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Weekly birding round-up: 12 - 18 Sept

Low pressure rattling in off the Atlantic calmed things down somewhat this past week, with the door (mostly) slammed in the face of interesting passerines coming our way from Europe and further east afield. What the birding gods take away with one hand they give with another, so a decent flurry of Nearctic waders made it our way during the week. Nothing to truly set the pagers and phones a-dancing, but a fair variety of species, and in some numbers too. All of our headline birds, however, bucked the trend…

 

Going somewhat against the run of play rather this week, a decent eastern passerine somehow, against all the odds, made it to Britain. Not only that, but managed to get as far west as the Western Isles. Full marks for determination to the Isabelline Wheatear found on Lewis on 16th.

Still present on the island at Eoropie on 18th, this was the first for the Western Isles – perhaps even a slightly overdue one, but certainly a very welcome bird indeed at a local level.

 

Given the strongly Nearctic flavour of our weekly waders in recent days, a Terek Sandpiper also feels like something of a leftfield bird, but one was found in the late afternoon of 14th at Ballysadare Bay (Co.Sligo), present for but a while before being flushed and, alas, no further sign of it was forthcoming.

This too was a county first, so some significant bragging rights for the fortunate finder. Given one needs to go back almost a decade to the bird that spent a few days at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) in August 2016 for the last twitchable Irish example of the species, this would have been a popular bird had it but stuck.

 

Just as the Round Up was being put to bed on Thursday evening, all sleepy and heading off to dream of Septembers past, we were rudely awoken with breaking news of another mega on the Western Isles this past week – a Lesser Kestrel present there on 16th.

Will Miles’s fabulous annotated images make a forensic closed case of the bird – hand on heart, how many of us might have let this slip through our fingers in the field in the pre-digital photography age?

Pleasingly, this completes a hat-trick for the headlines this week – three county firsts, for this was the first Lesser Kestrel for the Western Isles. Alas, no sign of it on St Kilda on 18th, so the bird appears to have moved on to pastures new.

 

Seawatching certainly wasn’t without its rewards this week, with some chunky numbers of the larger shearwaters noted over the course of recent days – some 28,850 Great Shearwater (including 20,000 birds logged off Galley Head (Co.Cork) on 14th), and a much more modest 1,350 Cory’s Shearwater, respectively.

Surely there were rarer prizes out there for the picking this week? Well, yes. A Yelkouan Shearwater was seen heading south past Bardsey (Gwynedd) in the evening of 16th… and a Barolo Shearwater going west past Pendeen (Cornwall) in the late afternoon of 15th.

Some 3,500 Balearic Shearwater complete the shearwater set this week, with a peak count of 652 seen from Berry Head (Devon) on 14th.

Wilson’s Petrel remained far from done with us for the year, with a shade over a dozen birds logged in recent days in Britain and Ireland as a whole. Irish trios were noted on 15th from Brandon Point (Co.Kerry) and Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare); two were seen on 14th from Galley Head (Co.Cork); two from Porthgwarra (Cornwall) on 13th; and two on 18th from the Scilly pelagic. Single birds were seen from the Scillonian on 13th, and on 15th from St Ives and Pendeen (Cornwall). Another was reported on 15th from Helvick Head (Co.Waterford).

Meanwhile, around 380 Leach’s Petrel were logged around Britain and Ireland this week, with the largest count of their kind coming again from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare), where 95 were seen on 15th.

Numbers of choice skuas picked up a little during the week, with some 60 Pomarine Skua and 95 Long-tailed Skua recorded during the week. The best count of either came from the latter species, with eight Long-tailed Skua seen from Cloghane (Co.Kerry) on 15th.

 

Oof, Glossy Ibis… Am fairly sure many a birder has been travelling to work this past week with half an eye off the road* or cast out the carriage window, and their thoughts turning to the likelihood of a small party of these displaced birds suddenly hoving into view…

* not when they were at the wheel of a car. Obvs.

So what to say about their kind? Still huge numbers present in Britain and Ireland alike, though perhaps less evidence of a continued arrival of their kind. Suffice to say there were hundreds out there, some settled down – like the minimum of 99 birds logged at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 12th – and others fragmented and a-wandering, as sightings came from all over Britain and Ireland again this week.

A couple of Purple Heron make up the remaining long-legged beastie interest this week, seen on 14th at Lower Tamar Lake (Devon / Cornwall) and Stithians Reservoir (Cornwall).

