrel driven past sea-watchers, with around 650 birds in all logged in Britain and Ireland. It was the latter that enjoyed the highest counts, with Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) scoring 40 birds on 10th, and 81 birds the following day.

A possible White-billed Diver was reported from Cley (Norfolk) on 13th.

We finish the seabirds in Kent, where a Brown Booby was seen passing St Margaret’s Bay on 10th. Could this be one and the same bird last seen at Sandwich Bay on 8th? It feels like there may be a bird hanging around at the eastern reaches of the English Channel, motivation, were any needed, for Kentish sea-watchers to keep a keen eye trained out to sea.

 

We’ll kick off the long-legged beasties also in Kent, where the recent Night Heron remained at Oare Marshes KWT on 11th-14th.

East Anglia provided our Purple Heron sightings this week, with one still to be found at Gifford’s Flash (Suffolk) on 10th-16th, and another found in Norfolk at Colney GPs on 14th.

Numbers of Glossy Ibis recorded in England soared this week, thanks in no small part to a flock of 13 birds seen at Titchfield Haven NNR (Hampshire) on 14th. Elsewhere, two settled at Etton Maxey Pits (Cambridgeshire) on 13th-14th; and two were seen at Deeping Lakes LWT (Lincolnshire) on 14th-16th. Single birds were noted again at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) on 10th-15th, Dungeness (Kent) still on 11th-15th, and Fremington Pill (Devon) still on 13th-16th. Further birds were seen over Burnham Overy (Norfolk) on 10th, Thornham (Norfolk) on 12th, and Thornton Reservoir (Leicestershire) on 14th; at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 12th; at Stithians Reservoir (Cornwall) on 13th; at Beacon Ponds NR (East Yorkshire) on 15th; and at Boyton Marshes RSPB (Suffolk) on 16th. In Ireland, it fell to Co.Wexford for sightings again of a single bird, at Tacumshin on 11th-13th and 16th, and Lady’s Island Lake on 14th.

A Black Stork was seen over Dursey Island (Co.Cork) on 15th.

Finally, a Corncrake was present on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 15th.

 

Our weekly dabble on the rarity duckpond begins this week in Essex, where the first-summer drake Canvasback remained at Abberton Reservoir on 10th-15th.

At least two of the recent trio of Ferruginous Duck remained at Shawell (Leicestershire) until 16th; elsewhere, the drake was still present at Etton Maxey Pits (Cambridgeshire) on 10th-16th, with a drake seen on 12th-14th at West Deeping (Lincolnshire), and a drake again at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 16th.

The eclipse drake Lesser Scaup remained on Belvide Reservoir (Staffordshire) on 10th-16th; a drake was found on Blagdon Lake (Somerset) on 16th.

A drake Ring-necked Duck was to be seen on Orkney Mainland at Loch of Ayre on 11th-15th.

In East Yorkshire the Blue-winged Teal remained at Tophill Low NR on 14th.

And finally, a sudden flush of Surf Scoter - three seen on 10th at Inch (Co.Kerry), and one on 15th in Brandon Bay; and in Cornwall sightings off Pendower on 12th-16th, and on 14th near Porthoustock.

 

The weekly waders kick off once more with the elusive male Hudsonian Godwit, still present on the saltmarsh near Flint Castle (Flintshire) on 10th, but not seen there after that date. One wouldn’t bet against it popping out of the woodwork at least once more before the month is out.

Co.Kerry supplied the week’s Baird’s Sandpiper sightings, at Ferriter’s Cove on 11th and Trabeg on 12th-15th.

Our only White-rumped Sandpiper of recent days was the Irish individual once again on Rogerstown Estuary (Co.Dublin) on 14th.

A Semipalmated Sandpiper was found on Lewis (Western Isles) on 15th-16th.

Numbers of Pectoral Sandpiper nudged into double figures this week, with a little over a dozen birds recorded in Britain and Ireland as a whole. Starting in Ireland, one remained at The Cunnigar (Co.Waterford) on 13th-15th, and two at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 16th. British birds meanwhile lingered at Belvide Reservoir (Staffordshire) still on 10th; at Hickling Broad NWT (Norfolk) still on 10th-15th; at Davidstow Airfield (Cornwall) still on 11th-16th; and on Westray (Orkney) still on 12th-13th. Additional birds were seen at Dungeness (Kent) on 10th-14th; Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 11th-16th; Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) on 13th-16th; at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 14th-16th; at Shotton Pools (Northumberland) on 14th-16th; in Northumberland at Beal on 15th; in Kent on 15th-16th at Elmley NNR; and on 16th on Fair Isle (Shetland), and at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire).

