Weekly birding round-up: 12 - 18 Sept 2018
The pendulum swung back into the west this week, with plenty of weather starting to happen out in the Atlantic, and the accompanying pressure systems driving the wind at us from far out at sea.
Understandably, then, the door slammed closed on eastern passerine migrants reaching us. There’s plenty of time left for them to arrive in the coming weeks; but for now, we’ll take a moment to look back at what did filter through to us last week…
We’ve already enjoyed an English record of the surinamensis American Black Tern earlier this autumn in Kent, and it was perhaps not entirely surprising that we should have another one – found this time in Ireland at Portstewart (Co.Derry), this juvenile bird had been present there since 10th but wasn’t formally called as such until 12th – and then, promptly, wasn’t reported thereafter for a couple of nervous days.
Happily it was still to be seen there on 15th-18th, providing Irish birders with an opportunity of their own to enjoy one of these dandy terns. It’s been a while since their last, a brief juvenile in Co.Kerry on 3rd September 2011 and, longer still since the last settled bird, a juvenile that spent a few days at Rahasane Turlough in Co.Galway in September 2007.
I’ve mentioned before in these quarters how, in recent years, Barolo Shearwaters are generally getting a bit thin on the ground for British birders. In some parts of the country that’s not a recent development – they’ve always been rarer than hen’s teeth.
That’s never truer than up in the far northwest of Scotland where, in the Western Isles, we need cast our covetous eyes all the way back to 29th July 1990 for their one and only accepted record of Barolo Shearwater, seen off the Butt of Lewis.
Almost thirty years have elapsed since then – so a record this week of one passing Ardvule Point on South Uist early in the morning of 16th has been a long, long time coming – though not, arguably, overdue as sightings this far north in the British Isles are generally vanishingly rare and unexpected.
After all, for any elevated chance of decent seabirds, we all know there’s nowhere better to place oneself than in southwest Ireland in promising conditions…
…and funnily enough, that brings us smoothly to arguably the week’s most fabulous birding event of all, for all the species in question is being seen with increasing frequency in recent years.
And that would, of course, be Fea’s-type Petrel. We’d all love to nail them down to species level, be it Fea’s, Desertas or even Zino’s, but the reality is that this is rarely practical in the field. But who’s going to chafe about that when one hoves into their field of view during a seawatch? Not me.
So pulses will have quickened on 17th at Galley Head (Co.Cork) when one came gliding by, heading west, early in the morning. Job done – that was a good call heading there for an early seawatch. Half an hour later, the jubilation would have been unbridled when a second bird passed by.
How then would one feel when, at the end of the 75 minute period kicked off by that first bird, you’d seen no fewer than FIVE Fea’s-type Petrels? I can’t even begin to imagine how that would feel.
(Finally, as if all that weren’t enough, another one passed by Co.Cork’s Toe Head in the morning of 18th to round off a truly remarkable run of records of these charismatic petrels).
The adult drake deglandi American White-winged Scoter remained off Musselburgh Lagoons until 18th. ‘Nuff said.
If there’s one thing westerlies can be good for, it’s dragging some seabirds closer to land that are otherwise happier far out over deep water. And so it proved this week…
We’ve got to kick off with what would, had there been but a little more confidence, have been the bird of the week by a country, nautical mile – an unconfirmed report of a Bulwer’s Petrel that spent twenty minutes with Manx Shearwaters on the sea off Porthgwarra (Cornwall) before flying off west on 13th.
One of these days Britain will have an unequivocal first record for this dramatic petrel – but for now, we’re still drawing a blank. That’s not for want of trying though… every few years we get an unconfirmed report or a possible, and it’s surely only a matter of time before one undeniably crosses the finishing line. Ireland, for now, boasts the one previous accepted record, a bird off Galley Head (Co.Cork) on 1st August 2013, but Britain still hasn’t had a bird that made the grade. It’s worth revisiting the BBRC’s considered evaluation of the probable Herald Petrel seen off Dungeness (Kent) on 4th January 1998 to remind ourselves of the bar that any rare seabird, let alone a first for Britain, needs to clear – a standard of proof that places a heavy burden both on observer(s) and adjudicators alike.
Numbers of Leach’s Petrels mounted as the week wore on, with around 230 birds in all recorded down the west side of Britain and Ireland, from the Western Isles in the north down to south west Ireland. Peak counts came from the Western Isles where, off South Uist 18 birds were recorded on 12th, and from the Ullapool to Stornoway ferry on 15th from which 23 birds were noted.
