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Weekly birding round-up: 18 - 24 Jul 2023

There may not have been any outstanding new birds found in Britain or Ireland this week but, for British twitchers at least, that really wasn’t a big deal. Because the biggest deal of all, Britain’s first twitchable Black-winged Kite, was still very much on offer…

 

The week dawned with the recently (re)discovered Black-winged Kite still visible shortly after daybreak at Hickling Broad NWT (Norfolk), visible from the Stubb Mill viewpoint. For those present, a momentous sense of relief. While not technically the first for Britain – those laurels and plaudits go to Martyn Owen in Powys earlier in the year – it might as well have been for all concerned.

The bird continued to flirt with the area in the following days, being seen variously at Hickling Broad NWT and Horsey on 18th-20th, with guest appearances at Trimingham on 18th and West Somerton on 19th. And then, after being last seen in the morning on 20th at Horsey, it was gone.

Gone, that is, until the evening of 20th, when it was relocated miles down the coast at Felixstowe Ferry (Suffolk). It settled into the King’s Fleet area as the evening wore on, went to roost and, sure enough, was still present there as 21st dawned, to the delight of another small appreciative crowd. The Black-winged Kite show was to prove relatively short-lived as, by mid-morning, it had vanished once more.

If awards were being handed out to birds for being downright obliging, this particular individual would be right up there for some sort of recognition. News eventually emerged in the late evening of 21st that the bird had, yet again, been relocated – seen earlier in the evening at St Osyth (Essex). The weekend dawned on 22nd with the bird still, thankfully, present in the area. Recent history was to repeat itself as, by mid-morning, it had drifted off high and wasn’t to be seen again, a wholly unconfirmed report of it near Brightlingsea (Essex) on 23rd notwithstanding.

So where next for this bird? Will it continue its southward, coastal trajectory into Kent? Eyes surely will be sharply peeled on Sheppey, at Worth Marsh, and other notable raptor-friendly vantage points in the county. Surely it can’t slip through unseen? But with two days having elapsed without concrete news, maybe the Black-winged Kite show for 2023 is finally at an end…

 

And so to a bird without any such drama attached to it. Ireland’s third ever Black-winged Pratincole remained settled at Blanket Nook (Co.Donegal) throughout the week until 24th, a long stay that’s building and surely allowing any Irish birder worth their twitching salt the opportunity to connect. The wait for the next may be decades long, so it’s a bird to ignore at one’s peril.

 

Numbers of Wilson’s Petrels were a little down this week, though still comfortably into low double figures. Pick of the bunch were half a dozen birds seen from a pelagic some 20 miles south of Seven Heads (Co.Cork) on 20th; two more were seen that day from Cape Clear (Co.Cork). Prior to that, a single bird was seen at sea off the Western Isles on 18th, with another that day noted from Porthgwarra (Cornwall); and a further singleton was logged from the Scilly pelagic of 20th. On 23rd Cape Clear scored another individual, while three were noted from a pelagic off Penzance (Cornwall); and a final bird for the week was seen from the Scilly pelagic of 24th.

Single Leach’s Petrels were seen at sea this week off the Western Isles on 18th, and between Stranraer (Dumfries & Galloway) and Belfast from the ferry on 18th also.

Some 335 Cory’s Shearwaters were noted over the course of recent days, with Co.Cork supplying the lion’s share of them – 56 birds were seen from Toe Head on 18th; 50 birds at sea from the pelagic off Seven Heads on 20th; and 91 birds from Galley Head on 22nd.

Great Shearwaters on the other hand were still in short supply. On 19th a singleton was seen from Merthen Point (Cornwall); single birds were seen on 22nd from Galley Head and Dursey Island (Co.Cork), with three that day off Porthgwarra (Cornwall); and a probable bird was seen from Berry Head (Devon) on 22nd. On 23rd 11 more birds were seen, involving eight from Bridges of Ross (Co.Donegal), and single birds off St Mary’s (Scilly), Porthgwarra (Cornwall), and offshore from Nairn (Highland & Caithness) at Culbin Bar. Four more birds were seen from the Scilly pelagic of 24th.

Numbers of Balearic Shearwaters tumbled compared with the preceding week – a mere 50 birds were logged in the week just gone.

Down in Cornwall, a Barolo Shearwater was once more reported from Porthgwarra on 18th.

This, however, was strongly overshadowed by the possible Short-tailed Shearwater seen from Porthgwarra early on 23rd.

A scatter of 15 Pomarine Skuas were noted this week, predominantly single birds, but with a couple of sites managing multiples some days – a duo at Hope’s Nose (Devon) on 22nd, and three past Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) on 24th.