Fair Isle (Shetland) was the place to be this week for wayward crakes, with a Corncrake there on 14th, and a Spotted Crake seen on 15th. Another Shetland Corncrake was found on 14th on Mainland at Tingwall; and one on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 17th.

 

Rather quiet times anew on the rarity duckpond this week, with little new to report upon. Foremost in their number were the two drake White-winged Scoter again seen in Lunan Bay (Angus) on 12th.

A drake Surf Scoter was also seen this week passing Rhos Point (Conwy) on 16th; and the regular drake remained off Musselburgh (Lothian) on 17th.

In Staffordshire a drake Lesser Scaup was present at Aqualate Mere on 14th.

In Clyde the drake Ring-necked Duck was seen once more on the Forth & Clyde Canal at Speirs Wharf on 14th.

Finally for the quackers, the recent drake Ferruginous Duck remained at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 12th-18th.

The Snow Goose was still present this week in Ayrshire at Fail Loch on 18th.

 

It fell to American waders to do the bulk of the heavy lifting this week, with a decent arrival on our shores comprising both quality and quantity lately.

Once again, however, we need to get the resident Western Sandpiper in Ayrshire out of the way – there it was this week, still present at Maidens on 12th-18th. Moving on…

In Ireland a Semipalmated Sandpiper was found in Co.Kerry at Trabeg on 15th-16th.

Baird’s Sandpiper enjoyed a good week, and threatened to break the double figure ceiling for Britain and Ireland as a whole. Lingering birds remained at Port Mor Beach (Co.Mayo) on 12th, and in Cornwall at Siblyback Lake on 12th-13th. Further sightings came on 12th from Faulmore Bay Beach (Co.Mayo); on 12th-14th at Myroe Levels (Co.Derry); on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 13th-16th, with two birds present there on 16th; on Papa Westray (Orkney) on 14th; on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 14th; and at Ballycotton (Co.Cork) on 15th.

A White-rumped Sandpiper settled at Black Rock (Co.Kerry) on 12th-17th, while one also remained this week at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th-18th; and a bird was present in Suffolk at Hazlewood Marshes SWT on 17th.

Numbers of Buff-breasted Sandpiper swelled this week with 19 birds recorded, and some small groups in their number – three remained at Colliford Lake (Cornwall) on 12th-13th, while two were present at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th-18th.

Numbers of Pectoral Sandpiper increased a little more this week, with 28 birds recorded across the region. Notable among them were three at Davidstow Airfield (Cornwall) on 15th; two at Siblyback Lake (Cornwall) on 12th-13th; two at Cley (Norfolk) on 13th, and Salthouse on 17th-18th; and two at Ballycotton (Co.Cork) on 12th-13th.

A couple of Spotted Sandpiper pitched down this week, a timely reminder to give a ‘Common Sand’ more than a cursory glance at this time of year in particular – birds were found on 13th at Bude (Cornwall), and on 13th-15th on St Mary’s (Scilly) and on 18th on St Agnes.

Three Temminck’s Stint were logged this past week – one still present in Essex at Holland Haven CP on 12th; another still in Worcestershire at Throckmorton Landfill on 12th-13th; and another in East Yorkshire at Welwick Saltmarsh YWT on 13th.

American Golden Plover comfortably eclipsed the double figure threshold this week, with 17 birds in total logged, including a couple of sites hosting two birds – an adult and a juvenile were present on South Uist (Western Isles) on 14th-15th, with the adult at least still there on 16th; and two adults were present at Black Rock (Co.Kerry) on 16th.

Dotterel meanwhile continued to crop up here and there – four were present at Jury’s Gap (East Sussex) on 13th; two on St Martin’s (Scilly) on 14th-18th, and one on St Mary’s on 18th; and single birds at Burbage Moor (South Yorkshire) on 13th-18th, on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 16th, and heard only at Lydd Ranges (Kent) on 14th.

The juvenile Marsh Sandpiper remained settled at Musselburgh (Lothian) on 12th-18th; and one was again seen in Gwent at Peterstone Wentlooge on 14th.

A Lesser Yellowlegs was found this week in Cambridgeshire at Isleham Washes on 12th, Ouse Washes RSPB on 13th, and Etton Maxey Pits on 16th-18th. Another was seen in Co.Kerry at Kenmare on 15th.

Up in Orkney, the Long-billed Dowitcher was again seen on Sanday on 13th-17th.