Large shearwaters were in short supply until 17th, with no Cory’s seen until four passed Porthgwarra on 16th, presaging 20 off Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 17th; and just 40 Great Shearwaters seen nationwide before 17th. On the latter date, however, the strong, favourable winds brought the latter in droves – with around 550 birds tallied that day alone. A probable Cory’s was seen from Thorpeness (Suffolk) on 18th, with around 60 more Great Shearwaters tallied that day also nationwide.
Numbers of Balearic Shearwaters, meanwhile, put in a strong late showing too – with around 1,300 birds in all seen and, as we’d expect, these hailed almost entirely from southwest England. Our peak count this week came from Start Point (Devon), with an eye-watering 610 birds noted there in favourable conditions on 18th.
The confiding adult Pomarine Skua stuck around for most of another week at South Gare (Cleveland); some 70 further birds were seen besides, their distribution for the most part mirroring that of Leach’s Petrels, but with some North Sea sightings coming in the latter half of the week, particularly on 16th-17th.
A Long-tailed Skua was reported from Porth Chapel (Cornwall) on 13th, with another that day seen from Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire). On 14th single birds were noted from Slains Castle (Aberdeenshire) and Whitburn (Co.Durham). One was recorded on 16th from Chapel Point (Cornwall); and on 17th one was seen at North Queensferry (Fife). On 18th one was logged from Strumble Head again, with further singletons seen that day from Flamborough (East Yorkshire), Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire), and Pendeen (Cornwall), and a probable though distant bird also noted off Boulmer (Northumberland).
Numbers of Cattle Egrets remained sky-high for another week, with around 130 records logged nationwide. As numbers ebbed and flowed at particular sites, and birds were noted in flight at other locations, being certain of exactly how many individuals were involved is probably a fool’s errand – but away from Somerset where, at Chew Valley Lake on 16th, our week’s highest single site tally was logged in the form of 24 birds, individuals were recorded widely across England and into Wales, where one was at the National Wetland Centre WWT in Carmarthenshire on 15th; on 16th, one was seen at Ynyslas (Ceredigion); on 17th four birds were present at Newport Wetlands (Gwent); and on 18th Gwent claimed a singleton near Dingestow.
A juvenile Purple Heron was seen in flight over Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 13th.
A Glossy Ibis was found in Cornwall at Marazion RSPB on 13th-14th; another was present on 15th at St Aidan’s RSPB (West Yorkshire); and on 15th and again on 18th one was again seen at Fremington Pill (Devon). On 17th one was seen over the Alt estuary (Lancashire), with another that day over Nanjizal (Cornwall) perhaps relating to the former Marazion bird. Finally on 18th one was noted in Norfolk passing Cley.
Urgh, White Storks… leaving an increasingly bad taste in my mouth with every tainted twist in their tale. One was reported over Ardallie (Highland) on 13th; but more complicated were records from southern England – one at Worth (Kent) on 14th was clouded by one on 15th-17th at Sevenoaks that originated from a Spanish reintroduction scheme; and what we make of a flock of five birds seen flying east in the early afternoon of 15th also at Cosham (Hampshire) god only knows.
The five Common Cranes in Aberdeenshire at Collieston remained this week on 13th-15th, with a party of five noted at Meikle Loch on 14th and 16th; on 15th a single bird was present near Gilston (Moray); and on 17th three were seen passing over Crimond. Much further south, one was seen on Scilly on Bryher on 12th and Tresco on 13th, with two noted from St Agnes on 16th; while an adult bird was at Drift reservoir (Cornwall) on 14th-15th and then appeared to wander on 16th to the Hayle estuary; one was also seen in the county on 16th-18th at Helston Loe Pool. In Cambridgeshire on 12th three were seen at Eldernell and half a dozen at Knarr Fen, with three over March on 13th and, on 16th, a trio were noted at Wicken Fen NT and on Cam Washes at Upware; nine were seen on 18th at Ouse Washes RSPB. Two were present in South Yorkshire at Thorne Moors on 12th; four were present in East Yorkshire at Goole Fields on 13th still.
Settled Spotted Crakes remained this week at Budleigh Salterton (Devon) on 12th still; in Buckinghamshire at Willen Lake on 12th-18th; at Pennington Marshes (Hampshire) on 12th-17th; and at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire) on 12th-17th. Elsewhere, birds were found at Old Moor RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 15th-18th, and Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 15th.
A Corncrake was present on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 12th; another island bird was on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 16th; and a dead mainland bird was picked up at Ancroft (Northumberland) on 16th also.
As we’d expect at this time of year, the quiet times generally continued where rare geese and ducks were concerned this week and, were it not for Scotland, we’d not have very much at all to relate.