A possible Long-tailed Skua was seen from Porthgwarra on 23rd, with a definite bird that day off Brora (Highland & Caithness).

 

Night Herons enjoyed a late summer renaissance this week, not least in Ireland where, in Co.Cork, sightings of single birds at Clogheen Marsh on 21st and Clonakilty on 22nd were supplanted by two birds at The Gearagh on 20th-21st rising to four birds present there on 22nd; and a single bird was seen near Lissagriffin on 22nd. In Britain, one remained at Ouse Washes RSPB (Cambridgeshire) on 18th; while additional birds were seen at Methil (Fife) on 18th, Ladywalk NR (Warwickshire) on 18th-23rd, and Oakthorpe (Leicestershire) on 21st-22nd; and a further bird was reported from Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) on 20th.

Sporadic sightings of Glossy Ibises make up the balance of the week’s long-legged beasties. In Ireland, one remained at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 20th-21st, with a sighting at Ring Marsh again on 23rd. Suffolk sightings came in the form of one bird at Hollesley Marshes RSPB on 18th, and two at Aldeburgh Town Marshes on 18th-24th still; while in Norfolk a single bird was seen at Hickling Broad NWT on 21st, and Potter Heigham Marshes on 22nd; a singleton was present at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB (Cambridgeshire) on 22nd-24th; and a bird was seen in flight at Lade GPs (Kent) on 23rd, and at Dungeness RSPB on 24th.

 

Foremost amongst the week’s scarce and rare quackers were two Ferruginous Ducks on Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 18th.

Norfolk’s first Lesser Scaup remained on Colney GPs on 18th-22nd.

Drake Ring-necked Ducks were still to be seen on Lisvane reservoir (Glamorgan) on 18th-21st; on Fairburn Ings RSPB (West Yorkshire) on 19th; and at Carlton Marshes SWT (Suffolk) on 19th-22nd.

In Scotland the second-summer King Eider was still present at Musselburgh Lagoons (Lothian) on 18th-24th; and a female Surf Scoter was seen at Kinnaber (Angus) on 21st. Another example of the latter species was reported from Seton Sands (Lothian) on 24th.

 

Strutting back to the top of the weekly waders, news broke this past week of yet another successful breeding attempt by Black-winged Stilts this year in Britain – a pair in Kent at Worth Marsh having brought out four young, to be seen there on 18th-23rd. Elsewhere, 10 birds remained going strong at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 18th-24th, and six birds at Eddersthorpe Flash (South Yorkshire) on 20th-22nd still, with five seen at the latter site on 23rd. The lovelorn male remained at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 18th-19th.

The Pacific Golden Plover remained at Ballycotton (Co.Cork( on 18th-19th, with another seen this week on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 24th.

Co.Wexford meanwhile gave us American Golden Plover at Cahore Marsh on 18th and Tacumshin on 19th; one remained on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 18th-22nd; and another was reported on 23rd near Afon Leri (Ceredigion).

Some half a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers were noted in recent days – one again at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 18th; a bird still present at Newport Wetlands NNR (Gwent) on 18th-20th; one at Aldeburgh Town Marshes (Suffolk) on 19th-24th; a bird at Ballycotton (Co.Cork) on 20th and 23rd; another in Greater Manchester at Audenshaw Reservoirs on 21st-24th; and a final bird in Cambridgeshire at Dunkirk on 24th.

The Norfolk Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Cley NWT on 18th-24th, while the Leighton Moss RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) individual was last seen there on 18th.

 

The week’s gulls again begin at Oare Marshes KWT (Kent), where the adult Bonaparte’s Gull remained on 18th-24th. Another was reported on 21st from Lochaline (Highland & Caithness).

A couple of Co.Cork Sabine’s Gulls were logged on 20th – one from Cape Clear, and the other from the pelagic off Seven Heads. Another was seen from Carnsore Point (Co.Wexford) on 23rd, and final birds for the week on 24th at Canvey Point (Essex), and off Ulrome (East Yorkshire).

Glaucous Gulls made up the white-wingers this week – one remained on Barra (Western Isles) on 19th-23rd; another on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 18th still; birds were seen on 22nd on Shetland at Bigton, and at Longhoughton Steel (Northumberland); one was found on Yell (Shetland) on 23rd; and another at Ring (Co.Cork) on 24th.

Terns, meanwhile, continued to provide plenty of variety and interest for yet another week. Foremost amongst them, and into the headlines one way or another had its identity only been definitively concluded, was the orange-billed tern sp still present at Northam Burrows CP (Devon) on 18th-19th – presumed to be either Lesser Crested or Elegant, Devon birders need to look as far back as 1985 and 2002 respectively for their last county records of either species – so, one way or another, whichever it transpired to be would be most welcome.

