Weekly birding round-up: 14 - 20 Dec 2021
Anyone dreaming of a white Christmas this year may not draw the curtains on Christmas morning to find the world blanketed in snow, but the headlines of this, the final Rarity Round Up of 2021, certainly include some white elements. Alas they relate to birds that are both, for different reasons, strictly unattainable…
Boasting 50 accepted records to the end of 2019, a White-throated Sparrow is, statistically at least, not going to set the world on fire in a British context. That said, it’s a cold-hearted birder who can’t lift their pulse for a Nearctic sparrow – they’re smart, good-looking birds in an understated way, and they’re an ocean away from home, after all.
(© Miff Smith)
How they’ve crossed that ocean has been a matter of some tepid conjecture for decades. Heated debate would be overstating the case… nobody cares that much, given we know that plenty of passerines are more than capable of turning up here under their own steam, thousands of miles adrift. But still. There remain some who are adamant that Nearctic sparrows are all ship-assisted.
And, to be fair, some certainly appear to be. Any vagrant sparrow turning up in the vicinity of a major port is probably doing its credentials for genuine, unassisted, free-flying vagrancy no favours whatsoever. On the subject of which, news emerged this week of a White-throated Sparrow present in Southampton Docks (Hampshire) on 13th, in an area with no general access, having been there since August.
Hampshire’s got four past records on the books to date, relating to three individual birds. That two of those were in or near Southampton is probably no coincidence, and speaks volumes of a little potential ship assistance. The third bird, that which returned to Old Winchester Hill in 2010-11 after first being seen there in 2008-09, wasn’t a million miles as the sparrow flies from Southampton either. But, like I said, who’s caring that much, really? We can’t possibly know the twists and turns in the tale and provenance of so many of the birds that make it to Britain.
And that long-staying Old Winchester Hill bird surely means there’s barely a Hampshire lister who’s not already added White-throated Sparrow to their county list. That probably helps to make the lack of public access to see this latest bird all fairly moot – there can’t be many birders out there who are keenly feeling their exclusion.
Now, had this been a Fox Sparrow… the year would have had a final sting in the tail, and this week’s opening headline would have been a very different story indeed.
If one bird could be said to have been the stand-out, jaw-dropping rarity of 2020, it surely has to have been the White-chinned Petrel found and photographed by Robert Foubister on the edges of Scapa Flow (Orkney) on 25th May of that year. So unexpected and outlandish was the bird that, despite published photographs supporting the record, the BBRC requested original, uncropped, image files… someone, presumably, fearing – erroneously, as it transpired – foul play at work.
Yet all was well with the photographic evidence – this really was the Western Palearctic’s first White-chinned Petrel. A couple of further sightings ensued in Britain as the year wore on, in Shetland and Norfolk respectively, but neither appears to have been submitted. Without photographic evidence, really, one wonders whether it’s worth even trying with seabirds this ultra-rare.
Breaking news this week that another White-chinned Petrel has been photographed in the Western Palearctic is glad tidings, not least for the IRBC as it’s them that will be assessing the record. That good news is somewhat tempered by the fact that it was seen back on 15th September, over the Porcupine Bank some 150 miles west of Co.Galway. Dutch Birding subscribers will be able to take a gander at the bird in this issue.
Still, this latest record has got to be viewed as encouraging. Where one – or two – birds have gone, it or others may follow. The range of plausible possibilities for British and Irish sea-watchers grows, incrementally, ever larger.
As we draw near to Christmas, and with a sense of mounting drama second only to the annual climax in Albert Square, the saga of Lancashire’s elusive male Belted Kingfisher continues to stutter and start, teasing us all on a near daily basis.
The week began promisingly, with the revelation that the bird had been seen on 14th on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Withnell Fold. Then, nothing… until 17th, when it was again seen fleetingly there at midday. Of course, what followed was a whole lot more nothing, until…
…in the afternoon of 20th, another sighting – now on the River Darwen outside Samlesbury (Lancashire). Is this bird finally going to do the decent thing and settle down? At the time of going to press on 21st, the bird greeted dawn on the winter solstice by showing well at Roach Bridge...
It’s hard to imagine a better Christmas present for a great many British birders than this bird, let alone those on its doorstep in Lancashire but, as a significant caveat, the area south of the River Ribble is absolutely riddled with waterways, big and small, and that’s a large area for an elusive and powerful-flying bird to lose itself in.
