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Weekly birding round-up: 31 Aug - 6 Sep 2021

September began, as some of us might dare hope much of the autumn will continue, with a hint of easterlies in the air. It’s early days for that to deliver big time, perhaps, but something was surely always going to sneak in. But what, and where? This week, it was Norfolk’s turn to shine…

 

The prior week saw August drawing to a close with one last big ticket wader and, appropriately this week as September got under way, the increasingly autumnal tempo was marked by Norfolk landing a rare warbler from the east.

And not just any old warbler - Sykes’s Warbler still has some considerable cachet attached to it, with a mere 18 accepted British records to the end of 2019. It’s far from annual and, if you take Shetland out of the equation, we’re into single figure territory – Shetland’s enjoyed a lionish share numbering 11 birds. Norfolk, on the other hand, has had just the one bird to date, a one-day individual that dropped into Sheringham on 23rd August 2002.

There was probably a feeling amongst Norfolk’s birding community that another was getting somewhat overdue – nearly 20 years is getting on for a long wait, after all. This week that was all set to change in the afternoon of 3rd with the discovery of a smart-looking bird out on Blakeney Point – a fair slog from the car for anyone attempting to see it, but a walk that would be worth the effort – Norfolk’s second Sykes’s Warbler would be hard-earned, but none the less welcome for it.

That is, for those who were quick off the mark. The adage ‘you snooze, you lose’ was never truer for, this week, anyone who opted to sleep on it and wait for news the following morning before committing to the effort Blakeney demands of its disciples would prove to be sorely disappointed, as the bird was gone by dawn on 4th.

 

To the considerable delight of a steady stream of would-be admirers, the fine adult White-tailed Lapwing remained this week at Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire), showing well there daily until 6th.

 

Bumping Albert off its lofty perch at the top of the week’s seabird news has to be the succession of sightings of Fea’s / Desertas Petrels over the course of recent days. Birders on the north-east coast and right up into Orkney were spoiled rotten with opportunities to catch up with one of these once mythical and still pulse-quickening beauties…

On 1st, one picked up passing Flamborough (East Yorkshire) in the morning was thoroughly tracked on its northbound journey, being seen as the day unfolded heading past the North Yorkshire, Co.Durham and, eventually, Northumbrian coasts. One in a week would be ample, but the following day was barely a few hours old before a bird was found heading north off Whitburn (Co.Durham), seen a little while later on 2nd still going north off Tynemouth (Northumberland) and, by the early evening, what we’d assume was the same bird had reached Girdle Ness (Aberdeenshire). What’s for sure is that there were two birds in the north/northeast’s airspace on 2nd for, shortly before the Aberdeenshire sighting, one was seen way north of there, passing North Ronaldsay (Orkney).

The North Ronaldsay component of the week doesn’t end there, for on 3rd it all kicked off there again in the morning, with a bird seen heading west at 7:51am presumably also accounting for the sighting of a bird heading north off there at 9:55am… or did it? There’s one or two kicking around at the moment…and another sighting came from North Ron in the evening of 4th.

Further action on 4th came from Northumberland, with sightings that morning from Cullercoats and Church Point; Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland); and Dorset, where a probable bird was reported in the morning too. On 6th, one was seen from Lewis (Western Isles) and, with some inevitability, our final sighting of a Fea’s / Desertas Petrel this week came in the early afternoon from North Ronaldsay.

Back to East Yorkshire next where, on 31st-1st and again on 4th-6th the enduring popular adult Black-browed Albatross remained at Bempton Cliffs RSPB.

Three Wilson’s Petrels were seen from a Scilly pelagic on 2nd; while a Leach’s Petrel was logged from North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 2nd, another was seen from the Uig-Lochmaddy ferry (Western Isles/Highland) on 3rd, and on 6th one more was noted from Tramore Backstrand (Co.Waterford).

And then, on 5th, a pelagic off Baltimore (Co.Cork) blew all prior Irish Wilson’s Petrel encounters clear out of the water, with a simply eye-watering minimum of 73 birds logged in the duration of the trip. Spectacular stuff…

Large shearwaters remained a decidedly scarce commodity – a single Great Shearwater was seen from Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 31st, while the Baltimore (Co.Cork) pelagic of 5th racked up seven birds; and single Cory’s Shearwater from Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) on 1st and North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 4th.

Balearic Shearwaters, however, were still very much a feature of the daily news, with some 1,700 logged nationally, of which the southwest once again enjoyed the highest single site counts – Devon, once again, bossing the week with over 300 seen in Thurlestone Bay alone on 2nd.

