Weekly birding round-up: 20 - 26 June 2025
Another calmish week elapsed midsummer – though try telling Irish birders it was a calm one, when they had a national first on their hands in Co.Donegal. Elsewhere though, it was fairly peaceful, and not entirely unexpectedly all things considered.
Coming in the wake of the recent twitchable Song Sparrow in Britain, and with several other notable Nearctic sparrows seen in recent weeks, maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that another Song Sparrow was found this past week – on this occasion on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 23rd-25th.
That said, this was the first ever Song Sparrow for Ireland, which puts the whole thing into a very different perspective indeed. For Irish birders, that’s truly big news.
Better yet, it not only stuck around allowing twitches to be made, it was also singing and showing well. A cooperative as well as a very welcome bird.
Further gilding the lily that’s been spring and summer 2025 for wayward American sparrows, another White-throated Sparrow was found during the past week – on Shetland, at Sumburgh Head on 25th.
Shetland’s far from a stranger to a White-throated Sparrow, let alone a spring or summer bird. Fully 14 of the 17 Shetland records to date have come in the months of May – July, after all, so this week’s bird falls firmly into that honourable tradition.
Given those 17 birds account for around a third of all British records of the species, that’s a significant proportion that have turned up at this time of year. And yet, little wonder, this was still a locally popular individual on Shetland, attracting admirers until it went to roost in the evening of 25th. By the morning of 26th, it had done a bunk. All in all, probably not a long wait before Shetland’s next spring or summer bird…
Of passing interest, our other recent example of the species remained singing somewhere in Highland & Caithness this week on 20th, with still no plans to arrange access to see it.
Also still present in Shetland this past week, the recent Black-winged Pratincole at Loch of Spiggie was showing little sign of moving on any day just yet, remaining present there until 26th.
Unlike the aforementioned White-throated Sparrow, the pratincole is far from a semi-regular species up there in the isles, so this remained a bird to savour for locals and visitors alike last week.
The summer seawatching season continued to show green shoots of promise, with more Wilson’s Petrel noted during the past week. Inevitably, birds were seen at sea from the Scilly pelagics – three birds on 23rd, and six individuals on 26th – but land-based observers got their dues too, with single birds seen in Cornwall at The Lizard on 23rd, and Porthgwarra on 24th. A further bird was seen from the Scillonian on 26th.
Pick of the shearwaters lately was a Barolo Shearwater seen from Pendeen on the morning of 26th.
Numbers of Cory’s Shearwater picked up nicely, with a little over 40 birds logged in recent days – the peak count being 20 seen from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 23rd. Pendeen also accounted for Great Shearwater on 23rd and 24th, while another was seen off Tresco (Scilly) on 23rd, and final birds from The Lizard (Cornwall) and the Scilly pelagic on 26th.
Around 160 Balearic Shearwater were seen this past week, also representing an increase on the preceding period – Portland (Dorset) was the centre of this activity, with a peak count of 100 birds from here on 22nd.
Small numbers of interesting skuas were still out there. Single Pomarine were seen at Brandon Point (Co.Kerry) on 22nd, Hodbarrow RSPB (Cumbria) on 23rd, Port Eynon Point (Glamorgan) on 24th, and Ballycotton (Co.Cork) on 26th; while single Long-tailed were noted at Waxham (Norfolk) on 23rd, in Hampshire at Lepe Beach and Hook-with-Warsash on 24th, and The Lizard (Cornwall) on 24th.
The recent female Little Bittern remained present on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 20th-24th, representing the best of the week’s long-legged beasties nationally.
The recent Purple Heron was also still present on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 22nd-26th.
Heading up country, a Night Heron was again seen at Middleton Lakes RSPB (Staffordshire) on 20th; another on Lewis (Western Isles) on 22nd; and a bird in Norfolk at Cley NWT on 22nd and again on 24th-25th.
Glossy Ibis meanwhile continued to maintain their summer presence, not least in Lincolnshire – here, one remained at Stallingborough still on 21st-25th, while a further sighting came again from Deeping Lakes LWT on 22nd and 25th; and one at Alkborough Flats NR on 26th. Elsewhere, one was again at Misson (Nottinghamshire) on 21st-26th; the Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) bird remained present on 20th-26th; one was again seen on Sanday (Orkney) on 21st; and one remained at Lough Atalia (Co.Galway) on 21st.
Barely a ripple this week on the midsummer rarity duckpond…
In Norfolk the Green-winged Teal remained at Welney WWT on 20th-21st.
The female (or hybrid) Ferruginous Duck remained in Cambridgeshire at Ouse Fen RSPB on 21st-22nd; the drake was still present at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 20th-26th; and a female was seen at Holme Pierrepont (Nottinghamshire) on 25th.
Finally, a first-summer drake Surf Scoter was a fine inland find at Audenshaw Reservoir (Greater Manchester) on 20th.
Not a great deal of change to report this week amongst the waders, albeit a little bit of shuffling of the pack in the relocation of the recent Collared Pratincole to Lincolnshire, where it settled in to Frampton Marsh RSPB on 22nd-26th.
Further up the east coast, the Pacific Golden Plover remained at Greatham Creek (Cleveland) on 20th-23rd; and again at Cowpen Marsh on 25th.
Ayrshire’s resident Western Sandpiper was hanging on at Maidens still on 20th-26th.
The recent White-rumped Sandpiper was still present in Co.Derry on the Bann Estuary on 22nd-24th.
A Spotted Sandpiper was found in West Yorkshire at Mirfield on 24th.