Comfortably the rarest seabird of the week, the Pacific Diver remained comfortably settled on Eglwys Nunydd reservoir (Glamorgan) on 14th-20th, sharing the site for good measure with a Grey Phalarope. In Co.Cork, the Pacific Diver was once more seen at Crookhaven on 20th.
Our only report of a White-billed Diver was a probable bird seen five miles out to sea off Hartlepool (Cleveland) on 16th.
High pressure moving into our airspace heralded not only settled, unseasonably warm weather for many, but also slammed the door in the face of the weekly Little Auk show. We’ve become accustomed lately to totals numbering at least in the low hundreds, but recent days were a very different story – just one bird was logged, off Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 17th.
A Great Shearwater was seen going east past Sheringham (Norfolk) on 20th.
The English southwest, finally, provided most of our handful of recent Pomarine Skuas - on 15th, two off Broadsands and one off Brixham (Devon); and from Cornwall, one on 15th from Pendennis Point, and another on 20th from Pendeen. The exception to the rule was one on 19th seen heading south past Fife Ness (Fife).
For once, it fell to the long-legged beasties to supply the week’s biggest birding event – or rather, in light of the headlines, the biggest contemporary one. It’s incredible, really, how quickly we’ve become accustomed to the abundant wintering presence of Glossy Ibises in Britain and Ireland – testament, ultimately, to changes in their status beyond our immediate shores. Memories of anxiously waiting in the biting cold on Kent’s Lampen Wall at dusk hoping to catch a glimpse of the regular Stodmarsh NNR bird some thirty years ago are fading now…
Recent weeks have regularly included sightings of some 20 birds scattered across southern and eastern England, with a few outliers in Ireland for good measure. This week, they were mostly still present and correct, but were substantially augmented by a large arrival, numbering some 50 birds in total, with at least two making it just about as far north as it’s possible to go, being seen on Unst (Shetland) on 19th, rising to three or four birds there on 20th.
The latter party were far from an anomaly – one was present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 15th-18th, and another on Foula (Shetland) on 20th, while the week’s highest counts all came from Orkney’s Westray – here, numbers rose from seven birds on 15th to eight individuals on 16th-17th, and then a magnificent 10 birds on 18th-19th. At the opposite end of the country, nine birds were reported from the Isle of Wight on 18th at Morton Common, followed on 20th by eight confirmed birds at Brading Marsh RSPB.
Small parties were seen in Ireland too – three birds being seen over Ardmore (Co.Waterford) on 17th; four on Mweenish Island (Co.Galway) on 18th rising to seven there the following day; and four on 20th over Donabate (Co.Dublin).
And so to the festive honkers and quackers, and what says Christmas more than The Goose Formerly Known As Canada. (Well, apart from pretty much anything you care to mention. But like unwrapping an educational toy from a well-meaning relative on a childhood Christmas morning, you’ve got to work with what you’re given…) So, interior Todd’s Canada Geese - half a dozen of those, spread widely from Yell (Shetland) still on 17th to Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 17th, with birds in between on North Uist (Western Isles) on 19th, Tiree (Argyll & Bute) still on 17th, at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB (Lancashire) on 16th and, on 19th-20th, near Elwick (Northumberland).
And hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Geese - four of them, with one also at Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) still on 17th, Iskay (Argyll & Bute) also holding one still on 15th, Lissadell (Co.Sligo) retaining its bird on 14th-18th, and Lancastrian sightings coming once more from Banks Marsh NNR on 17th and Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB the previous day.
Two Cackling Geese again seen on North Uist (Western Isles) on 19th – with one at least still present on the island on 20th - bring TGFKAC to an end for another year…
Sightings of Black Brant this week came from Seasalter (Kent) again on 17th, Mersea Island (Essex) once more sporadically on 15th-19th, and on The Fleet (Dorset) on 18th-19th again.
A possible Grey-bellied Brant was present on 17th at Blackrock College (Co.Dublin).
A dusting of Snow Geese were noted this week, headed by the three white morphs again at Loch Spynie (Moray) on 15th-19th, and further white birds at Skinflats Lagoons RSPB (Forth) still on 17th, Airth (Forth) on 19th, and at Lissadell (Co.Sligo) still on 14th-20th.
In Ayrshire, the Ross’s Goose was again logged at Hunterston on 17th.