Skua passage was very much happening again this week, with decent counts of both scarcer species made daily. Around 155 Pomarine Skuas were tallied, with a peak count of 16 reported from Hound Point (Lothian) on 2nd; and some 215 Long-tailed Skuas were logged nationwide, of which 10 birds noted from Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) on 1st were the highest count.

 

We’ll start our weekly wander amongst the rarer long-legged beasties with Glossy Ibises and, once again, the highest count of the week came from Berry Fen (Cambridgeshire) where, on 31st, five birds were again seen. Elsewhere single birds were seen at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) still on 31st and 5th; Rutland Water (Leicestershire) still on 31st-5th; Botany Marshes RSPB (Suffolk) still on 31st-1st; at Tehidy CP (Cornwall) on 1st; Dungeness (Kent) still on 1st-6th; at Weston-super-Mare (Somerset) sewage works on 2nd; and in Ireland at Letterfrack (Co.Galway) on 3rd and Kinsale Marsh (Co.Cork) on 5th, with four birds seen at the latter site. On 6th one dropped into Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire), while one was seen at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) that day too and, in Cornwall, sightings came from Gurnard’s Head and St Gothian Sands LNR.

The Purple Heron was once more seen in Barton Broad (Norfolk) on 1st.

A possible Little Bittern was reported in flight, briefly, at Dinton Pastures CP (Berkshire) on 4th.

Absent from the news for a while, the juvenile Black Stork was again seen at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 3rd-6th.

And, wrapping things up, an elusive Spotted Crake was found on 4th-5th at Newton Pool (Northumberland), while another shy bird was found on 5th-6th at Beddington Farmlands (London) and, on 6th, one was seen in flight at Fishlake Meadows HIWWT (Hampshire).

 

Top of the week’s quackers scoreboard this week was Kinnaber Links (Angus) which, on 2nd, in addition to the lingering drake Surf Scoter still present there, also landed a drake Black Scoter for good measure. Both birds were still to be seen off there on 4th and, on 6th, the Surf Scoter numbers had risen to three.

A Ferruginous Duck was found on 5th at Cotswold Water Park (Gloucestershire).

In Cornwall, the eclipse drake Ring-necked Duck remained at Foxhole on 31st.

A possible American Wigeon was found at Cley (Norfolk) on 6th.

Bringing a touch of variety, our honorary waterbird, the adult male Pied-billed Grebe at Loch Feorlin (Argyll & Bute), was seen again there on 4th.

 

With the notable exception of a certain plover in East Yorkshire, things were a little quieter this week than of late amongst the waders. Some westerlies might, at this juncture, have stirred things up a touch, and one or two Nearctic birds hinted at what might have been with a helping hand from the wind…

A Baird’s Sandpiper was found on 3rd at Clonakilty (Co.Cork), and another on 6th at Murreagh (Co.Kerry).

Fair Isle (Shetland), meanwhile, scored a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on 1st.

A Pectoral Sandpiper was present at Alturlie Point (Highland) on 31st and again on 5th; and another was present at Kinsale Marsh (Co.Cork) on 5th. On 6th birds were found at Cley (Norfolk), and Castle Island (Northumberland).

The adult Long-billed Dowitcher was still present at Potter Heigham Marshes (Norfolk) on 31st-4th, with another seen at Cliffe Pools RSPB (Kent) on 1st.

The recent Scillonian Lesser Yellowlegs on Tresco had wandered to St Mary’s on 1st also.

A Kentish Plover was found on 2nd at Sprinkle Pill (Pembrokeshire).

An American Golden Plover was noted in flight over Polgigga (Cornwall) on 1st, while in Shetland the recent individual was again seen at Sandwick on 5th.

Dotterels were starting to move, with a number of individuals noted this week scattered sparingly across Britain and Ireland – one remained on Tresco (Scilly) on 31st-6th, and further single birds were found on 31st at Blackrock (Co.Cork); on 1st at East Pentire (Cornwall) and Bredon Hill (Worcestershire); on 2nd at Long Mynd (Shropshire) and near Cawston Heath (Norfolk); and on 3rd at Snettisham RSPB (Norfolk) and Spurn (East Yorkshire). On 4th one was heard only at Inishmore (Co.Galway) in the small hours. On 5th birds were seen in Kent at Seasalter, Oare Marshes KWT, and Sandwich Bay, while in East Yorkshire one was present on the Humber at Sammy’s Point. On 6th, one was seen at Easington (East Yorkshire).

Two Temminck’s Stints lingered into this week – individuals still present on 31st at Monks House Pool (Northumberland) and at Cotswold Water Park (Gloucestershire).