The recent Temminck’s Stint appeared in Shetland again at Loch of Spiggie on 23rd-24th.
Finally, a Lesser Yellowlegs was to be seen in Hampshire at Pennington Marshes on 21st-24th.
A further statement of intent came this week from the Scilly pelagic of 23rd, with two Sabine’s Gull logged that day. More to come in due course…
A fine adult Ring-billed Gull was present on Barra (Western Isles) on 23rd; and a first-summer on Benbecula (Western Isles) on 26th.
Our sole Glaucous Gull was seen on Orkney at Stenness again on 22nd.
A Caspian Tern was reported from Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex) on 22nd, while a possible passed over King George V Reservoir (London) that day also.
In Co.Dublin the adult male Least Tern was still to be found near Portrane on 20th-25th.
Northumberland’s summering adult female surinamensis American Black Tern was seen again at Coquet Island RSPB on 20th, and at Long Nanny on 23rd-25th.
Rare raptors were almost notable by their very absence this past week. A Black Kite was seen on 21st at Trevalgan (Cornwall)…
…while a Red-footed Falcon was reported on 24th over a garden at Firle (East Sussex).
A Montagu’s or Pallid Harrier was seen on 25th at Ivinghoe (Buckinghamshire); and a confirmed Montagu’s on 26th in Buckinghamshire around Cheddington.
Well, it had to happen eventually. A week went by without a confirmed Hoopoe sighting. Which isn’t to say some aren’t out there, but nobody’s telling in recent days…
Bee-eater continued to enliven the midsummer period, with single bird sightings particularly lighting up Lincolnshire – at Seacroft, Gibraltar Point NNR, and Anderby Creek on 22nd; and on 24th heard only at Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR and Rimac. Further singletons were noted at Dover (Kent) on 20th, and Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 22nd; while the recent Cornish bird remained at Land’s End on 20th, and another sighting came from Penzance on 25th.
A Red-backed Shrike was seen on Orkney Mainland at Holm on 25th.
A Woodchat Shrike was seen in Devon at Dawlish Warren NNR on 20th.
In Co.Galway the Pied Crow remained at Mervue on 24th-26th.
A Golden Oriole made a brief appearance at Seghill Landfill (Northumberland) on 24th.
In Fife, the male Iberian Chiffchaff remained singing in Tentsmuir Forest on 20th-22nd.
Great Reed Warbler remained on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 20th-26th, and at Hornsea Mere (East Yorkshire) on 20th-26th; while another was reported from Castleford (West Yorkshire) on 21st; and a final confirmed bird was present in song at Fairburn Ings RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 26th.
Cley (Norfolk) held onto its singing Marsh Warbler on 20th-23rd; additional singing birds this week were noted at East Chevington NR (Northumberland) on 20th-22nd, Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 21st, on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 22nd-24th, Tingwall (Shetland) on 22nd, and on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 23rd. A further probable was at Stockton-on-Tees (Cleveland) again briefly on 21st.
The Savi’s Warbler remained in song at Rimac (Lincolnshire) on 20th-26th.
An Icterine Warbler was present in Lerwick (Shetland) on 20th; with possible bird in song reported at Rutland Water (Leicestershire) on 20th also; and another Shetland bird on 25th in the south Mainland at Bakkasetter.
Fair Isle (Shetland) retained its recent male Eastern Subalpine Warbler on 22nd still.
The singing male white-spotted Bluethroat remained in Gloucestershire at Slimbridge WWT on 20th-26th.
A Rose-coloured Starling was seen at Burmarsh (Kent) on 23rd.
It was also Kent that gave us our weekly Serin, with one noted over Kingsdown on 22nd, and a singing bird that day at Bockhill.
Finally, the recent Ortolan Bunting in North Yorkshire remained in Wykeham Forest on 20th-26th.
Inevitably, our overseas news starts again in Iceland, where the Ancient Murrelet remained at Kopasker on 20th-21st.
In Sweden both recent territorial Wilson’s Snipe remained at Storsjö and at Kallkallhult still on 23rd. Better still, a Tibetan Sand Plover was found at Falsterbo on 22nd.
In Finland, a Dalmatian Pelican was making an impression on Aland on 20th.
In France, the Elegant Tern remained at Polder de Sebastopol on 23rd.
Italy’s territorial Pacific Swift remained settled in Cornaiano throughout the week on 20th-26th.
Well, that’s flaming June more or less done with for another year, and it’s fair to say that while the mercury certainly soared, the rarities were pretty red-hot too. What could the dying days of June and the dawning of July yield us?
History certainly tells us we needn’t write off the end of June, for the last four days of the month have delivered the high octane likes of Britain’s first Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, at Brean Down (Somerset) on 29th-30th June 2007 (the less said about that, generally, the better), and the Lark Sparrow at Landguard Point (Suffolk) on 29th June – 8th July 1981.
More realistically, it’s a good time for Marsh Sandpiper, and Gull-billed and White-winged Black Tern.
July picks up where June left off, with waders and terns still very much on the agenda, and more rarified fare from the past jostling for our attention – the 2007 Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross now at Messingham (Lincolnshire) on 2nd-3rd, and Fair Isle (Shetland) scoring Brown Flycatcher on 1st-2nd July 1992.
So we shouldn’t be too surprised if something mega this way comes – the week ahead is far from a write-off in that regard. Realistically, time spent looking in coastal locales for rare and scarce waders and terns is probably time well-spent.
Jon Dunn
27 June 2025
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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