Onto the quackers and, once more, the best of them were seaducks, with two Black Scoters noted this week – one still at Stag Rocks (Northumberland) on 15th-20th, and the other in Moray at Lossiemouth again on 17th-19th – and the drake White-winged Scoter still present in Lothian off Musselburgh on 16th-19th.
Musselburgh (Lothian) held onto its three regular Surf Scoters on 16th-18th, with further single Scottish birds seen off Barra (Western Isles) still on 17th-18th, Lossiemouth (Moray) still on 17th, and from Kirkwall (Orkney) on 19th; two were seen from Lossiemouth (Moray) on 19th. On Scilly, the Tresco bird was again seen on 19th-20th. An Irish bird was lingering off Termonfeckin (Co.Louth) on 14th-18th still.
Seven Lesser Scaups remained available this week, with Ireland heading the field with three birds – at Bateman’s Lake (Co.Cork) still on 14th-15th; Lough Neagh (Co.Armagh) still on 14th-15th; and on Round Lough (Co.Cavan) still on 18th. Scottish birds were still present in the Western Isles on Lewis on 15th-19th and South Uist on 15th-20th. The English southwest retained at least one female at Beesands (Devon) until 20th, and the first-winter drake still on Tresco (Scilly) on 15th-19th.
A shade over 30 Ring-necked Ducks were recorded again this week, with Dozmary Pool (Cornwall) once more the best site for them, with a peak count of eight birds present there on 15th. The highest tally elsewhere were four birds on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) still on 17th.
The drake Ferruginous Duck was once more seen at Thorpe Park (Surrey) on 14th-18th; on 20th a female was found at Aqualate Mere (Staffordshire), while the regular drake was once more seen at Blashford Lakes (Hampshire).
Derbyshire’s drake American Wigeon remained at Carr Vale NR on 14th-20th, while the drake at Marston Vale Millennium CP (Bedfordshire) was also still to be seen there on 14th-18th.
Finally, 12 Green-winged Teals were logged this week, with two sites managing two birds – these being Tain (Highland) again on 16th, and Lissadell (Co.Sligo) on 18th.
Spearheading the waders this week is, as ever, the persistent adult White-tailed Lapwing in East Yorkshire – a bird whose protracted stay is starting to raise some eyebrows – is all well with it? Were this a rare duck we’d be beginning to feel it’s stayed too long for its own good… In the absence of a really cold snap, it’s looking increasingly resident – and was still to be seen at Blacktoft Sands RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 14th-16th.
On Scilly, the Spotted Sandpiper was still present on St Mary’s on 18th.
In Lancashire, a possible American Golden Plover was noted over Banks Marsh NNR on 14th; the juvenile remained in Co.Cork at Ballycotton on 15th.
Lincolnshire, meanwhile, landed a one-day Lesser Yellowlegs on the River Humber at Goxhill Haven on 16th; followed, on 19th, by sightings of additional birds at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) again, and on Sanday (Orkney).
Lastly, our only Grey Phalarope was the bird sharing Eglwys Nunydd reservoir (Glamorgan) with the Pacific Diver on 16th-18th.
Pick of the gulls this week were a handful of Ring-billed Gulls - including the persistent individual still in Cornwall on the Hayle estuary on 14th-20th. Another English individual was seen in Preston (Lancashire) on 18th-19th; a Scottish record came from Mull (Argyll & Bute) on 17th; and Irish birds were at Annagh beach (Co.Mayo) on 17th and at the traditional site of Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre (Co.Kerry) on 18th-19th.
The mild, settled weather this week did little for white-wingers, with subdued numbers of both species logged in recent days – some 20 Glaucous Gulls and some 30 Iceland Gulls respectively, with no notable single site counts amongst them apart from three of the latter species on 19th on Skye (Highland). In Cambridgeshire, the third-winter Kumlien’s Gull was still present in the pig fields at Heydon on 18th.
Finally, on 20th, a possible Thayer’s Gull was reported flying south past Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire).
Another week, another trio of intangible Rough-legged Buzzards… these being possible birds at Yarm (Cleveland) on 14th and near Caenby Corner (Lincolnshire) on 15th, with Lincolnshire finishing the set with the full house of caveats - an unconfirmed report of a possible bird at Bishop Norton on 14th.