In Co.Wexford the recent Buff-breasted Sandpiper remained at Tacumshin on 11th-16th.

The Temminck’s Stint seen lately at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) remained there on 10th-11th.

Three Long-billed Dowitcher were seen in recent days – one on Orkney’s North Ronaldsay on 13th; another in Devon at Dawlish Warren NNR on 13th and 16th, and off Exmouth on 14th-15th; and one still at The Cull (Co.Wexford) on 12th-14th.

The recent Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Adwick Washlands RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 10th, relocating to Old Moor RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 11th; while another was found on 13th-14th at Vange Marsh RSPB (Essex).

Our recent gold rush of American Golden Plover continued this week, with just over half a dozen birds noted. One found in Cornwall coming in off the sea at Porthgwarra on 13th settled nearby at Polgigga later in the afternoon, remaining there the following day; one remained on South Uist (Western Isles) on 10th-16th; and another on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 11th-16th; adults were also found on Sanday (Orkney) on 11th-13th, and at Dungeness (Kent) on 14th and 16th; another on Lewis (Western Isles) on 15th; and on 16th at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk). In Co.Wexford, an adult was found at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th.

A Dotterel was reported from Aqualate Park (Staffordshire) on 10th; another was seen on 15th at Goswick (Northumberland); and one passed over Calf of Man (Isle of Man) on 16th.

In Cambridgeshire, Black-winged Stilt remained at Ouse Fen RSPB on 13th-16th.

The week proved a good one for wayward Red-necked Phalarope, with three individuals seen – one on 13th-16th at Scotney GPs (East Sussex); another at Church Norton (West Sussex) on 13th; and another on 13th at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk).

Discounting the total from the Challenger pelagic, a shade over 40 Grey Phalarope were noted across Britain and Ireland this week, with a peak count of eight birds seen from Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) on 11th.

 

Sabine’s Gull continued to pour past our coasts this week, with a chunky combined total of some 175 birds logged during the week in Britain and Ireland as a whole. Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) again enjoyed the best of them, with a peak count there of 24 birds noted on 11th.

The Bonaparte’s Gull was again seen at Ballygally (Co.Antrim) on 15th.

The adult Ring-billed Gull remained at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 12th-14th.

An Iceland Gull was reported from Troon (Ayrshire) on 11th; and was followed by further Scottish sightings on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 13th, Spey Bay (Moray) on 14th, and Barra (Western Isles) on 15th-16th. A Glaucous Gull was found on 15th on Unst (Shetland).

Juvenile White-winged Black Tern remained at Dungeness RSPB (Kent) on 10th-13th, and at Theale GPs (Berkshire) on 10th-16th. Another was seen on 14th-16th in Cornwall at Maer Lake CBWPS.

 

A second-winter male Pallid Harrier, found in Dorset on Portland on 10th, was a superb county bird, and a keenly anticipated first for Portland. Seen coming in off the sea in brisk westerlies, it later reappeared at the Bill end of the island, allowing those present time enough to connect before it disappeared, presumably carrying on out to sea.

Either a Pallid or Montagu’s Harrier ringtail was seen heading south over Bishop’s Dyke (Hampshire) on 15th.

Belated news came of a juvenile Red-footed Falcon present and showing well in Hartlepool (Cleveland) on 10th, present there since 6th. Another was found in Kent at Elmley NNR on 15th-16th.

Finally, a Rough-legged Buzzard was reported from Scourie Bay (Highland & Caithness) on 11th.

 

After the prior week’s flurry of birds, things calmed down somewhat in the week just gone on the passerine front. This was no better illustrated than with Greenish Warbler - just three birds were noted in recent days, one still present in Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) on 10th-12th, and additional birds found at in Cornwall at Porthgwarra on 15th-16th, and at Land’s End on 16th, compared with the 20 birds logged in the week beforehand.

Two widely scattered Yellow-browed Warbler were seen – one in Norfolk at Holkham on 11th, and another further west on The Lizard on 13th. An unconfirmed report of another bird came on 13th from Seaton GPs (Kent).

Up on North Ronaldsay (Orkney), the recent Booted Warbler remained on the island on 10th.

A Paddyfield Warbler was trapped and ringed on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 16th.