A probable Collared Pratincole was seen in Nottinghamshire at Misson on 31st, and reported again from the area on 1st.

Lastly, a Red-necked Phalarope was found on 3rd at Branston GPs (Staffordshire), while another phalarope, initially reported as Red-necked, was found at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 4th; and a single Grey Phalarope was seen from that pelagic off Baltimore (Co.Cork) on 5th.

 

Our recent wandering adult Elegant Tern headed back south a little ways this week, showing up again at Knott End (Lancashire) on 31st-1st. Where next – will it abandon the northwest and track further down south, or have we a few days left in it yet?

Moving to Ireland, the adult Forster’s Tern wandered a little away from it’s usual haunts, being seen at Gormanstown (Co.Meath) on 31st, but was back at Soldier’s Point (Co.Louth) on 1st-3rd.

A juvenile White-winged Black Tern, seen at Hill Head (Hampshire) on 3rd-5th was perhaps that seen the previous week in neighbouring Dorset; another was trapped at Lough Beg (Co.Cork) on 2nd; and a probable bird was seen on 6th off Portrane Point (Co.Dublin).

A possible Caspian Tern was seen offshore at Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon) on 3rd.

Moving on to the gulls, it was yet another good week for Sabine’s Gulls, with around 50 reported, though once again there will surely have been an element of duplication on some well-watched coastlines. Peak counts came from Flamborough (East Yorkshire), where three were seen on 2nd-3rd, and Cowbar (Cleveland), where three were also noted on 1st.

The adult Bonaparte’s Gull was still present at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 3rd-5th while, on Belfast Lough (Co.Down), the other recent adult remained on 31st-5th. The adult was again seen in Co.Cork at Garretstown Beach on 6th.

An adult Ring-billed Gull was seen at Black Rock Strand (Co.Kerry) on 1st and again on 6th; and the adult remained at Nimmo’s Pier (Co.Galway) on 4th.

Staying in Ireland, the only Irish white-winger this week was an Iceland Gull found in Cork (Co.Cork) on 1st. In Scotland, two Glaucous Gulls were seen around Lossiemouth (Moray) on 4th.

 

In an otherwise quiet week, we can be thankful for the female Snowy Owl still present out on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 1st, and the male bird again seen this week up on Ben Macdui (Aberdeenshire) on 2nd-4th.

In other news, the male Montagu’s Harrier was still present on Foulness Island (Essex) on 4th.

Potentially some of the biggest news of the week flew over Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 5th – a possible Eleonora’s Falcon.

 

Once again this week, the Wrynecks just kept on flooding into Britain – if the prior week amounted to some 80 birds, the week just gone surpassed even that, with at least 125 birds logged, including four on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) alone on 2nd-4th; another four reported from St Martin’s (Scilly) on 2nd; and another quartet on St Agnes (Scilly) on 5th, with three that day on St Mary’s on Peninnis Head alone. Elsewhere, counts of two or three birds were made at a number of sites, and single birds were well scattered across the country, both at coastal sites and inland.

Just one Bee-eater was noted in recent days – heard only over Tresco (Scilly) on 1st.

Scilly also accounted for our only report of a Golden Oriole, on St Martin’s on 2nd.

A Red-rumped Swallow was seen heading east over Littlehampton (West Sussex) in the evening of 5th.

Seven Red-backed Shrikes were logged this week – a bird in Nanquidno Valley (Cornwall) on 3rd; and on 5th, individuals on Out Skerries (Shetland), around Pagham Harbour (West Sussex), and inland at Wokingham (Berkshire). The Pagham and Nanquidno birds remained on 6th, and further individuals were seen on Unst (Shetland), at Porthleven (Cornwall), and Kilnsea (East Yorkshire).

A female Woodchat Shrike was found on 6th on St Mary’s (Scilly).

Away from Blakeney Point, the best of the week’s scarce and rare warblers was a Booted Warbler on 5th on Galley Head (Co.Cork), while the recent individual was still present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 31st-1st.

Further variety came in the form of a Western Bonelli’s Warbler on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 4th-6th.

A couple of fresh Greenish Warblers were found on 2nd – one at Thorpeness (Suffolk), and the other, destined to linger until 3rd, at Haddons Pits NT (Isle of Wight). Two more westerly birds were found on 5th – one at St Levan (Cornwall), and the other on Cape Clear (Co.Cork).

An Arctic Warbler was found on 6th at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire).

A Blyth’s Reed Warbler was seen briefly on 5th on Bardsey (Gwynedd). Fair Isle (Shetland) got a Marsh Warbler on 6th.

