Weekly birding round-up: 24 - 30 Jan 2023
January drew towards a close neither with a bang nor a whimper this past week – the star turn being a bird that, these days, wasn’t going to entice many folk to make a long journey for it, but a bird that, in a Scottish context, was still pretty significant.
Well. Was that the star turn? There was a new duck too, though whether that was worth quickening the pulse for is rather a moot point.
First reported as a possible bird at Leven (Fife) on 24th, it took a couple of days for a juvenile Pacific Diver to firm up into a confirmed bird on 26th – helpfully for comparative purposes, sharing the sea with a Black-throated Diver too.
The bird continued to show well at times through the weekend and into 30th – not only a first record for Fife, but a first for mainland Scotland, and only the second confirmed Scottish record. While English and Welsh birders have been spoiled down the years with some showy and, in some instances, returning birds, it’s been a very different story north of the border.
Scotland’s first record of Pacific Diver was a frustrating affair, an adult bird seen by just two observers in the early evening of 16th May 2013 in Grutness Voe (Shetland). Not a bird for many local birders, let alone anyone elsewhere in Scotland. There’ve been a couple of possible birds reported in the intervening years, but nothing proven to date, so this week’s juvenile in Fife was set to be deservedly popular.
Speaking of popular birds, the female / first-winter drake Harlequin Duck stuck around off Barra (Western Isles) until 27th, allowing enough time for those so inclined to make a pilgrimage away from the mainland to pay their respects.
Not seen after 27th, there must be a fair chance it’s still buried somewhere in the myriad bays of the many islands off the west coast of Scotland, but whether it’ll be seen again seems unlikely.
And speaking of birds that could be popular, but also seem tarred with the brush of being somewhat unlikely, that brings us neatly to the drake Falcated Duck seen at Covenham reservoir (Lincolnshire) in the afternoon of 26th. Hanging out with the local gang of Mallards there, it had been present since 25th, but was nowhere to be seen the following day. Great if you happened to be nearby at the time…
But what to make of it? On the plus side, the time of year feels good, and it seems it was fully winged and unringed. That’s all to the good.
But the whole Mallard association is somewhat less encouraging. And then the fact that there’s an ornamental wildfowl breeder based just a few fields away as the duck flies from Covenham reservoir, a breeder who boasts Falcated Duck in his inventory… nope, that’s not so good at all.
Then again, when did the proximity of a potential vagrant duck, with a full set of flappers and no evident bling, to a known pond containing captive-bred examples of its kind ever stand in the way of it being given the benefit of the doubt and the stamp of approval by BBRC, tasked with the unenviable job of adjudicating on the provenance of such things? The female Hooded Merganser on Chilham Lakes (Kent) in December 2005 made the grade despite there being a farm pond barely a mile away that sported others of her kind, after all.
It’s like that urban myth about one never being more than six feet away from a Brown Rat in London. The rural equivalent being that you’re never more than six miles from an ornamental duckpond or wildfowl breeder…
So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with this week’s bird. The fact it quickly moved on, to pastures unknown, means there won’t be a great deal of birder heat and light generated about its provenance. Had it stuck around a little while, into the weekend, it might have engendered somewhat more interest and speculation. As it stands, there are seven accepted birds on the British list, which the BBRC candidly noted “represent the Committee’s best attempt to make sense of an inevitably complicated situation".
BBRC were also explicit that, while an inexact science, they would apply a ‘criteria-based approach’:
“accepting as potentially wild those which were free-flying, unringed, arrived initially with the most likely ‘carrier species’ (Eurasian Wigeon), appeared at locations frequented by wild ducks, and occurred at an ‘appropriate’ time of year (i.e. winter to late spring but not summer)."
Those Mallard and the nearby proximity of a wildfowl breeder with Falcated Duck (and Baikal Teal…) may then torpedo dead in the water what might have been Lincolnshire’s second ever bird.
While the week’s stand-out seabird was found in Scotland, Ireland continued to give good value in the form of the constant Double-crested Cormorant still present on Doon Lough (Co.Leitrim) on 26th.
Apart from this, though, the pickings were decidedly slim, with just a Little Auk seen from Fair Isle (Shetland) on 24th notable.