Kicking things off then, the drake Ferruginous Duck remained on Loch Leven (Perth & Kinross) on 12th-13th. A drake Ring-necked Duck was found at Gartmorn Dam CP (Forth) on 16th-17th.
An eclipse drake King Eider was found on 16th-18th at Nairn golf course (Highland).
Flying the flag south of the border, we’ve the eclipse drake American Wigeon on Rutland Water (Leicestershire) on 17th-18th.
Unsurprisingly, we continued to enjoy a good run of shorebirds this week, with a distinct emphasis on the American.
Starting then with American Golden Plovers, in Ireland an adult bird remained at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 12th-16th; with further Irish sightings coming from Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 13th and Seven Heads (Co.Cork) on 16th. In Scotland the recent bird on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) remained present until 17th, joined by a second bird on 12th only; the adult remained on Orkney at Deerness on 16th. Finally, another adult was in Lancashire at Marshside RSPB on 12th-15th.
A Kentish Plover was reported from Dungeness RSPB (Kent) on 14th.
Lancashire’s good spell continued in the form of the juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper seen once more on Skippool Creek on 15th-18th, while the county also boasted one of the 30 Pectoral Sandpipers tallied this week in a spread of records almost the entire length and breadth of the region. Most of the latter were single birds, but some multiples occurred too – two birds were present at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) on 12th; a duo were on Tresco (Scilly) on 15th; and Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) boasted three birds on 13th, with two still present on 14th-16th.
Last week’s solitary representative of Baird’s Sandpiper remained on Scilly on Tresco this week on 12th-17th; further Scilly sightings came from Bryher on 14th-17th and St Agnes on 16th. Two juveniles graced the Gann estuary (Pembrokeshire) on 13th-16th, while Irish juveniles were found on 15th on Claggan Island (Co.Mayo) and at Bannow Bay (Co.Wexford) on 15th-16th. Unst (Shetland) extended its good recent run with American waders to include a brief Baird’s at Baltasound on 14th. A further bird was found on 17th in Scotland at Findhorn Bay (Moray).
A White-rumped Sandpiper was on South Uist (Western Isles) at Balgarva briefly on 18th.
Buff-breasted Sandpipers edged into double figures again this week with 16 birds in all reported, including duos on St Mary’s (Scilly) still on 12th-14th and Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 12th.
Of a more easterly persuasion, a Marsh Sandpiper was reported on 13th from Vange Marsh RSPB (Essex).
A Temminck’s Stint was found in Cambridgeshire near Soham on 18th.
Lincolnshire, meanwhile, held onto the adult Long-billed Dowitcher at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 12th-18th.
Absent from the news lately, but surely with more in the pipeline any day now, a Lesser Yellowlegs was found in Cornwall on 18th at Devoran Quay.
Dotterel sightings this week came in the form of flyover birds at Pennington Marshes (Hampshire) on 12th and Pegwell Bay (Kent) on 13th, and a further probable bird seen from a moving vehicle on Goss Moor (Cornwall) on 15th.
A touch of unsettled weather was all it took to lift the sightings of Grey Phalaropes this week – In Ireland, singles off Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 12th and 13th followed there by a duo on 15th; and two birds on 16th at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford), one of which remained there to 18th. British records came from Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire) on 13th, Portland (Dorset) on 14th, Chapel Point (Cornwall) and Maidens (Ayrshire) on 16th and, inland, at Cheddar reservoir (Somerset) on 14th-17th. Another Somerset sighting came on 17th-18th at Huntspill; and on 18th one was noted from Pendeen (Cornwall). A Red-necked Phalarope was reported on 16th from Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire).
Right up there with a certain petrel as a potential headline grabber, had things only been a little more certain, this week was the possible Bridled or Sooty Tern seen flying west in the early morning on 16th from Selsey Bill (West Sussex). With the fairly recent Sooty Tern on the Ythan estuary in Aberdeenshire fresh in our collective memories, that bird could yet pop out of the woodwork to account for this sighting… but equally, in a week where all sorts of seabirds were being lobbed around, this could just as easily be an entirely new bird altogether.
Rounding up the terns before we head on into the smattering of gulls on offer, the adult Forster’s Tern was once more in Co.Louth at Dundalk on 13th.
Absent from the news for a few weeks, a Bonaparte’s Gull was once again seen this week – this being the adult again in Sligo (Co.Sligo) on 15th.
Ireland also accounted for three adult Ring-billed Gulls in the past few days – at Black Rock Strand (Co.Kerry) on 12th; in Galway (Co.Galway) on 14th; and in Sligo (Co.Sligo) once more on 16th.