Speaking of birds coming out of the woodwork again in Scotland, the juvenile Black-winged Pratincole was once more seen this week in Highland & Caithness at Loch Calder on 13th-14th.

Red-necked Phalarope were an increasingly prominent feature of recent days, with nine birds seen – two at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk) on 12th-13th alas became one when a bird was taken by a Hobby, leaving one individual to remain there until 16th; further birds were seen on 13th at Spurn (east Yorkshire), on 14th at Kilnsea, and on 17th-18th at Easington; on 13th at Upper Bittell Reservoir (Worcestershire); on 15th at Kilmore Quay (Co.Wexford); on 15th-18th at Lisvane Reservoir (Glamorgan); and on 17th at Cheddar Reservoir (Somerset), Chetwode (Buckinghamshire), and Whitburn CP (Co.Durham). The Somerset bird remained there on 18th, and another was found that day in Kent at Greatstone-on-Sea.

Grey Phalarope enjoyed another strong week, with around 440 birds logged across the region. Seawatchers reaped the rewards of the strong westerlies throwing them towards land, with a peak count of 60 birds coming from Brandon Point (Co.Kerry) on 15th.

And we finish the weekly waders in Ireland with a Nearctic flourish – on 12th a couple of Wilson’s Phalarope were found, one at Doonbeg (Co.Clare), and another at Portmore Lough RSPB (Co.Antrim), the latter bird remaining present until 14th. On 16th two more were found in Co.Kerry at Ballyheigue, and another at Black Rock. On 17th one remained in Co.Kerry at Ballyheigue, with a singleton also that day at Carrahane Strand; while in Co.Antrim a bird was seen at Lough Mourne, this one staying until the following day. Not a bad overall showing for a bird that in some years is absent altogether.

 

A little over 600 Sabine’s Gull were seen during the past week, again reflecting the favourable seawatching conditions for their admirers. It fell, as it so often does, to Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) to reap the best of them, a count of 124 birds seen from there on 15th.

Rarer fare still was on offer this week, with an adult Franklin’s Gull seen on Westray (Orkney) on 15th.

The recent Laughing Gull was again seen at Trabeg (Co.Kerry) on 16th-17th.

Back on Orkney, the adult Glaucous Gull remained on Mainland at Stenness on 12th.

Lastly, White-winged Black Tern were seen this week at Marshside RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 13th-18th, and in Pembrokeshire at Fishguard Harbour on 14th-15th and 18th, and Strumble Head on 16th.

 

In Kent, a first-summer Red-footed Falcon settled on the Isle of Sheppey at Elmley NNR on 14th-17th.

A possible ringtail Montagu’s Harrier was seen in Cambridgeshire at Holme Fen on 16th. On 16th a female was seen in Cornwall heading west over Pendeen.

Finally, a Black Kite was seen in Cornwall this week at Trebehor on 12th, Polgigga again on 16th and 18th, and Porthgwarra also again on 16th.

 

There was certainly still a whiff of autumnal passerine passage in the air this week, but on the whole it was something of a damp squib. Still, it’s early days yet and we shouldn’t be expecting too much, too soon…

On the warbler front, fairly quiet. Starting in the north, two Greenish Warbler were present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 15th.

North Ronaldsay (Orkney) saw an Arctic Warbler trapped and ringed there on 15th, and still present on 16th. Another was present on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 16th.

A few more Yellow-browed Warbler trickled in this week – two on Fair Isle on 14th; one in Suffolk at Aldeburgh on 14th also; and further Shetland birds on Fetlar on 15th, Mainland at Aith on 16th, on Out Skerries on 17th, and Unst on 18th.

A Western Bonelli’s Warbler made landfall on St Martin’s (Scilly) on 16th-18th.

Staying on Scilly a moment, an Icterine Warbler was found on Bryher on 16th, and a Melodious Warbler on St Mary’s on 13th-18th. A further example of the latter was in East Sussex on Beachy Head on 14th.

A Blyth’s Reed Warbler was on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 17th.

Mainland Shetland got itself a Marsh Warbler at Hillswick on 18th.

