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Weekly birding round-up: 7 - 13 Apr 2020

In any week, a trio of headline birds like those above would be a good showing – but this relatively early in the spring, when the vanguard of Ring Ouzels is only now moving north through Britain, and the first Nightingales and Grasshopper Warblers are returning and having a tentative burst of song from within deep cover…

…well, that’s a very good week indeed. At a local level, things were turning up in southern gardens, from Black Redstarts to Hoopoes and, for the even luckier few, a scatter of Large Tortoiseshells.

And in the north? Well, mostly it still felt like winter – a feeling that extended cold fingers south as the week concluded.

 

The odd migrant has been trickling into Shetland lately – smatterings of Bramblings, some Woodpigeons, a handful of Chiffchaffs and one lost Coal Tit. But really, hand on heart, it doesn’t feel like migration is firing on all cylinders here. The week concluded with a brisk and unpleasantly cold spell of northerlies to remind us that, as the local saying goes, Shetland has three months of winter followed by nine months of bad weather.

Try telling that to Fair Isle. A year on from the terrible fire that robbed the island of the world famous bird observatory, the business of monitoring the birds passing through the island continues, albeit at an understandably lower key than in usual years.

And if anywhere in Shetland could buck the generally quiet birding trend this past week, it was always likely to be Fair Isle. That or Unst resident Brydon Thomason’s garden, which is steadily working its way towards having the largest garden list of anywhere in Britain…

But back to Fair Isle where, on 9th-10th, a Song Sparrow was found in the lush gulley halfway along the island at the Vaadal reservoir. Britain’s ninth ever record, it extended Fair Isle’s dominance where the species is concerned, being the fifth for the island following previous birds in 1959, 1979, 1989 and 2018.

With the exception of the well-twitched bird at Seaforth (Lancashire) on 15th-17th October 1994 – a bird many a twitcher at the time combined in one glorious extended run with a Greater Yellowlegs in Cumbria and the Yellow-browed Bunting on Scilly – all of our previous Song Sparrows have been spring birds. They also show a distinct northerly bias, with a cluster of records that, outwith Shetland, sits across north Wales and northern England.

Scilly may have a long wait yet for its first bird…

Continuing the theme of single site dominance for a particular species, Tacumshin in Co.Wexford struck gold for the second time of asking on 9th with a first-winter male Western Sandpiper - having already enjoyed a prior record there on 23rd-26th July 2016.

Ireland’s sixth example of the species, Co.Wexford as a whole is where it’s at for Western Sandpipers, with three of the previous five Irish birds having been discovered in the county as a whole.

Unlike the week’s other new mega, the Fair Isle Song Sparrow, this particular bird was bucking the trend where timing is concerned – most of Britain and Ireland’s combined tally of 15 accepted prior Western Sandpipers having been found during the autumn period – making this the very last thing that Killian Mullarney would have anticipated finding when he set off for Tacumshin.

Taking the concept of isolation to new levels for another week, the lost and long-staying male Lesser Kestrel continued its Scillonian tenure on St Mary’s this week, remaining present on the island until 13th at least, with presumably it accounting for the unconfirmed report from St Martin’s on 12th…

 

Our sole White-billed Diver remained, for another week, the settled individual still on the waters off Papa Westray (Orkney) on 8th.

A Leach’s Petrel was seen at The Gearagh (Co.Cork) on 12th.

On 13th a Pomarine Skua was seen passing Portland (Dorset) – another welcome herald of spring.

 

Sure enough, warm weather this past week was helping to carry some wandering long-legged beasties around the country. While wintering Glossy Ibises in Gwent and Devon have been a more or less weekly fixture since late last year, other birds are now on the move… This week, singletons noted over Burscough (Lancashire) on 8th and Landguard NR (Suffolk) on 9th.

Sticking with Lancashire for a moment, the recent Purple Heron was once more seen at Marton Mere LNR on 7th-8th.

Common Cranes continued to be seen the length of Britain, on a daily basis – they remain an unlikely but attainable prize over almost any garden one cares to mention, if the Fates smile and the planets align. Sightings this week peaked on 7th, with a mobile half dozen seen in Suffolk over Aldeburgh, Walberswick, Minsmere RSPB and Leiston; and a trio in Essex over Bradfield, Rowhedge and Maldon. On 8th one was seen over Stanton Harcourt (Oxfordshire); on 9th a bird was noted at Aberaeron (Ceredigion). On 10th one passed over Backworth Pond (Northumberland); and on 11th two were seen in Northamptonshire over Islip. The week concluded with one on Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th, and a quartet tracked heading south down the coast of the south Mainland of Shetland on 13th.

