Weekly birding round-up: 7 - 14 Nov 2023
Autumn 2023 has had more than its fair share of American vagrants – let’s not beat about the bush, it’s been a classic – and the pace and variety of birds just continued apace for yet another week. Just look at those headlines… it’s like a decent day on Corvo out there.
Nobody needs telling, at this advanced stage of autumn 2023, what a remarkable season it’s been for vagrant Nearctic warblers in Britain, with a cornucopia of colourful delights making landfall from Shetland in the far north to Scilly in the southwest (via Pembrokeshire).
And this week proved the year’s not done with us yet in that regard, with Scott Reid’s superb, serendipitous discovery of a female Cape May Warbler on Bryher (Scilly) on 10th. With the venerable Scillonian now retired for the winter, getting to Scilly would rely upon flights…
A situation not entirely unfamiliar to many of those who chose to react swiftly to Britain’s last Cape May Warbler when it was found on Unst (Shetland) a decade ago on 23rd October 2013. Who would know it was going to hang on there until 2nd November? Taking the overnight boat from Aberdeen was an option, but for many inclined to twitch it speed seemed of the essence, and flights were taken, scheduled and chartered alike. It was only Britain’s second record of the species after all, and the first was the magnificently improbable male found in song in Paisley Park (Clyde) way back on 17th June 1977.
Back to the present, the Bryher bird was still present on the island on 11th and, as the week drew to a close, following no news from there on 12th, confirmation came that the bird was still showing well on the morning of 13th and, as we go to press in the new week, it’s still there on 14th. Potentially twitchable, then, for those who wanted to make the effort from further afield than within the archipelago itself. And just maybe some of those who had twitched Bryher in 2022 for Blackburnian Warbler would be reprising that journey again.
So, Bryher - Blackburnian in 2022, Cape May in 2023… what have you got in store for us next year?
So, we said in last week’s closing remarks that the week ahead showed promise for both Rose-breasted Grosbeak and American Robin, and for once we weren’t a million miles off the mark. The former we’ll come to shortly, but the latter waited until 12th before revealing itself on Dursey Island (Co.Cork) in the late morning.
We’ve had one report already this autumn of an American Robin, on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 26th September, but that came to nothing further. This week’s bird remained present on Dursey into the afternoon, and we’ll see as the new week begins if its tenure will extend any further still.
While Ireland’s got 10 prior accepted records on the books, only seven of those are post-1950, and it’s striking that the most recent bird was fully 40 years ago, an atypically midsummer bird that hung around Edenderry (Co.Offaly) on 8th June – 31st July 1983.
Not that there haven’t been periodic reports of subsequent birds which, if the records are anything to go by, haven’t passed muster. Those initial reports have all too often been followed a day or two later by the fatal words “record at [insert name here] was erroneous" and, on one particularly bathos-infused occasion, “was a Bullfinch".
In a nutshell then, were this week’s bird to stick around into the new week, it could prove to be very popular indeed with a whole new generation of Irish birders.
In terms of crowd-pleasing this week, a couple of British mainland birds were eminently twitchable – the recently discovered Little Crake, more of which anon, and fresh out of the blocks in the current period, a drake Canvasback on Abberton Reservoir (Essex) on 11th-13th.
Proving that Pochard deserve a second glance, we’ve fewer than 10 British records of this American duck on the books. The first acceptable bird was as recently as 7th December 1996, at Cliffe (Kent) – a bird that presaged a flurry of six further records through to and including our last, a drake on Pennington Flash (Greater Manchester) on 11th-30th July 2002.
Those birds, some of which returned in subsequent years, provided a succession of sightings at Abberton, starting on 23rd November 1997, and concluding on 13th February 2001. The reservoir’s no stranger to them, nor to the Pochard they habitually hang out with.
Presumably this bird will go on to clear the bar for acceptance and join those antecedents on the official record. Naysayers may grumble about eastern county Nearctic quackers, but nary a murmur of dissent is expressed about American waders that make landfall in the same counties. Sure, there’s a higher probability of an American duck having escaped from captivity than a shorebird, but these things can and do make it here under their own steam, and should be judged on a case by case basis – fully-winged and un-ringed ducks, preferably wary ones, and here at a suitable time of year, should get the benefit of the doubt.*
*unless they’re a pretty Hooded Merganser, in which case… oh, life’s just too short, let’s not go there.