Barred Warbler meanwhile had a distinctly northern distribution – two were present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 13th, with one on Mainland on 15th-16th in Lerwick. North Ronaldsay (Orkney) had a bird on 12th, with Sanday also retaining one on 13th-15th; the Western Isles landed birds on Barra on 12th-13th, and South Uist on 16th; and Tiree (Argyll & Bute) a bird on 18th. Away from the Scottish isles, one was found at Easington (East Yorkshire) on 12th; and another trapped and ringed at Whiteness Head (Highland & Caithness) on 17th, with a second bird in the county that day at Balnakeil.

In Suffolk, at least three Zitting Cisticola remained at Walberswick until 14th.

Around a dozen Hoopoe were logged during the week, comfortably overshadowed by numbers of Wryneck - of the latter, some 40 birds were found in recent days.

A Golden Oriole was seen at Greenlaw (Borders) on 14th.

Just over half a dozen Red-backed Shrike represented a halving of their numbers here in the preceding week – one remained at Dungeness (Kent) on 12th-16th; and further birds were seen on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 12th; on Fetlar (Shetland) on 12th-15th; on Out Skerries (Shetland) on 13th-17th; on Mainland (Shetland) at Bakkasetter on 13th-17th; at Portbury Wharf NR (Somerset) on 14th-18th; and at Marske Stray (Cleveland) on 16th.

A Short-toed Lark was seen on Lewis (Western Isles) on 16th.

We did well for Red-rumped Swallow lately – one was seen near Holt (Norfolk) on 12th; another on 13th at Hornsea Mere (East Yorkshire); one on 13th-15th at Siblyback Lake (Cornwall); and a bird on 14th at North Foreland (Kent).

Two possible Pallid Swift were reported from Mablethorpe (Lincolnshire) on 13th; another possible was in Aberdeenshire at Girdle Ness on 18th.

A couple of Bluethroat kept dreams of autumn alive this week, being found at opposite ends of the country – one on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 12th, and the other on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 15th.

A Citrine Wagtail was present at Gladhouse Reservoir (Lothian) on 16th.

Numbers of Common Rosefinch more than halved this week compared with the week that went before. Two were present on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 15th; single birds on 13th on Papa Westray (Orkney), and at Lerwick and Scousburgh (Shetland); on 13th-14th and 18th on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire); on 14th and 16th on Out Skerries (Shetland); on 17th on Whalsay; and on 18th on Bardsey (Gwynedd).

Two Ortolan Bunting were present on Dursey (Co.Cork) on 15th, following a singleton there the previous day.

Finally, a possible Blackpoll Warbler was reported from Inishbofin (Co.Galway) on 13th.

 

France had already had a bird this autumn and, for all our predictions, we’ve not had a British or Irish example of Tennessee Warbler yet this year… but one was found this past week in the Netherlands at Kroonspolder on Vlieland on 17th. The recent Western Swamphen remained at Zevenhuizen on 16th-17th.

In Iceland an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was trapped and ringed at Stafafell on 17th. The White-winged Scoter remained off Reykjavik on 14th.

Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler were present in Faroe on Nolsoy on 14th, and also on 14th in Poland at Vistula Lagoon.

In France an Eleonora’s Falcon was reported heading north over Cap Griz-Nez on 12th.

Seawatching in Spain scored South Polar Skua off the coast of Galicia at Estaca de Bares on 13th, and Burela on 15th where two birds were logged. A Red-billed Tropicbird upped the ante in Asturias off Tapia de Casariego on 15th. The recent White-tailed Lapwing remained on the Ebro Delta at Pond de la Creus on 17th-18th; while the long-staying Cape Gull was still present at Laredo on 16th.

Further afield, the Willet remained on Cape Verde on Sal on 13th; with a Short-billed Dowitcher also on Sal on 12th-13th.

 

Given half a chance, the third week of September has ample pedigree and can shower us with good things. Looking at the charts for the week ahead, I’m not so sure that this is that week. Northerlies? Urgh. But let’s not give up hope entirely….

We’re into the territory now where you can practically take your pick of Nearctic species on the British or Irish lists and stand a sporting chance that one’s turned up at some point in the coming week down the years. There’s even the ultra-rarified stuff that’s only occurred the once and the next unblocker remains keenly awaited to this day. Yellow-throated Vireo or Little Blue Heron… that sort of drop-everything-and-go calibre of bird.

To be (a little) more realistic, and given how strongly the waders have been showing in the week just gone, let’s opt for a longish but not wholly leftfield bird for the weekly wishlist – three past records of Upland Sandpiper in the coming week suggest it’s not totally implausible.

 

Jon Dunn
19 September 2025

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

 

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