A welcome sound of spring came in the form of a couple of singing Spotted Crakes this week – birds heard at Pulborough Brooks RSPB (West Sussex) on 6th and near Arlington (Devon) on 8th.

 

Two rare Scottish ducks made welcome returns to the newsfeeds this week. Staring in Lothian, the drake White-winged Scoter was again seen off Musselburgh on 7th; and, on 13th, the juvenile drake Steller’s Eider was once again noted on Papa Westray (Orkney), a beacon of hope for those of us hoping he survives long enough to attain full adult plumage in the fullness of time.

The Lothian scoter continued to share those chilly Musselburgh waters with a couple of Surf Scoters, with a female and drake being seen intermittently there on 7th-10th.

Green-winged Teals were on the move, with birds found in Scotland at Loch of Harray (Orkney) on 10th and Loch of Kinnordy RSPB (Angus) on 10th-11th – the former bird being, presumably, the same individual that has passed through Orkney in each of the previous three years. A further bird was reported from Galmorgan at Roath on 7th.

The long-staying drake

Ring-necked Duck at Priory CP (Bedfordshire) was still present until 13th; and another drake was found at Kilmardinny Loch (Clyde) on 9th. On 12th they were joined in the news by yet another drake in Perth & Kinross just outside of Pitlochry at The Cuilc.

 

Tacumshin’s Western Sandpiper wasn’t the only Nearctic wader on the move this week in southern Ireland – on 13th, Dennis O’Sullivan found an American Golden Plover coming into summer plumage on Garryvoe beach (Co.Cork) – last seen flying off towards Ballycotton.

Shorebird interest from a different point of the compass came on 10th with a Black-winged Stilt seen at Cotswold Water Park (Gloucestershire). The first of the spring and, one sincerely hopes, to be followed by more and, just maybe, some attempting to breed once again.

A Dotterel was noted in flight over Sidcup (London) in the morning of 7th – a cracking London bird.

 

A first-winter Laughing Gull found on a ploughed field near Axminster, on the Devon/Dorset border on 7th was, perhaps, the bird last seen at Cheddar reservoir (Somerset) on 22nd March.

The advent of warmer weather continued to wreak havoc this week with numbers of white-wingers, with a predictable bias in records towards the north where it continued to feel encouragingly Arctic.

A Glaucous Gull remained in Shetland on Yell on 7th-12th, joined until 10th by a second individual; another was seen on neighbouring Unst on 10th; and in the south of Mainland one was present at Scatness on 7th. Further Scottish birds were logged at Dunnet Bay (Highland) still on 7th, on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) again on 11th; and on 12th, on Benbecula (Western Isles) where two birds were seen, and in Scrabster harbour (Highland) again. English sightings came from St Ives (Cornwall) still on 7th, Pyewipe (Lincolnshire) still on 7th also, and off Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 11th. On 13th one was seen from Whitburn CP (Co.Durham).

Iceland Gulls were, once more, only a little more numerous than their bulky brethren. Yell (Shetland) hosted one still on 7th-12th, with three individuals present there on 11th; and one was noted at Bakkasetter in the south Mainland on 9th and Quendale on 12th. Elsewhere in Scotland birds were seen on Skye (Highland) still on 8th-13th; on Rhum (Highland) on 8th; on 9th on Papa Westray (Orkney) and Mull (Argyll & Bute); and, on 10th, at Fail (Ayrshire) again, on North Ronaldsay (Orkney), and on Musselburgh Lagoons (Lothian), where two birds were found. In England, one remained at Newlyn harbour (Cornwall) on 7th; one was again at Big Waters NR (Northumberland) on 8th-10th; one was seen from Hayle (Cornwall) on 11th and Penzance on 12th; on 13th one was present at Whitburn (Co.Durham), and another that day in Cambridgeshire at Rampton. On 11th an Irish sighting came from Rathlin Island (Co.Antrim).

 

Sightings of wandering White-tailed Eagles continued to come in daily, with at least some of them once more owing themselves to the itchy-footed introduced birds from the Isle of Wight – though news of an escaped Bald Eagle at Settle (North Yorkshire) on 1st provides a further note of caution for anyone encountering a flying barn door overhead.