Providing said Canvasback with yet more corroboration – and let’s not forget the recent mass arrival of other Nearctic diving ducks, most prominently the Cornish flock of Lesser Scaup - another diving duck appeared in recent days – a female / juvenile drake Bufflehead discovered on Corbally Road Reservoir (Co.Antrim) on 9th-12th.
While further south in Ireland there’ve been a few prior individuals, and one got close in Co.Down at Quoile Pondage on 5th December 2020 – 8th January 2021, this week’s bird comes to be a first record for Co.Antrim.
And finally, we come to the last of this week’s headlining birds, and it’s another American passerine – one we also invoked as a possibility in the closing remarks of last week’s Round Up, little knowing that the bird in question was, by all accounts, already here.
News emerged this week, belatedly, of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak present on 4th November in a garden near Shepperton Lakes (Co.Cork), but with the caveat that it’s not been seen there subsequently.
Another species to add to the year’s groaning tally of Nearctic vagrants to have made it to Britain and Ireland as a whole, but alas not one that’s readily available. Given Co.Cork’s last bird was as recently as 7th-9th October 2021, that’s perhaps not such a bitter pill to swallow.
Finally, after months of frenetic activity, a quiet week on the seabird front, enlivened only by a probable Black-browed Albatross seen distantly from The Lizard (Cornwall) on 8th.
The seas off the English southwest have been flooded with large shearwaters lately, but that picture was set to change in recent days. No Cory’s this week, and barely double figures of Great Shearwater until 12th, when 413 were seen from Pendeen (Cornwall).
Berry Head (Devon) gave us our only substantial Balearic Shearwaters - 12 birds seen from there on 8th. After that, just one bird was seen on 12th from Prawle Point (Devon), followed by nine more from there the next day.
Numbers of Leach’s Petrel tumbled after the prior week’s storm driven event, with around 30 birds logged in the current period, predominantly in the southwest. Here the highest single site counts came from St Ives (Cornwall), where five were seen on 10th, and Portland (Dorset), which accounted for four birds on 8th.
Numbers of Pomarine Skua also plummeted – singletons seen on 8th in Devon off Berry Head and Seaton; duos on 10th from St Ives and Pendeen (Cornwall); on 12th single birds from Berry Head again, and Flamborough (East Yorkshire); and on 13th two more from Pendeen.
A Long-tailed Skua was seen on 12th at Dungeness (Kent).
Finally, some 35 Little Auks were seen this week, with six on 12th in Scapa Bay (Orkney) and five off Sumburgh (Shetland) on 8th the highest single site returns.
Our long-legged beasties were a sorely denuded bunch this week, with several of the former weekly stars no longer reported. Which isn’t to say we were short of Glossy Ibises, for they were very much still out there. Around 25 birds were logged across Britain and Ireland, with some sites retaining multiple birds. In Britain, three were seen at Hollesley Marshes RSPB (Suffolk) on 7th; three remained at Fremington Pill (Devon) on 9th; four were still at Dungeness (Kent) on 7th-12th; and three at Titchfield Haven NNR (Hampshire) on 7th-13th still. Ireland, meanwhile, gave us four birds again at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 11th, and two at South Slob (Co.Wexford) on 12th.
Definitely one of the most popular birds of the past week, the juvenile Little Crake found at the end of the prior week in Buckinghamshire stayed put at Linford NR in recent days on 7th-11th, showing delightfully well at times, and a reminder that just sometimes it’s not the coastal counties that score the big birds.
Starting the week’s notable honkers with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, interior Todd’s Canada Geese were seen on 7th on Islay (Argyll & Bute), on 11th at Banks Marsh NNR (Lancashire & North Merseyside, and on 12th still near Temple (Lothian); and a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose was still present on Islay on 7th.
A flurry of Snow Geese were seen this week, with Scotland particularly blessed. One was noted on North Uist (Western Isles) on 8th; Aberdeenshire gave us sightings at Peterculter on 8th and Loch of Skene on 11th-12th; and a white morph was also seen on 11th-13th at Kelso (Borders). In Lancashire & North Merseyside the blue morph was again at Banks Marsh NNR on 11th.