A scatter of Sabine’s Gulls were logged this week, being almost the exclusive preserve of Ireland and Wales. Irish sightings came from Annagh Head (Co.Mayo) on 12th; on 14th from Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) and at sea off Larne (Co.Antrim); from Mizen Head (Co.Cork) on 15th; and, on 17th, from Helvick Head (Co.Waterford) where two birds were logged; then on 18th from Toe Head (Co.Cork) where another singleton passed by; on 18th two more passed Galley Head (Co.Cork). Welsh birds came in the form of singles off Port Lynas (Anglesey) on 12th, and Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire) on 13th and 14th. Finally, on 17th an English sighting came from East Yorkshire’s Paull Holme Strays, followed the next day by one at Huntspill (Somerset) and another seen from Pendeen (Cornwall).
We nearly got through an entire week without any white-wingers before, on 16th-18th a Glaucous Gull was to be found at Burghead (Moray).
This autumn’s sightings of Pallid Harrier continued to tick along nicely this week… starting in Fair Isle (Shetland), the juvenile male remained there on 12th while, in Cheshire, the juvenile male was seen once more in the Parkgate area on 14th-17th. A juvenile of this species (or a Montagu’s Harrier) was seen at Paxton Pits NR (Cambridgeshire) on 12th; while a definite juvenile Pallid was present in Devon at Colaton Raleigh Common on 13th-14th. A juvenile present in Norfolk at Welney WWT on 13th-18th was initially thought to be a Montagu’s but, on 17th, was determined to be a Pallid after all.
Back in the northwest, a juvenile female Pallid Harrier was present in Lancashire at Bank End Farm on 16th-18th; while back in Cambridgeshire on 17th we had what is, I think, a British first – two birds at the same site, on the same day, in the form of two juveniles at Ouse Washes RSPB, with one remaining there the following day. Finally on 18th a juvenile was found in Hertfordshire at Therfield.
A Montagu’s Harrier was reported from South Woodham Ferrers (Essex) on 14th.
In Lincolnshire, the juvenile Red-footed Falcon remained at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 12th-14th; further sightings came in the form of a juvenile on 15th over Benington (Hampshire) and, briefly, on 16th at Nosterfield NR (North Yorkshire); with a final possible bird seen on Scilly over St Agnes on 16th also.
An unconfirmed report of a Black Kite came on 15th from Totteridge Valley (London).
Numbers of Honey Buzzards fell through the floor this week – our early sightings comprise two probable birds, at Barnsley (South Yorkshire) on 13th and Black Down (Surrey) on 15th, and one certain bird over Higham (Kent) on 14th. On 17th birds were noted over Beachy Head (East Sussex) and Seasalter (Kent).
Finally, out on St Kilda (Western Isles), the female Snowy Owl remained a while longer, being seen there still on 15th.
As alluded to in our opening remarks, the weather this week was far from conducive towards interesting passerines turning up, let alone in any appreciable numbers. The best possible example of which, of course, would be Yellow-browed Warblers - the staple of any autumn we care to mention in recent years, but reduced from the previous week’s showing of upwards of 40 birds to a mere 16 individuals in the past week.
And if the numbers of them were down, that was echoed in the case of their scarcer and rarer counterparts. For example, Blyth’s Reed Warblers this week were reduced to just the one bird on Foula (Shetland) on 16th-18th, this potentially being the same bird seen there almost a week beforehand. That is, until 18th when, contrary as ever, Fair Isle bucked the trend with a fresh bird trapped and ringed on the island…
A Savi’s Warbler was reported from Northwick Warth (Gloucestershire) on 15th.
Moving north, a Bonelli’s warbler of indeterminate species was seen on Skomer (Pembrokeshire) on 16th. One would assume that this would probably be a Western Bonelli’s Warbler, but of course Eastern also remains a distant possibility, particularly as the autumn gets under way.
Just the one Greenish Warbler seen this week, remaining on 12th on North Ronaldsay (Orkney); while three Arctic Warblers comprised individuals on 13th at Cunningsburgh (Shetland) and Lowestoft (Suffolk), and on 14th-18th on Fair Isle (Shetland).
Similarly denuded, we’ve just one Icterine Warbler to report upon – a ringed bird that continued to throw itself practically daily into the nets at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 13th and again on 15th – and two Melodious Warblers in the form of a bird on Mizen Head (Co.Mayo) on 12th and the lingerer at Kynance Cove (Cornwall) still on 13th-15th.
Barred Warblers put up a slightly better show, though only just – 18 birds in all were reported this week, with the northern isles once more leading the way – North Ronaldsay (Orkney) hosting two birds on 12th-17th, and Fair Isle (Shetland) a peak count of three birds present on 14th.