Birds were reported this week on 7th from Minsmere RSPB, Hollesley, East Bergholt and Ipswich (Suffolk); at Stanway Green and various other Essex locales; Bidford-on-Avon (Warwickshire); and Marske (Cleveland), where two birds were seen. On 8th, sightings came from Malvern Link (Worcestershire), Rudry and Ystrad Mynach (Glamorgan), Abberton reservoir (Essex) and Hartlepool (Cleveland). 9th was a blank day, but 10th brought reports from Sutton-in-Ashfield (Nottinghamshire), Crook (Co.Durham), and Abingdon (Oxfordshire), where two possible birds were seen. 11th brought more possible birds – at Didcot (Oxfordshire), Sturton-by-Stow (Lincolnshire), and Birtley (Northumberland). On 12th Yorkshire notched up a fresh rash of sightings, from Carlton, Thirsk and Hatfield Moors NNR; an unconfirmed report came from Idle Valley NR (Nottinghamshire); and a further possible was seen in West Sussex near Hurstpierpoint. On 13th, unattributed birds were noted over Worcester Park (London), and Stafford (Staffordshire).

Less tainted by the possibility of the hand of man owing something to their genesis, Black Kites were in the ascendancy this week. Norfolk sightings came from Mulbarton on 8th, Scarning and Poringland on 9th, and Sparham on 12th; Kent, meanwhile, racked up sightings from Dunton Green and Sittingbourne on 8th and over Denge Marsh on 10th; and Hampshire a brace of sightings from Ports Down on 8th and Havant on 11th. One seen in Surrey on 8th over Warlingham was just the sort of garden tick we’re all dreaming of.

We also notched up a handful of Rough-legged Buzzards this week – birds logged at Mickle Mere (Suffolk) on 7th, Horsey (Norfolk) on 7th, Roade (Northamptonshire) on 7th, Rye (East Sussex) on 10th, and a further bird reported at Lympne (Kent) on 10th.

A Montagu’s Harrier was seen at Ports Down (Hampshire) on 10th.

With harriers in mind, news emerging from Eastern Europe lately that raptor persecution is soaring while much of the countryside is either off-limits or severely under-watched due to the Covid-19 pandemic is tragic, though sadly predictable. One wonders, grimly, what’s happening out there in the English and Scottish countryside under the same sorts of unmonitored conditions. Nothing good, one suspects.

Similarly, a pandemic doesn’t stop the ‘enabling’ felling of ancient woodlands for HS2. Maybe, just maybe, legal action can…

 

For the first week in months, we didn’t get a sighting of a Black-throated Thrush - in the absence of any news from Whipsnade, it looks like the Grimsby (Lincolnshire) bird may finally have done a flit, marking the end of a classic winter for the species in the UK – three birds logged, two of which obligingly stuck around.

In Cheshire, however, the maurus Siberian Stonechat remained at Ashton’s Flash until 12th at least. One wonders when the tipping point will be reached for that bird too and it chooses to move on…

The week’s most colourful news came, emphatically, from birds on the move from southern Europe – a deluge of Hoopoes into (mostly) southern England and Ireland. 7th was a quiet day, with just two birds noted – one still on St Mary’s (Scilly), and another at Cape Cornwall (Cornwall).

All hell broke loose on 8th, with Cornish birds seen at Lamorna, Millbrook and Pentewan, and further birds found at Fairlight (East Sussex), Blakeney (Norfolk), on Arran (Ayrshire), and at Dungarvan (Co.Waterford). On 9th birds were seen at Eastbourne (East Sussex), West Chiltington (West Sussex), and in a Lislevane garden (Co.Cork). Another Co.Cork bird was found on 10th at Garryvoe, and one was seen that day also on Lundy (Devon). On 11th familiar counties replied, with birds found in St Just (Cornwall) and, in East Sussex, at Arlington reservoir and in a Camber garden. On 12th Scillonian birds were found on St Mary’s and St Martin’s; Cambridgeshire scored birds at March and Hampton; and singles were seen on Portland (Dorset) and in a Hebden Bridge garden in West Yorkshire. The St Mary’s bird remained in Scilly on 13th.

Gardens were having a moment this week with one in Cley (Norfolk) sporting a Wryneck on 11th; another had been seen along the coast at Sheringham on 9th.

Further green shoots of spring came in the welcome form of a male Bluethroat at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 9th; and Blue-headed Wagtails at Adwick Washlands RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 7th and Toft Newton reservoir (Lincolnshire) on 11th.

As we predicted last week, we were due some more Red-rumped Swallows and, sure enough, the southerlies duly delivered – birds were found this week at Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 9th, Dungeness (Kent) and Tutbury (Staffordshire) on 10th; and, on 13th, at Sewardstone Marsh (Essex).

Staffordshire also accounted for one of the week’s more eye-catching inland records – a possible Red-throated Pipit in the early evening at Morridge on 10th.

A Richard’s Pipit was found in Lincolnshire on 12th near Anderby.

A possible Subalpine Warbler sp was found on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 13th, with a Golden Oriole found on there that day also.