Norfolk meanwhile was a hotbed for Red-breasted Goose sightings, with the recent Warham Greens bird still present on 7th-8th, two birds seen on 9th at Wells, and singles on 10th at Holkham Gap and 12th near Stiffkey. One remained in Northumberland at Budle Bay and Ross on 7th-11th; and the recent Nairn (Highland & Caithness) bird was again seen on 7th.
In East Yorkshire, the Blue-winged Teal remained at Tophill Low NR on 7th-13th, sharing the site with an American Wigeon on 7th-11th. An additional example of the latter species was seen in England at Freiston Shore RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 9th; Scottish individuals remained on Foula (Shetland) on 7th, Loch of Ayre (Orkney) on 7th-12th, St John’s Loch (Highland & Caithness) on 8th-12th, and Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 9th; and, in Ireland, a drake was seen at Kinvarra (Co.Galway) on 10th-11th.
Nine Green-winged Teal were seen this week – still present at Hayle Estuary RSPB (Cornwall) on 9th-13th, at Grafham Water (Cambridgeshire) on 10th-13th, Marshside RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 7th, and still on South Uist and Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th; and found on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 7th, on St Agnes (Scilly) on 8th, back at regular site Tain Links (Highland & Caithness) on 8th-11th, and at Poyntzpass (Co.Armagh) on 13th.
In Cambridgeshire a female Ferruginous Duck was drawing some attention at Halcyon Mere on 7th-12th; the recent drake in Dorset was back at Lodmoor RSPB on 7th, made exploratory forays to Abbotsbury Swannery on 8th and 13th, and returned to Lodmoor on 9th-10th.
Six Lesser Scaup maintained the species presence here – birds lingered at Dozmary Pool (Cornwall) on 7th-8th; in Devon at Northam Burrows CP on 7th-10th; in Clyde at Lochwinnoch RSPB on 7th-10th; at Inch Island Lake (Co.Donegal) on 8th-12th; in Co.Antrim on Stoneyford Reservoir on 7th-11th and Portmore Lough RSPB on 11th; and on South Uist (Western Isles) on 12th.
Ring-necked Duck just about nudged into double figures this week. Singletons were seen on Lisvane Reservoir (Glamorgan) still on 8th-13th; on Lewis (Western Isles) on 7th-13th still; on Dozmary Pool (Cornwall) on 8th still; at Gouganebarra Lake (Co.Cork) on 10th-11th; and Blagdon Lake (Somerset) on 7th-13th still. Somerset’s singleton at Shapwick Heath NNR still on 7th-8th was joined there by two more birds on 8th-13th. Back in Ireland, two birds remained near Kilkee (Co.Clare) on 11th.
Ireland gave us three of the week’s Surf Scoter - birds seen at Ahanesk (Co.Cork) still on 7th-11th; at Curracloe (Co.Wexford) on 10th-12th; and at Dungarvan Bay (Co.Waterford) on 11th. Two drakes were present in Dornoch Bay (Highland & Caithness) on 7th-11th; and one was seen from Baggy Point (Devon) on 11th-13th.
Finally, the immature drake King Eider was again seen off Lewis (Western Isles) on 8th and 12th.
American Golden Plovers dominated the shorebird news this week, with Ireland heavily represented – birds were still to be seen at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 7th-8th, Rosscarbery (Co.Cork) on 7th, and Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 9th-10th; and additional sightings came from Ringarogy Island (Co.Cork) on 8th, Rosscarbery on 9th and 12th, and Old Head of Kinsale (Co.Cork) on 10th. One remained on South Uist (Western Isles) on 11th; another on Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th still; a bird was seen on Shetland Mainland at Ringasta on 9th; and a sole English representative at Purls Bridge (Cambridgeshire) on 10th.
In Somerset, the female Kentish Plover was again seen on Stert Island on 10th-13th.
Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) held on to the recent White-rumped Sandpiper on 7th-13th, while another remained at Kilcummin Head (Co.Mayo) on 7th.
Recent Long-billed Dowitchers were again seen this week in Norfolk at and near Cley on 9th-10th, and at Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex) on 7th-11th.
