Weekly birding round-up: 18 - 24 Jun 2024
Ah, winter’s coming. All the clues are there. The nights are drawing in, and there’s a vagrant bird from the far north in Britain this week.
That rather anomalous auk aside, this was a fairly typical summer week on the bird front. Generally fairly quiet, migration pretty much done and dusted, with a few settled rarities and scarcities to go for. It wasn’t entirely quiet on the southern front, however…
While American birders continue to tie themselves in knots over the changes in the pipeline for their long-established vernacular bird names, we know a thing or two about how uncomfortably ‘new’ names sit in our mouths. No matter how many times those of us a certain vintage hear or read Sociable Lapwing, it’s always going to be a Sociable Plover in the privacy of our inner monologue. And as for Zitting Cisticola… One suspects that many a personal British list still contains Fan-tailed Warbler.
Whether Fan-tailed Warbler has a firm, inky tick next to it is quite another matter. The first decade of the new century felt like a new dawn in the species’ fortunes in a British context, with six birds logged in the first decade of the 2000s. Bearing in mind that, by the time the first of those was found, a two day bird in Dorset on Portland on 15th-16th May 2000, fully 23 years had elapsed since our last record, a bird in Dorset in 1977. The latter was only the second British record; our first had come only a year beforehand, in Norfolk in 1976.
So there we were, in 2010, with eight birds on the British books, six of those an embarrassment of riches in the preceding decade, a couple of which hung around enough time to be eminently twitchable, and it seemed like Fan-tailed Warbler was destined to be a regular find on these shores.
My best efforts of this morning's Zitting Cisticola as it flitted between privet bushes on the cliff edge below South Foreland Lighthouse. Panic, wobbly legs and blown little mind blown, more info on the blog : https://t.co/iWTH3YfOXD @KentishPlover pic.twitter.com/OpfeIBtIV5
— Jamie Partridge (@jarpartridge) June 20, 2024
And then it wasn’t. A decade, and then more time still, elapsed with not a sniff of a bird here. That this more or less coincided with the adoption of the new, technically accurate but aesthetically unlovely Zitting Cisticola moniker was surely just an unfortunate coincidence.
The last four birds had all been found in Kent, the final one of which was a one-day bird on 28th March 2010. Kent seemed like the logical hotspot, a la Short-toed Treecreeper, for birds to make landfall. But while the latter species continued to arrive with pleasing regularity, of Zitting Cisticola there was nary a sign.
That changed, albeit vanishingly briefly, this week on 20th when Kent patch birder extraordinaire Jamie Partridge found Kent’s fifth record of Zitting Cisticola at South Foreland. Jamie’s account of his find makes for gripping reading, and reinforces the case for dedication to one’s local patch, were any reinforcement needed. Eventually all the hard work and dedication pays off.
From one newly arrived bird that wasn’t hanging around, to another that was. A Brünnich's Guillemot was found in Scrabster Harbour (Highland & Caithness) on 20th, remaining there until 22nd. Normally updates that feature the words ‘showing well’ are good news but, of course, with Brünnich's one never knows…
‘Showing well’, after all, covers a spectrum of circumstances from feeding actively at close, confiding range, to beached and plainly moribund.
Certainly the update on 21st that included ‘appears unwell’ wasn’t inspiring any great confidence in the bird’s likely longevity. Then again, there were conflicting reports the same day that said it was feeding actively. Time would tell whether it was ailing or not.
Certainly there’s ample precedent for Brünnich's Guillemot turning up here dead or dying. But then again, midsummer birds are almost unheard of, and our one prior June bird was famously alive and kicking for weeks – that being the bird found on Sumburgh Head (Shetland) on 16th June 1989, and present there until 12th July.
The time of year is certainly propitious for a pratincole to turn up in these parts but, alas, this week’s Black-winged Pratincole wasn’t hanging around. Seen only briefly flying through Idle Valley NR (Nottinghamshire) in the evening of 19th, some gripping photographs secured the identification, but will have made the bitter pill of missing Nottinghamshire’s second ever record of the species no easier to swallow for local birders.
BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE today nr Retford, Notts.
— MarcM381 (@aquilabirding) June 19, 2024
?? Jonathan Hird. pic.twitter.com/PM8T5sqdYE
With Nottinghamshire’s only prior Black-winged Pratincole a one-day bird at Newstead & Annesley CP on 24th August 2021, this week’s bird would have garnered some appreciative attention had it only settled. But it wasn’t to be.
