Weekly birding round-up: 19 - 25 Mar 2024
The week’s main action came from Scotland as we crept ever nearer to bidding March goodbye. One lingering rarity there, and a brief fresh face, were the pick of the week’s rarities.
We’ve had a handful of Irish records of Bufflehead since the start of the year – in Co.Galway, Co.Westmeath and, latterly, Co.Cavan. This week it was the turn of Britain to be blessed with a drake and, specifically, Clyde, where a bird was found on Carbeth Loch on 19th.
Alas, there was no sign of it there the following morning, nor thereafter. This was the first county record of its kind, and only the second record for the Scottish mainland following a one-day bird at Glenbeg (Highland & Caithness) on 7th June 2007, so would doubtless have proven locally popular had it but stuck around a while.
Game over? Well, not quite, for on 24th there presumably the same bird was again, having now moved northeast across Scotland to Aberdeenshire, where a drake was found at Collieston on Sand Loch in the evening, needless to say also a county first record. Happily, this time, it stuck… and was still present on Sand Loch on 25th.
And still the Kilwinning (Ayrshire) Myrtle Warbler story rolled on this week, with the first-winter male still sitting tight in his favourite garden there until 25th.
First found there on 20th February, that’s now a month of Ayrshire residence on the clock. Where next for this bird, and when, is anybody’s guess. Until then, this remains a bird to savour for those from north (and south, for that matter) of the border.
A fairly denuded seabird section this week commences with a White-billed Diver seen from North Uist (Western Isles) on 20th.
A probable Pacific Diver was seen in Aberdeenshire on 25th off Stake Ness.
A Leach’s Petrel was reported from New Brighton (Cheshire & Wirral) on 24th.
The weekly long-legged beasties were restricted once more to Glossy Ibis, without much change in the numbers reported nationwide, though one cropping up near Skibbereen (Co.Cork) on 23rd was a notable newcomer to the dailies. Overall, around 15 birds in all were noted, with Somerset enjoying the best of the multiple bird sightings – four seen at Ham Wall RSPB on 19th-25th, and at Sharpham Park again on 23rd. Two remained in Suffolk at Hollesley Marshes RSPB on 19th-25th.
The honkers and quackers continued to provide variety and volume alike for another week. Starting with The Goose Formerly Known As Canada, an interior Todd’s Canada Goose was seen at Banks Marsh NNR (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 22nd again; and a hutchinsii Richardson’s Cackling Goose at Dunfanaghy New Lake (Co.Donegal) on 22nd still.
A Snow Goose was reported from Bute (Argyll & Bute) on 19th; while the white morph remained on North Uist (Western Isles) on 20th; and the Highland & Caithness white morph was still outside Calder Mains on 25th.
In Essex the recent Black Brant remained at Fleet Head on 19th; one continued to haunt East Yorkshire, being seen at Kilnsea on 19th and 22nd-24th, and Easington again on 21st; another was reported from Stiffkey Fen (Norfolk) on 20th; and one was seen at Lurgangreen (Co.Louth) on 21st.
A possible Grey-bellied Brant was seen at Killough (Co.Down) on 22nd; and a possible at Lurgangreen (Co.Louth) on 23rd.
Onto the quackers, and we’ll stick with Ireland a moment, where the drake Black Duck remained at Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 20th.
Ireland also held an American Wigeon at Buckroney Marsh (Co.Wicklow) on 20th-24th. British birds were logged at Cloddach Quarry (Moray) on 19th-20th, Lossie Estuary (Moray) on 23rd again, and Loch Spynie (Moray) again on 24th; and at Crook of Baldoon RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway) still on 19th-20th.
Some 20 Green-winged Teal were again noted as a whole across Britain and Ireland, and there were still new birds being found amongst their number.