Grey Phalaropes inched into double figures this week, with a handful of wrecked birds amongst their number lingering where they found themselves. Birds were seen at Keyhaven Marshes (Hampshire) on 7th still; at Newport Wetlands NNR (Gwent) on 7th-10th still; from St Ives (Cornwall) on 7th; at Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex) on 8th-10th; at Norman’s Bay (East Sussex) on 9th-12th; off Portland (Dorset) on 9th; on Island Barn Reservoir (Surrey) on 9th-11th; and Easington (East Yorkshire) on 11th. Another was reported from Burghead (Moray) on 9th. On 12th the pace quickened slightly, with birds seen from Embo (Highland & Caithness), Pendeen (Cornwall), and Lowestoft (Suffolk). As the week drew to a conclusion on 13th four were noted from Pendeen, with additional birds seen from Selsey Bill (West Sussex), Prawle Point (Devon), Cape Cornwall (Cornwall), St Gothian Sands LNR (Cornwall), Hengistbury Head (Dorset), and Newcastle (Co.Wicklow).
In Essex the recent Lesser Yellowlegs was again seen briefly at Old Hall Marshes RSPB on 9th, and the Lincolnshire bird again at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 13th. Additional birds were found this week in Suffolk at Southwold on 7th-12th, and Swine Moor (East Yorkshire) on 10th-11th.
It was a quiet week for notable gulls, starting with just the one Bonaparte’s Gull reported, from over Goldhanger (Essex) on 11th.
Sabine’s Gulls were almost the exclusive preserve of the south-east – Kentish sightings came from Dungeness on 7th and 11th, with two there on 12th, North Foreland on 10th,and Seabrook on 13th; while in East Sussex one bird at Norman’s Bay on 7th-12th was joined there by a second individual on 9th-10th, and one was seen at Rye Harbour NR on 8th. On 12th another was seen from Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire).
A shade over 10 Glaucous Gull were noted lately nationwide. Iceland Gulls were harder to come by – birds were seen on 7th at Clachnaharry (Highland & Caithness) and Portballintrae (Co.Antrim), with two birds at the latter site on 12th, one of which remained the following day; at Kinlochbervie (Highland & Caithness) on 8th; and on 9th at Weybourne Camp (Norfolk) on 9th.
The juvenile White-winged Black Tern remained this week in Co.Cork at Ballin Lough on 7th, and again on 11th.
Finally, in Dorset the second-winter Forster’s Tern was again seen at Arne RSPB on 8th-11th.
Norfolk again accounted for our sightings of Pallid Harrier in recent days. The second-winter female was still to be seen at Warham Greens on 7th-9th and 11th-13th. Ringtail sightings also came from Blakeney Freshmarsh on 9th and Happisburgh on 11th.
In East Yorkshire the Rough-legged Buzzard was still to be seen at Stone Creek on 7th-9th.
A few Pallid Swifts continued to crop up this past week, with confirmed birds on the east coast at Boulmer (Northumberland) on 8th and Winterton (Norfolk) on 11th-13th, and probable birds seen at Brora (Highland & Caithness) on 7th, and Fraserburgh (Aberdeenshire) on 9th.
Hoopoes were also present again in low numbers – one remained in Dorset at Hengistbury Head on 7th; another was reported from Southend (Essex) on 9th; and one was found on 11th-12th at Rhosirwhaun (Gwynedd).
The lingering Wryneck was still to be seen on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) on 7th-13th.
Once upon a time, a Brown Shrike would have been a shoo-in for a headlining bird in these quarters but, like Red-flanked Bluetails, they’ve devalued their brand by turning up with such increased frequency in the past couple of decades. Which isn’t to say they’re not still quality birds, and always a joy to find – which is what Tommy Hyndman (yes, that’s the Citril Finch guy) did this week, with a bird spending some time on 8th sheltering in his Fair Isle (Shetland) garden, to the detriment of a Blackcap that found itself providing lunch during the day.
Brown Shrike, Auld Haa, Fair Isle. Found by Tommy, it was settled in a rosa bush just outside his lounge window. My birding earlier in the day had produced very little and I was pretty sure autumn was done! Fourth for Fair Isle after birds in 2000, 2019 and 2020. pic.twitter.com/dEZLz3iQTx
— David Parnaby (@DavidParnaby2) November 8, 2023
Great Grey Shrikes meanwhile were seen at Backwater Reservoir (Angus) still on 7th-12th; on 7th at Corgarff (Aberdeenshire); at Morden Bog NNR (Dorset) on 11th-13th; and at Dalnahaitnach (Highland & Caithness) on 7th-10th, with two birds noted at the latter site on 8th.