Norfolk continued to do well for sightings of Caspian Tern, with records coming from Horsey on 19th, Hickling Broad NWT on 20th and 24th, and Potter Heigham Marshes on 21st-23rd. One was seen in Northamptonshire at Hollowell Reservoir on 18th, with a further possible sighting in the county on 23rd at Summer Leys NR briefly. Ireland, meanwhile, continued to hold a bird on Rogerstown Estuary on 18th-21st; and one was seen at The Gearagh (Co.Cork) on 20th-24th.

Staying in Ireland a while longer, following a bird at Kilkeran Lake (Co.Cork) on 18th, a Gull-billed Tern settled at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 21st-24th.

In Co.Dublin, meanwhile, the adult male Least Tern was seen from Rush on 18th, and back at the Little Tern colony at Portrane on 20th-24th.

Finally, in Dorset the first-summer Forster's Tern was seen again on 21st briefly in Wareham Channel, and on 23rd and 24th on Arne RSPB at Shipstal Point and by Round Island respectively.

 

Excitement in the east of England aside, a possible Black Kite was seen over Luton (Bedfordshire) on 19th. And that was all.

 

Heading the passerines this week are once again Bee-eaters, with news that a pair unsuccessfully bred at an undisclosed site in Greater Manchester earlier this summer. Meanwhile, the tenacious Trimingham Trio remained in Norfolk this week on 18th-22nd, but weren’t seen all day on 23rd, and only in the late afternoon again on 24th; two were seen over Kelling (Norfolk) on 18th; two at Polgigga (Cornwall) on 20th; and one was heard only near Thorington Street (Suffolk) on 23rd.

On North Ronaldsay (Orkney) the Red-backed Shrike remained present on 19th.

An Alpine Swift was seen on 19th at Pendeen (Cornwall), followed by an unconfirmed report of a Pallid Swift at Praa Green on 21st.

An early autumnal shot across our bows came on 20th when a Melodious Warbler was trapped and ringed at Nanjizal Valley (Cornwall). A Marsh Warbler was reported from Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 21st and again on 23rd.

Our two recent Scottish Rose-coloured Starlings remained in Shetland at Dale on 18th-21st, and in Argyll & Bute at Carradale on 18th-19th.

A feldegg Black-headed Wagtail was found on Myroe Levels (Co.Derry) on 19th-23rd.

Serins were seen this week at Ventnor Downs (Isle of Wight) on 21st, and Portland (Dorset) on 21st.

And finally, a Common Rosefinch was seen briefly on 24th at Spurn (East Yorkshire).

 

Denmark seemed to be the place to be this week, with a couple of quality birds on offer – the Steppe Grey Shrike, still present at Hirtshals on 20th-21st, joined in the news reports by a singing Zitting Cisticola at Grenen on 20th-21st.

(Another Zitting Cisticola was heard on Jersey on 24th).

In Iceland, the drake Stejneger’s Scoter remained on 19th at Austurland off the Thvota River.

Germany’s female Steller’s Eider remained at Eider-Sperrwerk on 18th-24th.

A Brown Booby was seen in France from Tregastel on 19th. Elsewhere in France, there was plenty going on this week. On 23rd, a Sooty Tern was seen at L’Ile d’Olonne; while on 22nd, a Lesser Crested Tern was present at Grau de Piemanson, and an Elegant Tern at Sete. The White-rumped Swift remained at Minerve on 22nd also.

An Oriental Pratincole was present in Hungary for its 45th day at Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok on 18th.

Furthest afield of all this week, a White-faced Whistling Duck was present on Cape Verde on Sal on 23rd.

 

We’re rattling into the final week of July and, before we know it, there’s going to be some autumn migration getting under way. The first green shoots of it have been seen in the week just gone - Melodious and Marsh Warblers on the south and east coasts of England providing a tantalising hint of what lies ahead.

It’s hard, however, to ignore the big lump of low pressure that’s massing out in the Atlantic, spinning some westerlies our way as the week progresses. It’s easy to imagine some decent seabird winging its way towards us – precedent tells us the coming week boasts records of Band-rumped Petrel sp, Swinhoe’s Petrel, Fea’s / Desertas Petrel, Yelkouan Shearwater, and Barolo Shearwater. Plenty to be going along with there.

And if you’re stopping off to look at some tidal mud on the way to the seawatch, don’t forget to check for Nearctic waders. The coming week is traditionally a good ‘un for White-rumped Sandpiper…

 

Jon Dunn
25 Jul 2023

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

 

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