Numbers of Ring-necked Duck this week edged towards 25 birds recorded across across the region, helped along by several sites hosting multiple birds. Somerset continued to boast four birds at Shapwick Heath NNR on 23rd, with three still present there on 24th; while four were also noted at Lough Gur (Co.Limerick) on 20th, two of which remained there on 24th. Two remained at Lisvane Reservoir (Glamorgan) on 19th-25th; while another two birds were seen on Lough Yganavan (Co.Kerry) on 23rd-24th.
A shade over a dozen Lesser Scaup were seen in recent days in Britain and Ireland, a truly remarkable tally when one pauses to consider their former rarity within living memory. Starting in Essex, five remained on Abberton Reservoir on 19th-23rd, relocating to Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) on 24th; while in Lancashire & North Merseyside two were still settled at Leighton Moss RSPB on 19th-23rd; two were found at Hodbarrow RSPB (Cumbria) on 24th-25th; one was again seen at Woolston Eyes NR (Cheshire & Wirral) on 19th-22nd; one remained in Pembrokeshire on Penberry Reservoir on 19th-20th; and, in Scotland, one at Lochwinnoch RSPB (Clyde) on 20th-24th. In Ireland, the first-winter female remained on Monalty Lough (Co.Monaghan) on 19th-22nd; and the drake at Lough Neagh (Co.Armagh) on 19th-25th.
In Shetland the first-winter drake King Eider remained in Bluemull Sound on 20th.
The drake White-winged Scoter was again seen at Inch (Co.Kerry) on 20th, with three Surf Scoter also seen there that day. Additional examples of the latter were seen at Feock (Cornwall) on 20th-24th still; Llandulas (Conwy), where two remained on 19th; in Scotland on 24th off Roseisle (Moray) and Ferny Ness (Lothian), the former still present the following day; and at Laytown (Co.Meath), where one present on 19th had risen to two there on 23rd.
Perhaps marking an early shot across our bows, a Dotterel was found this week in Suffolk at Long Melford on 23rd.
In Norfolk, the Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Cley NWT on 19th-25th. Additional birds were seen at Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex) still on 19th-21st; on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) still on 19th-21st; and in Ireland at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) again on 20th-24th, and at Kilcoole (Co.Wicklow) on 22nd-25th.
Two of our recent collective trio of Lesser Yellowlegs were still to be seen this week – one still in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 19th-25th; and the Lurgangreen (Co.Louth) bird still on 19th-23rd.
The week’s gulls are headed by the first-winter Bonaparte’s Gull again at Marazion (Cornwall) on 20th.
Ireland supplied us with our weekly Ring-billed Gulls - one still at Blackrock (Co.Louth) on 19th; in Co.Kerry, an adult at Blennerville on 19th-20th and Tralee Bay Wetlands on 21st, the former site combining them on 24th with two adults present there; an adult at The Cunnigar (Co.Waterford) on 21st; and the adult still present at Cuskinny Marsh NR (Co.Cork) on 24th.
White-wingers continued their slide into spring obsolescence this week – not least Glaucous Gull, which fell below double figures for the first time in months. Birds were noted on 19th and 25th on North Uist (Western Isles) and Yell (Shetland); on 20th at Portballintrae (Co.Antrim); on 22nd-25th on Lewis (Western Isles) still, with another reported from Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 22nd too; and on 23rd at Timoleague (Co.Cork). Meanwhile, some 25 Iceland Gull were again noted, with three seen in Shetland’s Bluemull Sound on 19th and three on North Uist (Western Isles) on 24th the notable counts of their kind.
A handful of Kumlien’s Gull were again noted this past week. One remained at Kerrykeel (Co.Donegal) on 19th; an adult was seen at Evie (Orkney) on 20th; the third-winter was again seen in Cheshire & Wirral at Widnes on 22nd; and the adult still in Highland & Caithness at Helmsdale on 23rd-24th.
Finally, the adult Gull-billed Tern was still present at Kilkeran Lake (Co.Cork) on 22nd-23rd.
Pick of the week’s raptors was another Irish sighting of Northern Harrier, this time near Pilmore (Co.Cork) on 21st.
