Weekly birding round-up: 27 Jun - 3 Jul 2023
If ever a week was a curate’s egg, the past week certainly qualified. On the one hand, two of our headlining birds were both excellent rarities, but both painfully transient… and, on the other hand, our third headliner, whilst less rare in a national context, was a well-received and lingering county first. In birding, as in the real world, you win some, you lose some.
We’ve been relatively spoiled lately with what, for years, was an extreme blocker. The first British Pacific Swift was the bird picked up exhausted out at sea on a gas platform on 19th June 1981, and released later that day at Beccles (Suffolk) – a bird seen by a precious few folk in all. The next, a one-day bird in Norfolk at Cley on 30th May 1993, stayed long enough for some, though infamously not all, twitchers to connect with it.
And after that, we’ve had a number of birds found, with 11 accepted records currently sitting on the British list and another waiting in the wings – this being the bird seen last year in Shetland at Sumburgh on 19th June, and Noss on 21st June. And then there’s this year’s prior offering, a bird found in Somerset at Ham Wall RSPB for 10 minutes on 8th May.
2013 was a good year, with a lingering and wandering bird seen well in Suffolk, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. On the basis of that bird alone, there’ll be plenty of birders who can feel relatively sanguine that this week’s bird, again in Shetland, wasn’t twitchable.
And what of that bird? Found by BBRC stalwart Dave Fairhurst flying around the foghorn on Sumburgh Head mid-morning on 2nd, it was present for a matter of minutes before moving on, un-photographed but crucially seen well by Dave.
A quick glance at last year’s BBRC Rarities Report tells us that 2021 was the first year in which two Pacific Swifts were recorded in Britain. Here we are, two years later, and it looks like it’s happened again. They seem to be arriving with increasing frequency, albeit they remain a top-drawer rarity, and in time there’s bound to be another readily twitchable mainland UK example.
On the subject of brief, rare swifts, that brings us to the next of the week’s headlining birds – a Little Swift seen and, happily, photographed by Simon Jump for all of five minutes in the morning of 29th at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire).
In the overall, national, scheme of things, they’re not as rare as Pacific Swift, with 27 accepted birds now on the books. Lincolnshire alone boasts two Little Swifts – one-day birds both, at Barton-upon-Humber on 26th June 1998, and Gibraltar Point NNR on 25th June 2002. From a county-list perspective, the wait for another had been a long one, and frustratingly this week’s bird wasn’t going to give itself up readily. Nonetheless, a cracking find.
If those two rare swifts were proving a little frustrating for all but the fortunate few who happened to be in the right place at the right time, the same couldn’t be said for the first Lesser Scaup for Norfolk, found this week at Colney GPs on 27th by Robin Chittenden – a drake, it went on to do the decent thing, and remained present there until 3rd, albeit often showing somewhat distantly.
Seems like I have found a first for Norfolk. Although long expected its still very exciting.
— Wildlife Photography (@RobinChittenden) June 28, 2023
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) Colney GPs, Norfolk 28th June 2023 pic.twitter.com/pu59TvN0b9
The Lesser Scaup story is a remarkable one – from Britain’s first, found on Chasewater (Staffordshire) on 8th March – 26th April 1987, we’ve come a hell of a long way. To the end of 2021, we now have 226 accepted birds on the books, albeit there was a five year hiatus when it was no longer considered rare enough to warrant BBRC ratification. Remarkably, given the county’s calibre for rarities, there’d hitherto been none in Norfolk. Almost every county in England seemed to have had at least one bird, so a confirmed individual in Norfolk was well overdue…
Would we have predicted it would be a midsummer bird? Well, on the basis of Britain’s now extensive precedent, probably not, but no Norfolk birders were likely to be complaining this week.
The sea-watching season is firmly upon us now, and that means it’s time to dust off the scope, charge up the camera, make prayers to the birding gods and, if you’re heading offshore, pack your sea legs.