A Marsh Warbler was trapped and ringed on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 13th.

Further lingering warblers included the Melodious still present on Brownstown Head (Co.Waterford) on 10th-11th; and the Icterine still at Wells Woods (Norfolk) on 10th.

A shade over a dozen Barred Warbler were logged this week, with Orkney and Shetland holding most of their number; two lingered on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 12th, and two were present on Papa Westray (Orkney) on 16th. Away from the northern isles, single birds were seen on Achill Island (Co.Mayo) on 10th; on Barra (Western Isles) still on 10th-13th; on Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th-13th; on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 15th-16th; and in Kent at Langdon Cliffs on 16th.

Wryneck proved enduring, albeit in nowhere near the three-figure numbers we’d enjoyed in the preceding week – around 50 birds were logged in recent days.

A dozen Red-backed Shrike were noted during the week, with two birds settled at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) on 11th-16th notable, and two present at Porth Joke (Cornwall) on 14th too. Proving extremely popular further north, the pallidirostris Steppe Grey Shrike at Belhaven Bay (Lothian) on 10th-16th was both confiding and highly photogenic.

A handful of Hoopoe were found lately – one in Tonbridge (Kent) on 12th, another at Stetchworth (Cambridgeshire) on 14th, and one in a garden in Coity (Glamorgan), also on 14th.

A Short-toed Lark was settled on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 11th-13th.

Two Bluethroat lingered on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 10th-16th; another was seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 15th.

A handful of Red-breasted Flycatcher were seen this week – in Shetland, two at Hoswick on 11th left one in their wake there on 12th-13th; while another was at Hillwell on 15th. On Scilly, one was seen on St Martin’s on 13th and 16th, with a bird reported the following day from St Agnes. Another bird was reported heard only at Barns Ness (Lothian) on 13th. On 16th, a small flurry of arrivals – birds at Landguard NR (Suffolk), and on Lundy (Devon).

A Tawny Pipit was found on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 14th.

A possible Blue-headed Wagtail was present on St Agnes (Scilly) on 16th.

Shetland held a near monopoly on Common Rosefinch this week – Foula alone enjoyed five birds on 11th-12th; two were on Out Skerries on 14th-15th; and singletons on Fair Isle on 11th-15th, Whalsay on 15th-16th, and Unst on 15th-16th, the latter bird joined elsewhere on the island on 16th by three birds at Haroldswick. Away from Shetland, one was trapped and ringed on Calf of Man (Isle of Man) on 15th; one was seen on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 13th; one was found down on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 15th-16th; a bird was found on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 16th; and another trapped and ringed at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 16th.

Ortolan Bunting were noted on Portland (Dorset) on 10th, at Galley Head (Co.Cork) on 12th, on 15th-16th on Fair Isle (Shetland) and at Mayon (Cornwall) and, on 16th, on Inner Farne (Northumberland) and at St Catherine’s Point (Isle of Wight).

Last but not least, a Little Bunting was found on Lundy (Devon) on 14th-15th.

 

Starting the overseas news in Norway, a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin was a welcome find at Giske on 11th.

In Denmark, the Sandhill Crane remained at Bygolm Vegle until 16th.

The mega pelagic action this week was not confined to the outer limits of British waters – six miles off the coast of northern Spain on 15th a Cape Verde Shearwater was seen. One for the next Challenger Expedition…

Meanwhile, out on the Azores, the recent Little Blue Heron remained on Terceira on 11th still; and a Short-billed Dowitcher was also on Terceira on 15th-16th, joined there by a Wilson’s Snipe on 16th.

 

The coming week begins with a lump of high pressure parked over Britain and Ireland, ushering some light easterlies our way before it usefully sets itself over Scandinavia, and the easterlies freshen anew.

So it’s game on again for eastern vagrants.

And it’s the third week of September – traditionally a week with very rich pickings where rarities are concerned. You can practically take your pick from the top shelf of keenly anticipated Sibes - Siberian and White’s Thrushes; Thick-billed, Lanceolated, and Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers…

…and as for buntings, we’ve past records of Cretzschmar’s, Yellow-browed, and Pallas’s Reed, amongst others.

Plenty of food for thought, then. Some time on the east coast this coming weekend could be time well spent. If nothing else, it’s surely a good time to add Citrine Wagtail to your self-found or patch list.

 

Jon Dunn

17 Sept 2024

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

 

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