Pallid Harrier sightings meanwhile came from the usual quarters – in Norfolk, where the second-winter female was seen around Warham Greens on 20th-25th; and in Wales, where the juvenile was again noted at Llanrhidian Marsh (Glamorgan) on 20th-24th, and National Wetlands Centre WWT (Carmarthenshire) on 23rd-24th.
A Rough-legged Buzzard was reported from Bressay (Shetland) on 20th.
The week also delivered a couple more putative Black Kite - one on 19th near Brighton (East Sussex), and the other on 22nd a probable over Chislehurst (London).
Cornwall maintained the recent southerly flavour with a couple of Hoopoe sightings this past week – the recent bird still sitting pretty at Veryan on 19th-24th, and another at Fowey on 20th. A Devon bird was reported on 24th from Braunton Burrows; and another was found in Dorset on Portland on 25th.
It was Dorset’s turn to get a couple of Alpine Swift sightings lately – one over Portland on 20th, and another over Studland on 22nd; while another bird was seen a little further north around the Clifton area of Bristol (Somerset & Bristol) on 22nd-23rd.
A possible Iberian Chiffchaff was reported from near Trenance (Cornwall) on 19th.
Also in Dorset, the Yellow-browed Warbler remained at Louds Mill sewage works on 19th-24th.
Dorset also held onto the recent Great Grey Shrike near Sugar Hill on 20th-25th. Additional long-staying birds remained near Weeting (Norfolk) on 22nd-25th, and at Black Down NT (West Sussex) on 20th-22nd. Another bird this week was seen at Wide Open (Northumberland) on 22nd.
A probable American Robin was reported from Longbenton (Northumberland) on 20th. Alas, it didn’t firm up into anything more concrete. There’s time yet for it or another before the late winter/early spring is done with us…
The Richard’s Pipit remained in Cumbria at Ulverston on 19th-24th.
A Serin was seen briefly on Portland (Dorset) on 19th; another on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 20th; and a final bird in Kent over East Farleigh on 24th.
In Norfolk the exilipes Arctic Redpoll was seen again near Helhoughton on 19th-24th. The same area again revealed the recent male Rustic Bunting on 23rd, with a further report of it there the following day.
Finally, the recent Little Bunting remained at Broadsands (Devon) this week on 19th-23rd.
News from relatively near and distinctly far away this week. Starting closer to home, a Sociable Lapwing was found in Switzerland at Neuchatel on 19th.
Spain, meanwhile, landed a White-throated Sparrow in Barcelona on 22nd.
An African Desert Warbler was found in Israel at Haifa on 23rd.
Speaking of Africa, at Nouadhibou in Mauritania, on 24th there was still the Grasshopper Buzzard, plus Abyssinian Roller, at least five Red-billed Firefinch, and a Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu.
And finally, also a long way away from here, a Great Blue Heron remained on the Azores on Sao Miguel on 20th.
And there we go – almost done with another month, and definitely getting to the point where things could start to get a little more interesting. Just the last week of March to be done with now… and what could that bring us?
The last fifty years give us all sorts of tantalising precedent – and one of the weirder historic rarity records, this being the Barolo Shearwater found shot dead at Fylde (Lancashire & Merseyside) on 27th March 1975.
That’s far from the end of the seabird promise, for 29th March 2002 gave us the Red-billed Tropicbird seen from the Scillonian some five miles east of Scilly.
That said, some southerlies wouldn’t go amiss around about now. Past records for the coming week of Zitting Cisticola, Short-toed Treecreeper and Lesser Kestrel all provide hints of what could be, while the Slate-coloured Junco seen at Dingleton (Borders) on 31st March – 1st April 2017 serves as a timely reminder that displaced Nearctic passerines will be feeling the urge to head north around about now too and, after last year’s mass arrival of their kind, who knows what might be heading our way in the days and weeks to come.
A more moderate bet though for the coming week could be Little Bittern - seven past records serve as a reasonable tip that one of these smart little birds wouldn’t be a wholly outlandish proposition.
Jon Dunn
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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