Numbers of Glossy Ibises showed little sign of rallying, with just one bird seen away from the anticipated stations – this being the individual at Aldeburgh (Suffolk) on 28th. Familiar faces remained in Devon still at Fremington Pill, where two birds lingered on 27th; in Hampshire at Titchfield Haven NNR, where four birds were still to be seen on 26th-30th, and in Kent at Dungeness, where three birds remained on 24th-30th. In Ireland, meantime, the recent trio were still present at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 30th.
The honkers and quackers of note start this week in Norfolk where The Goose Formerly Known As Canada was proving locally popular in the form of a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose near Brancaster on 26th-30th; another bird was still on The Mullet (Co.Mayo) on 30th. In the English northwest, sightings of interior Todd’s Canada Goose came from Rockliffe Marsh (Cumbria) on 26th-27th again, and in Lancashire & North Merseyside at Banks Marsh NNR on 27th and Ballam on 30th; a probable bird was found on 29th at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire). Cackling Geese remained on North Uist (Western Isles) on 26th, and Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 27th.
Lesser White-fronted Geese of unknown origin were seen this week on 25th at Big Waters NR (Northumberland) again, and in Norfolk at Hanworth.
The Snow Goose was seen in Clyde again at Loch Lomond on 28th at Endrick Mouth; two were present on Stronsay (Orkney) on 24th; and the two recent birds remained settled in Co.Mayo on The Mullet on 26th-30th.
A Red-breasted Goose was seen in Cumbria at Rockliffe Marsh on 27th.
The week’s Black Brants were birds logged at Skeffling (East Yorkshire) on 25th-28th and 30th, and Beacon Ponds NR again on 29th; in Hampshire at Hurst Beach on 24th and Farlington Marshes HWT still on 28th-30th; at Thorness Bay (Isle of Wight) on 27th; and at The Naze (Essex) on 30th.
Five adult possible Grey-bellied Brants were present at Kilbarrack (Co.Dublin) on 25th.
Onto the quackers, and first up we’ve the female Baikal Teal in Nottinghamshire, starting the week at Misson on 24th-25th.
Drake American Wigeons remained this week at Big Waters NR (Northumberland) on 24th-26th, Loch of Ayre on Mainland Orkney on 26th, and at Shapwick Heath NNR (Somerset) on 27th-30th. Another was seen at Rahaslane Turlough (Co.Galway) on 27th; and the drake was reported again from Fiskerton Fen (Lincolnshire) on 29th.
Also in Ireland, the drake Black Duck remained on Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 24th-27th.
Ten widely scattered Green-winged Teals were logged this week – in Scotland on Orkney at Inganess Bay still on 27th-28th, on Barra (Western Isles) on 28th still, at Hunterston Sands (Ayrshire) on 25th still, and at Alturlie Point (Highland & Caithness) still on 30th; on Isle of Man at Poyllvaaish still on 25th-27th; in England at Colt Crag reservoir (Northumberland) still on 28th, at Greylake RSPB (Somerset) on 27th, and reported on 27th from North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire); and in Ireland at Termoncarragh Lough (Co.Mayo) on 25th again, and Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 29th.
The returning drake Ferruginous Duck remained in Co.Tyrone on Ballysaggart Lough on 25th-30th; two birds were still to be seen intermittently on Filby Broad (Norfolk) on 24th-29th, with a female on Ormesby Broad again on 29th-30th also; and the female was once again seen in Staffordshire at Aqualate Mere on 29th.
Numbers of Ring-necked Ducks held fairly firm, with some 30 birds recorded over the course of the week. There were, once more, some sites that hosted more than a singleton – duos were seen this week on 24th in England at Little Ormesby Broad (Norfolk) and Siblyback Lake (Cornwall), and in Wales at Talley Lakes (Carmarthenshire); on 27th-30th at Lisvane reservoir (Glamorgan) still; and on 30th in Co.Cork still at Blarney Castle Lake.