A couple of timely reminders of the scarcer possibilities came this week, not least in the form of the first Fea’s / Desertas Petrel of the year, noted passing Pendeen (Cornwall) in the mid-afternoon of 30th. More of these prizes surely to follow in the weeks to come.
Were that not enough of an appetiser, a Barolo Shearwater was seen on 2nd in the Sound of Jura off Islay (Argyll & Bute).
There was a time, decades back, when Wilson’s Petrel felt like the almost exclusive preserve of those who took to the Scillonian for its annual pilgrimage out into the rolling waters of the western approaches. These days, sightings from land are pretty much annual, and both England and Ireland got in on that act this week – in Cornwall one seen from Pendeen on 28th preceded two birds noted from there on 1st, and singles on 2nd and 3rd; Trevedran was doing well too, with single birds seen from there on 30th and 1st; and a probable from Porthgwarra on 2nd.
If Cornwall is a reliable vantage point from which to hope to find one of these smart petrels, they’re a rarer proposition further east in neighbouring Devon, so more unusual in a county birding context was a bird seen from Start Point on 28th. An Irish bird was seen from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 30th. Finally, the ever reliable Scilly pelagics scored two birds on 29th.
Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) also notched up a Leach’s Petrel on 30th; another was seen at sea from the ferry between Douglas and Heysham (Isle of Man / Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 1st.
Modest numbers of Great Shearwaters were found in recent days – in Cornwall, two seen from Porthgwarra on 27th, and one from Pendeen on 30th; and in Ireland, three from Deelick Point (Co.Kerry) on 30th, and one from Creevagh Head (Co.Mayo) on 1st.
A scatter of Cory’s Shearwaters were also noted – single birds seen from the Scillonian and west of Wolf Rock (Scilly) on 30th, and off North Uist (Western Isles) on 1st – the latter remaining a significant Scottish sea-watching prize. On 3rd additional single birds were seen from the Scillonian, off Severn Beach (Gloucestershire), from The Lizard (Cornwall), and from Rame Head (Cornwall), while four were logged passing Porthgwarra (Cornwall).
Numbers of Balearic Shearwaters were picking up a little in the English Channel – two seen from Portland (Dorset) on 29th were followed by nine off there on 30th, and three on 2nd; a single bird was seen from Trevedran (Cornwall) on 30th; a singleton from Dungeness (Kent) on 1st, and a single bird off Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon) on 1st also; and a singleton from Rame Head (Cornwall) on 3rd.
A Pomarine Skua was seen from Porthgwarra (Cornwall) on 2nd.
After that little lot, it fell to the Scilly pelagic of 3rd to really raise the bar, and remind us of the potential they offer at the best of times – and, in this year in particular with abnormally warm seas around Britain, perhaps even more in the worst of times. This pelagic notched up 18 Wilson’s Petrels, two Great Shearwaters, one Cory’s Shearwater, and four Sabine’s Gulls. What on earth could the coming weeks hold for those waters?
Another week, and another scatter of Night Heron sightings – there will surely be some breeding on our shores this year. Recent birds were again seen at Ouse Marshes RSPB (Cambridgeshire) on 27th-1st, and at Adwick Washlands RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 28th-3rd. Another was seen near Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) on 28th; one was reported again from Marazion Marsh RSPB (Cornwall) on 2nd; and possible birds over Wem (Shropshire) on 27th, and at Mourne Park (Co.Down) on 29th.
A first-summer Purple Heron was seen at Gosforth Park (Northumberland) on 29th-3rd.
Co.Wexford proved to be a hotspot for Glossy Ibis sightings this week – two birds were again seen at Tacumshin on 28th; one again at Ring Marsh on 30th; and three over Lady’s Island Lake on 1st. In Britain, two settled at Cantley Beet Factory (Norfolk) on 28th-3rd; one was present at Blue House Farm EWT (Essex) on 27th-29th; and an unconfirmed report came of three at Ely (Cambridgeshire) on 1st.