Further, more anticipated, southern colour came in the form of a scattered sextet of Serins - birds noted this week at Beachy Head (East Sussex) and Upper Froyle (Hampshire) on 10th, and Portland (Dorset) and Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 11th – two birds being seen at the latter site. On 13th a final bird was noted over Sellack Ridge (Herefordshire).

Finally, hints of winter remained this week in the form of the Great Grey Shrike still present at Hatfield Moors NNR (South Yorkshire) on 9th-13th, and around 120 Waxwings once again logged nationally – peak flocks all being Scottish. 48 birds in Aberdeen (Aberdeenshire) on 10th were our highest count, followed by 31 in Dunblane (Forth) on 11th, and some 20 in Edinburgh (Lothian) on 8th-11th.

 

Topping the overseas news this week has to be Black-winged Kite - not for outright rarity, of course, but for sheer day-dreaming potential, it’s going to take some beating with four birds logged in recent days. On 12th three had made it into Denmark, seen at, respectively, Hellebaek, Jaettebrink and Spodsbjerg. Most eyecatching of all is the bird seen in France on 8th on Ouessant – granted, that’s not an English Channel length distance from the European mainland, but all the same – some open water crossing had been made to get there. One of these days…

Returning to Scandinavia for a while, in Sweden this week the taivana Eastern Yellow Wagtail was again seen at Gislovslage on 10th, while a Masked Wagtail was present at Stenshuvud on 12th, and a drake White-winged Scoter flew north past Oland on 11th.

On 10th, in Finland, an Oriental Turtle Dove remained in Finland at Miehikkala, having been present there for around a month beforehand.

Moving south, an Eastern Imperial Eagle was seen in Belgium at Heule on 12th – the first for the country.

In Poland on 13th a singing Moustached Warbler was found at the Swierklaniec reservoir – the fourth national record.

Back in Spain, a Lesser Crested Tern was found on the beach at Tarifa on 11th. Memories of our returning Elsie on the Farne Islands are fading now…

Israel scored a national first on 12th in the form of a Three-banded Plover at Maayan Tzvi.

Further afield still, out on the Azores on Faial on 10th a Yellow-crowned Night Heron was the sixth record for the archipelago and only the seventh for the Western Palearctic as a whole.

 

The last couple of weeks have been dominated by sightings of Large Tortoiseshells and the past week was no exception. Your own correspondent was even sent an image, from the field, out of the blue by one lucky finder. Gripping stuff, and the accompanying video even more so…

Anyway, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Sightings this week of this magnificent insect came on 7th from two lucky gardens, in Selsey (East Sussex) and High Kelling (Norfolk); on 8th from the recent hotspot of Portland (Dorset) again; on 9th near Leiston (Suffolk) and in another garden, this time in Goring (West Sussex); and on 10th from Birdham (West Sussex) and Kingsdown (Kent). On 11th one was found at Dungeness (Kent), and on 12th one was seen back in Selsey.

So that’s at least eight insects reported this past week – reflecting what’s happening on the near continent where, in Holland, more Large Tortoiseshells are said to have been recorded so far in 2020 than ever in the springs of the preceding 40 years.

Events on Portland in recent years notwithstanding, this spring is clearly an unprecedented migratory event for the species. It’ll be fascinating to see if there’s another spike of sightings later this summer…

But before you hasten out into the garden to look for one of these big tawny beasts – and there are surely plenty more tootling around in southern and eastern counties, looking for a nice bit of elm in the hedgerows – make sure you set your alarms for this evening. That is, 8pm on Tuesday 14th – for the second of the weekly birders’ pub quizzes run by Ashley Saunders, Nick Acheson and my erstwhile Rarity Round Up colleague, Mark Golley.

You remember the old Evenings at the Coot and Corncrake bird quiz books? This is the 21st century, interactive, and fabulously contemporary equivalent. And blindingly good fun. Get yourselves onto Twitter, and get following @Oriole_Ashley, @themarshtit and @Vaasetter – and, at 8pm, enjoy the questions, the banter and the good humour. See you there…

 

The coming week looks set to begin with a whopping great lump of high pressure sitting smack bang on top of us. Some cold, frosty nights then, and some more benign warm days are in the offing.

The possibilities for the coming week, as we cross into the latter half of April, become daily more mouthwatering. After last week’s modest triumph with Subalpine Warbler, I’m inclined to stick with the warblers for another week – and really, with nine prior records of Iberian Chiffchaff for the coming week, it’s about flipping time one was found – but I’ll put my notional money on another Sylvia - with nine prior records also for the coming week, it feels like a Sardinian Warbler somewhere on the south coast may be a distinct possibility for somebody to stumble across on their daily walk.

 

Jon Dunn
14 April 2020

 

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

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