We did well again for Lesser Scaups, with five birds noted. Starting in Scotland, the female remained on South Uist (Western Isles) on 26th-30th; English birds numbered the female still on the Somerset Levels at Shapwick Heath NNR on 24th-29th, and the first-winter drake still on Staines reservoir (Surrey) on 24th-30th; and Irish birds a first-winter drake on Rostaff Lough (Co.Mayo) on 26th, and the drake on Lough Neagh (Co.Armagh) on 28th still.
In Cleveland the second-winter drake King Eider remained present around Redcar on 24th-30th.
The first-winter female White-winged Scoter remained off Achill Island (Co.Mayo) on 25th-30th.
The best of the week’s Surf Scoters were two drakes still off Embo (Highland & Caithness) until 30th, and two birds still off Rhunahaorine Point (Argyll & Bute) on 24th; while single birds were noted from Islay (Argyll & Bute) still on 26th, Benllech (Anglesey) on 28th-30th, Carrahane (Co.Kerry) on 28th-29th still, and off The Mullet (Co.Mayo) at Barnagh East on 30th.
Finally, in Ireland the drake Hooded Merganser was still hanging around Rosduane (Co.Mayo) on 26th-28th.
We’re getting dangerously close to the point where we might return a blank where scarce or rare waders. That week isn’t quite yet though. In Norfolk the Long-billed Dowitcher relocated to Cley again on 24th, but wasn’t seen thereafter until 29th-30th.
In Somerset, the ringed female Kentish Plover was hanging on at Burnham-on-Sea on 24th-29th.
And finally, a Grey Phalarope was found in Cornwall on 29th in Penryn on the Penryn River.
Now a firm contender for the title of most popular Sabine’s Gull ever, the adult bird remained in Hampshire at Budds Farm sewage works on 24th-30th.
An unconfirmed report of a Bonaparte’s Gull came from Kingsbridge (Devon) on 27th. This was followed in quick order by a report of a Laughing Gull at South Huish Marsh (Devon) on 29th. In both instances, nothing further was seen of either bird in question.
In Cornwall the first-winter American Herring Gull was again seen at Newlyn on 25th.
Also present in Cornwall, the adult Ring-billed Gull remained at Lelant Saltings on 24th-28th. An unconfirmed report of a bird came from Hampshire at Barton-on-Sea on 27th. In Scotland, the adult was still in Clyde at Strathclyde Loch on 24th-30th. In Ireland, two birds were seen at Tramore Strand (Co.Waterford) on 25th, a single bird at Ballylongford (Co.Kerry) on 26th and, on 30th, birds still at Ring (Co.Cork) and Blackrock (Co.Louth).
Numbers of white-wingers remained fairly unremarkable for another week. Some 40 Glaucous Gulls were seen nationwide, with 10 on Unst (Shetland) still on 24th representing a fair proportion of them.
Similarly subdued numbers of Iceland Gulls were also seen lately – around 30 birds in total. Three birds in Lerwick harbour (Shetland) on 27th-30th were the highest single site tally.
In Cambridgeshire, the adult Kumlien’s Gull showed up again at Dernford Farm reservoir on 27th-29th; another was seen in Cornwall at Mousehole on 24th and inland at Drift reservoir on 29th; and a juvenile probable bird was seen at Hornsea Mere on 26th-27th. In Ireland, the juvenile bird remained at Keadew Bridge (Co.Donegal) on 24th-28th and Kerrykeel on 29th; an adult was present on Omey Island (Co.Galway) on 24th-26th; a bird at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 30th; and a possible adult was seen at Corbally Road reservoir (Co.Antrim) on 24th.
The recent cold snap was deterring Norfolk’s star raptor this week – the juvenile female Pallid Harrier continued to haunt the Warham Greens area on 24th-30th. On 29th, the juvenile was again seen on Islay (Argyll & Bute) at Kilchoman.
Sightings of Rough-legged Buzzard owed themselves to Shetland, with a juvenile on Unst on 26th-27th, and a bird seen on Mainland at Kirkabister on 28th.
Kicking off the passerines, Penduline Tits continued their recent good run for another week. Ireland’s first record, the party of three birds, remained at The Gearagh (Co.Cork) on 24th-25th. Two birds were again seen in Kent at Elmley NNR on 27th, with at least one still present the following day; and, in Somerset, the first-winter female was still present at Stockmoor on 24th-27th.