Norfolk, as we’ve seen, was the locus of decent quacker sightings this week. The county’s first Lesser Scaup aside, a female Ferruginous Duck was once more seen at Hickling Broad NWT on 29th, a reminder of what an extraordinary run of diving ducks the county’s been blessed with in recent months.
In Suffolk the drake Ring-necked Duck remained at Carlton Marshes SWT on 27th-3rd; one was seen again at Fairburn Ings RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 27th; another was reported from Boultham Mere (Lincolnshire) on 2nd.
The drake Black Duck was still to be seen on Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 27th.
Finally, in Aberdeenshire the second-summer drake King Eider remained on the Ythan estuary on 27th-2nd.
Another county struck gold this week, with the discovery of a Pacific Golden Plover on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 30th-1st. In Norfolk, meanwhile, the adult American Golden Plover was last seen at Cley NWT on 28th.
Orkney also sported a Pectoral Sandpiper on Westray still on 27th-30th. Another was found at Maiden’s Hall Lake (Northumberland) on 29th.
In Shetland, the returning Broad-billed Sandpiper, last seen displaying near Levenwick on 11th, was once more down at the south end of Mainland in the evening of 2nd, found initially on Pool of Virkie and, latterly, relocating to Grutness.
A possible White-rumped Sandpiper was found on 3rd at Frodsham Marsh (Cheshire & Wirral).
A Temminck’s Stint was seen on Castle Lake at Bishop Middleham (Co.Durham) on 27th.
The Long-billed Dowitcher popped back out of the woodwork in Norfolk again this week, being seen at Hickling Broad NWT on 29th-1st, and Cley NWT on 3rd.
Our strong summer collective of breeding Black-winged Stilts continued to delight observers this week – as many as 11 birds remained at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 28th; the family party of six birds were still to be seen at Eddersthorpe Flash (South Yorkshire) on 27th-2nd, with five birds still going strong as the week drew to a close on 3rd; two were still present at Adwick Washlands RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 27th-3rd; one flew over Orgreave Lagoons (South Yorkshire) on 29th; and the male remained at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 27th-3rd.
Finishing where we began the weekly waders, on Orkney’s North Ronaldsay, four Red-necked Phalaropes remained on the island on 30th-1st, with at least one still present on 3rd.
Terns continued to make most of the running in the gulls’n’terns division this week. Foremost amongst them, the adult male Least Tern was again seen in Co.Dublin in the Little Tern colony at Portrane on 1st-2nd.
In Northumberland the adult surinamensis American Black Tern was again seen at Long Nanny on 29th-3rd.
Northern England provided a couple of White-winged Black Tern sightings – in Northumberland at East Chevington NWT on 27th-29th, and in Lancashire & North Merseyside on 29th and again on 2nd at Brockholes LWT and Alston reservoirs. On 3rd a bird was found in Cambridgeshire at Fen Drayton RSPB.
Caspian Terns settled for a while at Dungeness (Kent) on 27th-28th, and at Hickling Broad NWT (Norfolk) on 27th-29th; perhaps the latter bird accounted for the individual seen powering up and down the Norfolk coast past Titchwell RSPB in the evening of 3rd.
An adult Bonaparte’s Gull was found on 3rd near Stag Rocks (Northumberland).
Just three Glaucous Gulls were seen this week, a first-summer bird at Longhoughton Steel (Northumberland) on 27th, a first-summer on Pool of Virkie (Shetland) on 2nd, and another in Shetland on Yell on 3rd. Only one Iceland Gull was seen – this being a second-summer bird on Shetland’s Mainland in Lerwick on 2nd.
After a flurry of potential excitement on the raptor front in recent weeks, a much quieter few days elapsed lately, with just a few Black Kite notable – one seen over Gillingham (Kent) on 29th; sightings in Devon on 2nd at Halberton and Woodbury Salterton; and another reported on 2nd at Bampton (Oxfordshire).