Fair Isle served up a Melodious Warbler on 31st-6th, trapped and ringed on the former date; one more was found on Mizen Head (Co.Cork) on 31st; another was seen on Galley Head (Co.Cork) on 4th; one was in Kenidjack (Cornwall) on 6th; and a probable was present at Park Head (Cornwall) on 3rd.

Icterine Warblers remained in short supply – just three were seen this week, one apiece for Soar (Devon) and Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 1st, and one in Kent on Sheppey at Leysdown CP on 4th.

Meanwhile, Barred Warblers scaled the dizzy heights of double figures again this week, with some 20 birds noted nationally, of which two on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 31st-1st and again on 5th were the highest single site count.

A quartet of Rose-coloured Starlings were a shadow of the higher numbers of the past couple of months – this week’s birds were seen on Harris (Western Isles) still on 31st, at Portland Harbour (Dorset) on 2nd, and present at Dungarvan (Co.Waterford) still on 4th and Stromness (Orkney) again on 6th.

The recent female Bluethroat remained on St Mary’s (Scilly) at Porth Hellick Pool on 31st-4th, joined there by a second bird on-site on 3rd. A male bird was found on 6th at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire).

A sign of things to come were a couple of sightings of Red-breasted Flycatchers in Norfolk this week – one at Trimingham on 31st was reported again from there on 2nd; and another was seen at Winterton North Dunes on 1st. On 5th a further bird was found on St Martin’s (Scilly), whilst a probable bird was present on Holy Island (Northumberland), and one was reported from Portland (Dorset) on 6th.

Norfolk also flirted with the headlines with a probable Pechora Pipit at Winterton North Dunes on 1st. Despite searching, it wasn’t seen again and pinned down.

On Fair Isle (Shetland) a Citrine Wagtail lingered on 31st-2nd.

Fair Isle was where it was at where Common Rosefinches were concerned, with a couple of chunky counts – eight birds noted on there on 31st, and seven present there on 3rd. Nine more were found across the country over the course of the week before, on 5th, a further half dozen were found nationwide, with one penetrating as far southwest as Scilly, being seen on Bryher. On 6th the pace quickened again, with six birds on Unst (Shetland), and seven scattered elsewhere in Britain.

Finally, a handful of Ortolan Buntings were logged this week – one in Ireland at Mizen Head (Co.Cork) on 31st; and the other trapped and ringed at Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall) on 3rd, and still present there on 4th-5th. 5th was marked by a couple more being found, one on St Mary’s (Scilly), and the other at Flamborough (East Yorkshire). On 6th more were seen, on Portland (Dorset) and over Abbotsbury (Dorset).

 

Starting the overseas news again with the big birds, the first Pallas’s Fish Eagle for Belarus was still present on 2nd-4th at Wolma fish farm while, in Sweden, the Lesser Spotted Eagle remained at Kvarnagatan on 5th. Sweden also scored its first ever Moustached Warbler on 31st, trapped and ringed at Bingsmarken, Skåne.

In Denmark, a Rufous Turtle Dove was found on 31st at Christianso.

The Dutch Pygmy Cormorant remained in Holland at Plas Laagraven on 2nd-5th, while two birds were seen in France at Etang d’Aston on 31st-1st.

A Great Knot was seen on 2nd in Bulgaria at Pomorie Lake.

Moving further afield, the Azores fired an autumnal opening salvo with a Cliff Swallow on Corvo on 4th.

Finally, slightly belated news comes of a Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel seen in the Gulf of Aqaba off Eilat (Israel) on 22nd. If accepted, that would be both a national and a Western Palearctic first…

 

At the time of writing, it’s hard to know which horse to back in the coming week – both easterlies and westerlies look on the cards in the days to come, but neither has a Grand National winner look about it.

Both points of the compass offer, of course, much historic promise at this point in the year…

Should the west open up, realistic options include all the usual wader suspects - Semipalmated and Baird’s Sandpipers in particular, and to a lesser but still substantial extent, Wilson’s Phalarope and American Golden Plover.

Were the door to the east to open, it’s definitely starting to feel like warbler o’clock. Prime time for more Greenish and Arctic Warblers, and a reasonable chance of a Booted Warbler - again, like those waders, all very solid and attainable self-found birds should the Fates smile upon us.

If we’re to pick a long shot this week – and these days, it’s the birding equivalent of the 100-1 horse you’d never back, but occasionally just might squeak home – it’s got to be Yellow-breasted Bunting - 64 historic records for the coming week speak volumes of a time when they were once much commoner, globally, than now they are. But they’re still out there, in much reduced numbers, and one could still find its way here. If we’re very, very lucky…

 

Jon Dunn
7 Sept 2021

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

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