Somerset also retained its Hume’s Warbler near Compton Dando on 24th-30th while, in Kent, the lingering bird remained in Dover on 25th-30th.
Three of our recent Yellow-browed Warblers were seen again this week – one at Martin Mere WWT (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 24th-30th still, another at Wigston (Leicestershire) on 25th-27th still, and the Heamoor (Cornwall) bird again on 28th. Another was heard only in Hampshire at Sway on 27th, and another found on 29th in Flintshire at Basingwerk Abbey.
In Kent, the Pallas’s Warbler was seen intermittently at Swalecliffe on 24th and 28th-30th.
Numbers of Waxwings consolidated a little further, dropping to around 70 birds this week in Britain as a whole. Of these, the settled flock in Edinburgh (Lothian) at Sighthill was the largest aggregation and locally popular – around 30 birds being seen daily here on 24th-30th.
Just two Great Grey Shrikes were reported this week – the New Forest bird again at Shatterford on 28th-29th, and a bird in Aberdeenshire on 27th at Mid Beltie.
A Hoopoe was a fine January find at Alconbury (Cambridgeshire) on 25th.
Back in the news again this week, juvenile Rose-coloured Starlings were again logged at Sennen (Cornwall) on 25th, and Wiveliscombe (Somerset) on 26th-30th. An additional report came of an adult somewhere in Somerset, encompassed by a somewhat vague ‘Glastonbury / Street, and the equally opaque ‘recently’.
A Richard’s Pipit was seen in Dorset at Wyke Regis on 26th-30th.
The newly found Isabelline Wheatear remained in Cornwall at Holywell Bay on 24th-30th.
The recent hornemanni Arctic Redpoll was still present at Tarmon (Co.Mayo) on 28th-30th.
Back in Cornwall at Sennen, the Serin was again seen there on 25th-27th.
Also in Cornwall, the two Little Buntings continued their winter sojourn between Cot Valley and Boscregan on 27th-29th.
Finally, what week would be complete lately without a report of a rare thrush somewhere in England? This week it was the turn of American Robin - a bird reported belatedly at Long Clawson (Leicestershire) on 20th-21st didn’t materialise into anything further this week.
Starting the week’s overseas news in northern Europe, in Sweden the Baltimore Oriole remained at Förslöv on 25th-29th.
In Poland, the drake Stejneger’s Scoter was still present at Krynica Morska on 25th-26th.
The Pygmy Cormorant remained in Antwerp (Belgium) on 25th, while the Moustached Warbler was still showing at De Gavers on 30th.
Moustached Warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon photographed at De Gavers, Harelbeke, province of Western Flanders, photo by Baptistin Legeay - 2nd record for Belgium pic.twitter.com/sV3vnBkzzh
— Tarsiger (@TarsigerTeam) January 17, 2023
France enjoyed a terrific run of Nearctic species in the latter half of 2022, and wasn’t doing so badly for itself this early in the new year either, with a Killdeer discovered at Guissény on 28th-29th. The Eastern Long-legged Buzzard remained wintering at Thibie on 30th.
A Brown Booby was seen again off Guadalhorce (Spain) on 24th.
On the Canary Islands, an African Crake was present on Lanzarote on 29th.
Heading further afield, in Israel the Pied Bushchat remained near Ma’or on 24th-30th.
Meanwhile, way out in the Atlantic, a Snowy Egret was on Terceira on 30th.
And just like that, we’re into February. One month of the year down, and some quality birds already under our collective belt. It’s perhaps a little early to expect radical change in what might occur in the week to come, but early February does have a little past form we can draw succour from.
Pick of the bunch is, arguably, the drake Redhead first seen in Nottinghamshire in March the previous year, turning up this week in 1997 on Rutland Water (Leicestershire) on 4th February, and set to remain there until 24th. To this day, Britain’s one and only accepted bird. One wonders if, rather than when, we’ll get another that passes muster. It’s perhaps no augury for the coming week…
However, with half an eye on news this past week from France, and with two historic British and Irish records for the coming week as precedent, maybe now’s the time for someone to find a Killdeer brightening up their local patch?
Jon Dunn
31 Jan 2023
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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