News that the returning Bee-eaters at Trimingham (Norfolk) had failed in their initial breeding attempt was disappointing, but three birds remained this week in the area, and may yet prosper anew. A fresh arrival of birds came elsewhere in recent days – a dozen on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 1st-3rd, and a party of five birds at Dalkeith (Lothian) on 1st also.
Any Great Grey Shrike at this time of year is a notable event, but when the bird in question is a pallidirostris Steppe Grey Shrike, it’s straying into the territory of the remarkable. Typically an autumn vagrant, there’s precious little precedent for a summer record – this being limited to a bird that spent 17th June – 12th July 2003 on the Isle of Man at Ballaghennie Ayres. To that, this week, we can add another bird – one found in Highland & Caithness near Branault on 29th-3rd. Curiously, another Great Grey Shrike was reported on 29th in Greater Manchester at Watergrove reservoir.
A male Red-backed Shrike was found inland at Middleton Lakes RSPB (Staffordshire) on 27th; another on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 30th-3rd; and a final bird on Shetland at Hillswick on 1st. An additional possible bird was reported late on 3rd near Tintagel (Cornwall).
A probable Short-toed Lark was seen on the Isle of Wight at St Catherine’s Point on 30th.
Scarce warblers were drying up this week, but a few Marsh Warblers were keeping the side up – predominantly in Shetland, but with a couple of outliers on the British mainland at Adwick Washlands RSPB (South Yorkshire) on 28th, and Sheepcote Valley (East Sussex) on 30th. Shetland birds were two ranging in the Swinister Burn on Mainland on 27th-30th, with at least one still present by 3rd; one still on Fair Isle on 27th-29th; and a bird on Foula on 30th.
Also in Shetland, the recent singing Icterine Warbler, last heard in Lerwick on 20th, put in another appearance in the area on 27th-28th. Another was heard at an undisclosed site in Lanark (Clyde) on 29th.
A Melodious Warbler was seen in Eastbourne (East Sussex) on 29th.
The singing male Bluethroat remained at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 27th-3rd. Another was seen at Musselburgh (Lothian) on 28th.
The male Blue-headed Wagtail remained at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 27th.
A singing Common Rosefinch was found at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) on 29th.
A Serin was noted at Beachy Head (East Sussex) on 30th.
And finally, belated news came on 3rd of a Spanish Sparrow reported on rocks on the banks of the River Teifi near Dolaugwyrddon (Ceredigion / Carmarthenshire) on 13th June. Needless to say, were that furnished with some more corroboration it would be flying into the headlines without further ado – with just 10 accepted birds on the British books, and the last in 2012, it remains a heavyweight rarity. At least several of the past birds hung around for a while – not least the resident at Waterside (Cumbria) that managed a terrific 884 days until it was last seen there in December 1998. Will we ever see his like again? Hopefully.
Just maybe auguring something for the future further north, a couple of African Royal Terns were found this week – one in the Mediterranean in Nice (France) on 29th, and another the same day seen heading north past Cabo Raso (Portugal).
In Spain, the lingering Ancient Murrelet remained at the mouth of the River Odiel near Huelva on 2nd.
A little closer to home, in France the White-rumped Swift was back for another summer amongst the Red-rumped Swallows at Minerve on 22nd-26th.
July’s now upon us and, as we saw in the week just gone, seabirds are starting to dominate the news and our wildest dreams. It’s that delicious time of year when almost anything feels possible.
Even the absolutely preposterous. One British record alone of Ascension Frigatebird would be remarkable enough, but two, sixty years apart and both in Argyll & Bute, remains one of the more striking entries on the British list. The first was found moribund on Tiree on 9th July 1953; and the last in better fettle on Islay on 5th July 2013.
We could hardly anticipate another any time soon, but the fact remains that from here on the next couple of months represents a time of high opportunity for sea-watchers. And, one of these days, a frigatebird of one species or another will finally fall to more than one or two lucky observers. Maybe this year, with our abnormally hot seas, is the year after all.
Jon Dunn
4 Jul 2023
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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