Waxwings… Still loads of them, and they’re filtering deeper south and west now, so you should be checking out the rowans and cotoneasters in your local supermarket carparks from here on in. If you find any, ask them to leave some berries for the wintering Black-throated Thrushes…
The week was marked by a small arrival of Penduline Tits, with three birds found – in eastern coastal counties at Fishers Green NR (Essex) on 10th, and How Hill NR (Norfolk) on 11th – and inland at Rye Meads RSPB (Hertfordshire), where a bird was trapped and ringed in the evening of 10th, kept overnight, and released (and not seen again subsequently) on 11th.
A probable Hume’s Warbler was seen on 8th and 11th at Waltham Brooks SWT (West Sussex).
Yellow-browed Warbler numbers contracted sharply, with around 15 birds logged during the week.
Two Pallas’s Warblers were found on Portland (Dorset) on 12th, one of which was trapped and ringed. Another on 12th was found at Sandwich Bay (Kent).
Shetland enjoyed a brief Dusky Warbler in the north of Mainland at Gluss on 7th-9th; and another was found this week at The Naze (Essex).
Four Barred Warblers were seen this week – two in the northern isles, and two in northern England. Starting on Unst (Shetland), a bird was found on 7th; while on Orkney, one remained on Mainland at Sandside Bay on 11th. A bird was found at Tophill Low NR (East Yorkshire) on 10th, and another at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire & Wirral) on 10th-12th.
A juvenile Rose-coloured Starling was seen on Yell (Shetland) on 7th.
A fleeting White’s Thrush was seen on a fence at Southport (Lancashire & North Merseyside) in the afternoon of 9th, but wasn’t seen again latterly.
At Flamborough (East Yorkshire) a Red-flanked Bluetail was trapped and ringed on 7th.
The recent Red-breasted Flycatcher remained on Berry Head (Devon) on 7th.
The putative Eastern Yellow Wagtail remained in Aberdeenshire at Rattray Head on 7th.
A Richard’s Pipit was seen in Somerset at Huntspill on 11th-12th.
A probable Olive-backed Pipit was on Lewis (Western Isles) on 12th.
Twelve possible Parrot Crossbill were noted heading south over St Cyrus NNR (Aberdeenshire) on 9th.
On Shetland an exilipes Arctic Redpoll was seen briefly on Whalsay on 12th.
A Serin was noted at Sandwich Bay (Kent) again on 7th.
Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory also scored what, perhaps surprisingly, was only its third ever Common Rosefinch, trapped and ringed there this week on 12th.
Today's 1w Common Rosefinch @Sandwichbirdobs was only our 3rd record. 1st, a ??/1w seen making landfall out of the SE on 22nd Oct 1968 & then a long wait until the 2nd last year 30th Aug. I'll admit after missing it (grandad duties) thought my chances were blown #nildesperandum pic.twitter.com/rzGF07HPpF
— Andrew Lipczynski ?????? (@amjlip) November 12, 2023
A Little Bunting remained on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 7th-9th, with a second bird present on 8th-9th; and another was still present on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 9th-12th. A final probable was noted over Gibraltar Point NNR (Linncolnshire) on 12th.
Finally, coming after prior birds this autumn, so not quite reaching for the headline stars, a Baltimore Oriole was belatedly reported as present on feeders in the west of Fife in mid-October.
A peaceful week for overseas news, with a Grey-headed Gull found on Cape Verde’s Boa Vista…
…and the Great Blue Heron still present in the Azores on Terceira on 11th.
The week just gone drew to a close with the arrival of another named storm, Storm Debi, on our shores and, as the new week begins, a conveyor belt of westerlies coming straight across the Atlantic towards Ireland and west Britain.
Particularly in the light of the week just gone, you’d certainly not rule out another Nearctic bird of some heft being found in the week to come.
None would be much heftier than a Bald Eagle - the coming week marks the anniversary of the discovery of a juvenile bird at Ballymacelligot (Co.Kerry) on 17th November 1987. Just imagine the scenes were another to be found these days…
Such scenes are unlikely to ensue should someone pick out an American Coot this coming week, but with two historic records owing themselves to the week to come, and with the lesson of this past week’s Canvasback to pay close attention to the fine detail of what might otherwise be dismissed as flocks of common European birds, it may be worth giving those local Eurasian Coot a second glance.
Jon Dunn
6 November 2023
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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