Not, really, the sorts of numbers or variety of warblers we’d be hoping for in September…
Ditto Citrine Wagtails - we’d just two birds this past week, a first-winter on Scilly on St Mary’s on 14th-18th, and another young bird seen briefly at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) on 14th.
A Richard’s Pipit was on Fair Isle on 14th, with another much further south on 14th-15th at Pennington Marshes (Hampshire).
A probable Red-throated Pipit flew over Foreness Point (Kent) on 15th; and a Tawny Pipit was seen on Beachy Head (East Sussex) before flying east in the early morning of 17th.
Quite the rarity these days, a couple of Bluethroats were a welcome sight at the tail end of the week – seen on 17th in Shetland on Out Skerries and at Farlington Marshes HWT (Hampshire).
The recent flood of Wrynecks dried up, for the most part, this week with just over a dozen seen, still across southern England and Wales. Lingering birds from the previous week remained at a few coastal sites, and two birds were present at Landguard NR (Suffolk) on 12th-13th.
Sticking with Suffolk for a moment, a Red-rumped Swallow was seen on 16th over Lowestoft.
In Highland, the Hoopoe remained at Cromarty on 12th-18th. Another was seen on 12th in a Hampshire garden on Hayling Island.
It’s way too early to know what this might presage by way of further irruptive behaviour, but 15 Waxwings were seen on 14th passing over Blagdon Hall (Northumberland).
There was an unconfirmed report of a Golden Oriole in Helford (Cornwall) on 12th.
Two Red-backed Shrikes from the previous week stuck around into the present reporting period – one at Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) still on 12th-13th, and the other at Dale airfield in Pembrokeshire on 12th-14th again. New birds were seen in the southwest at Hope Cove (Devon) on 12th and on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 14th-15th.
Two first-winter Woodchat Shrikes livened things up a little this week – one was seen in Devon at Braunton Burrows on 12th, and the other much further north at Barns Ness (Lothian) on 16th-18th.
The Pied Crow was still present on Flamborough on 16th-18th; a possible Nutcracker reported, belatedly, from Balerno (Highland) seems almost too much to hope for, with a new generation of birders viewing the species as a distant and receding memory in the history books. There’ll be another, of course, but one wonders how long we’ll have to wait…
The adult Rose-coloured Starling remained in the Western Isles on St Kilda on 13th-15th; another adult was seen in Somerset on 14th at Lansdown. Juvenile birds were present in Devon at Northam Burrows CP on 12th and Wembury on 15th.
Numbers of warblers might have fallen through the floor this week, but you can’t keep a good Common Rosefinch down – their bland faces were popping up all over the shop again, with some 26 birds in all tallied nationwide – once more, most of these were in Shetland where, on Out Skerries, we had our peak count of six birds present on 18th.
Some 15 Ortolan Buntings actually represented an increase on the previous week’s showing, and numbered amongst them some multiple sightings – two were seen at Durlston CP (Dorset) on 14th, while three were present in Hastings CP (East Sussex) on 14th also.
On Foula (Shetland) the White-throated Sparrow popped back into the news again this week on 18th.
And we finish with a small glimmer of autumnal hope in the always gorgeous form of a Little Bunting, seen this week on 17th on Unst (Shetland).
Fittingly, in a week in which interesting seabirds featured prominently in the British and Irish birding news, our star further afield bird in an otherwise quiet week for news was a seabird – a Brown or South Polar Skua seen some 250 miles out at sea from Lanzarote (Canary Islands) on 16th.
Closer to home by some margin, a Black-shouldered Kite was in Holland at National Park De Groote Peel on 17th; and a Red-necked Stint was present in France that day at Hyeres.
Finally, further afield once more, on 17th an Egyptian Nightjar was found in Georgia at Mtsvane Kontshki beach.
Well, I was absolutely bang on the money with the call of more Pallid Harriers,Baird’s and Buff-breasted Sandpipers and American Golden Plovers last week.
(And, while my optimistic yearning for an American warbler didn’t come to pass, I still think that’s a decent shout for the coming week, given the ferocity and direction of the westerlies that will be hitting us on Wednesday as we go to press with this Rarity Round Up).
These conditions could be conducive to something monstrous making landfall on this side of the Atlantic. I’m going to turn the optimism dial up to 11 and recall a couple of recent records for the coming week that really do stand out – the Alder Flycatcher on Blakeney Point (Norfolk) on 25th-27th September 2010, and the Acadian Flycatcher at Dungeness (Kent) on 22nd September 2015.
Anyone fancy another Empid?
Jon Dunn
19 Sept 2018
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