A little more substantial, but with caveats of a different kind, was the report of a Snowy Owl in Co.Galway on 17th – while the bird’s identity wasn’t in question, its whereabouts were - at an undisclosed site on a headland somewhere in West Connemara. Meanwhile, in Scotland, a bird remained up on the Cairngorm Mountains plateau on 20th.
The passerines section kicks off, appropriately, with a couple of winter classics. First up, a couple of Great Grey Shrikes remained in situ – these being the individuals at Waxham (Norfolk) on 15th-18th, and in Denbighshire at Llyn Brenig still on 15th-19th.
A couple of Waxwings also cropped up on 17th – at Maryhill (Clyde) and Longbenton (Northumberland). Six birds were reported on 17th near Cudworth (South Yorkshire).
While numbers of Dusky Warblers generally didn’t set the world on fire in the autumn just gone, it’s reassuring to see that some wintering birds have been found – ample incentive for a post-Christmas lunch walk to see what you can unearth near home this coming weekend. The Kentish bird remained at Fordwich on 14th-20th, and was joined in the news this week by further examples at Walthamstow Marsh NR (London) on 14th-20th, and at St Erth (Cornwall) on 16th-19th.
Yellow-browed Warblers remained in predictably short supply – birds lingered at Clennon Valley Lakes (Devon) on 16th and Dale (Pembrokeshire) on 15th, while another was found on 15th in a Sefton (Merseyside) garden.
A possible Asian Desert Warbler was flushed twice on 17th at Druridge Bay CP (Northumberland), but wasn’t pinned down or confirmed latterly.
In Cornwall, a Rose-coloured Starling was reported from St Buryan on 14th, while the juvenile remained at Lower Boscaswell on 16th-19th, and another was found on 19th-20th in Lothian at Prestonpans.
The female Serin was still to be seen at Royal Oak (Co.Durham) on 14th-17th.
The Little Bunting remained in West Sussex at Iping Common on 14th-16th, with a further locally popular individual found in London at Upper College Farm on 14th-20th.
And finally, tantalising news from Ireland – a Catharus thrush sp present on Great Blasket Island (Co.Kerry) on 18th-19th. What might that prove to be?
Holland dominated the overseas news this week, with a stellar medley of lingering and new rarities available for the delectation of Dutch birders. Star billing goes to the Western Swamphen found on 17th-20th at Het Nieuwe Waterschap; but a strong supporting cast remained in the form of the Caspian Plover still present around Groningen on 14th, the resident Pygmy Cormorant still present at Utrecht on 16th-20th, and the surprisingly settled Eastern Olivaceous Warbler still enjoying the surroundings of Nieuwvliet-Bad on 14th-19th.
Not a million miles away, in Belgium the recent first-winter Ross’s Gull remained at Nieuwpoort until 20th.
In Sweden the male Siberian Rubythroat remained at Vargön on 15th. Hard to imagine the scenes were such a bird to start overwintering in Britain…
Italy did well for itself this week with the country’s first record of Vega Gull found on 14th at Porto San Giorgio.
A meena Western Rufous Turtle Dove was found in Switzerland on 16th at Sulgen.
And finally, out to the Azores where, like a lingering sore head on Boxing Day, the remains of the autumn’s largesse was still persisting on Terceira this week – a Great Blue Heron still present on 14th-16th, and a Snowy Egret still on 16th. Either would do us very nicely, thank you.
At the time of writing, the weather forecasters on TV are hedging their bets about the prospects of that white Christmas we opened this, the final Rarity Round Up of 2021, by invoking.
Once again, 2021 has been a year punctuated by some startling rare birds, welcome distractions from the woes of our all too human world. Will the final days of the year feature one more remarkable bird, the sort of bird calculated to disrupt peaceful family times by eliciting a panic-stricken departure from the house? Statistics suggest probably not… though there are one or two notable exceptions that give slim cause for speculative optimism, like the Mourning Dove found in Lerwick (Shetland) on Boxing Day 2015. In the wake of a superb autumn for transatlantic vagrancy, could there be another lurking out there somewhere?
More realistically, and returning to our belaboured white Christmas metaphor, let’s opt for something from the Arctic. Something white and wonderful… we’re coming to the perfect time of year for an Ivory Gull, and who wouldn’t like to find one of those…
That’s me signing off now, wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas, and a bird-filled New Year. The Rarity Round Up will return with a two-week bumper issue on 4th January but, in the meantime, the RBA news team will keep you posted with what’s occurring out there...
Jon Dunn
21 Dec 2021
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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