With a tenure that’s now officially stretched to a month since it was first confirmed at Belcarra (Co.Mayo), Ireland’s first Yellow-crowned Night Heron will be taking a bow from the headlines henceforth. Present there still throughout the past week until 24th, it remains happily settled and showing no signs of moving on any time soon. Indeed, it may well have been there for quite some time before it was first brought to our attention on 26th May…
Marking the changing seasons, the week’s seabirds kick off with a Wilson’s Petrel seen some three miles off Bishop Rock (Scilly) on 19th. More of them in the pipeline in the weeks to come, of course.
So too Balearic Shearwater - numbers of their kind will only build from here on. Some 220 birds were noted in the English southwest this week, with a peak count of around 160 seen from Portland (Dorset) on 21st.
In Ireland, the adult Double-crested Cormorant was noted on Colgagh Lough (Co.Sligo) again on 18th, and at Doon Lough (Co.Leitrim) again on 24th.
Finally, a handful of Pomarine Skua were seen in recent days – single birds on 18th from the northbound Shetland ferry heading out of Aberdeen (Aberdeenshire); on 19th off Mull (Argyll & Bute); on 20th at Deerness (Orkney); and from the Scilly pelagic of 24th.
Pick of the long-legged beasties this week, a Black Stork was seen heading east over Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex) on 23rd.
A couple of Night Heron were heard, appropriately, during the hours of darkness this week – one at Knott End (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 21st, and another over Ipswich (Suffolk) on 22nd. A further bird settled at Cowbit (Lincolnshire) on 21st-23rd.
Avocet sees off Night Heron. Cowbit Wash, Lincs. @Lincsbirding pic.twitter.com/GKYKmKvAwL
— Mike Weedon (@WeedonsWorld) June 23, 2024
A Purple Heron was reported from Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) on 19th, and another was seen on 24th at Flamborough (East Yorkshire).
Just a few Glossy Ibis were logged in recent days – one in Lincolnshire at Deeping Lakes LWT on 19th had attracted a companion on 20th-22nd, dropping back to a single bird there by 24th; and single birds remained at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) on 18th-24th, and Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) still on 21st-23rd. In Norfolk, one was seen over Snettisham RSPB on 22nd, and again at Ken Hill Marshes on 23rd. Finally on 24th, two birds were noted at Etton-Maxey Pits (Cambridgeshire), while a singleton was seen over North Warren RSPB (Suffolk).
A Corncrake continued to sing at Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 18th-22nd; while a Spotted Crake was heard at Hickling Broad NWT (Norfolk) on 19th.
A handful of notable ducks remained out there this past week. We start in Scotland, where the drake American Wigeon remained at Balormie Pig Farm (Moray) on 18th-20th.
Moving south, in Cheshire & Wirral the Green-winged Teal was still present at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB on 19th.
Whatever’s going on in Warwickshire this summer? Numbers of Ferruginous Duck at Draycote Water rose to three confirmed present there on 21st – a drake and two females.
Two drake Ring-necked Duck were again seen in Highland & Caithness at Loch of Wester on 21st, while the drake remained in Wales at Llyn Brenig (Denbighshire) on 22nd-23rd.
The drake Lesser Scaup remained at Ringley Fold sewage works (Greater Manchester) on 19th, while the drake was again seen in West Yorkshire at St Aidan’s RSPB on 21st-22nd.
A first-summer Surf Scoter was present off Portmahomack (Highland & Caithness) on 20th; while the recently found first-summer drake White-winged Scoter was seen again this week off Blackdog (Aberdeenshire) on 18th-19th and 22nd-23rd, but was seen to fly off south on the latter date.
We’ll start our weekly waders up in Shetland, where a Temminck’s Stint was found on Foula on 20th; another was found on 24th at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire).
A Pectoral Sandpiper was seen in Co.Derry at Lough Beg on 22nd.
Into the far southwest, the previous week’s headliner, the Solitary Sandpiper on St Mary’s (Scilly) was still to be seen there on 18th, but not reported thereafter.
At Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) the first-summer Lesser Yellowlegs remained a steadfast presence on 18th-21st.
In Cambridgeshire two Black-winged Stilt were seen at Etton-Maxey Pits on 22nd; two adults, on 24th, were present at Smithey Fen.
Red-necked Phalarope in recent days were logged in Co.Derry at Castlerock on 18th, and Lough Beg on 20th-24th. A Grey Phalarope was seen three miles southwest of Bishop Rock (Scilly) on 19th, with the Scilly pelagic of 24th also scoring a bird.
It was another excellent week for terns of all kinds, with a decent scatter of unexpected records livening things up for local patch-watchers – not least in Nottinghamshire on 18th, where a Gull-billed Tern dropped in to Bassingfield and Holme Pierrepont. Another was reported on 24th at Goring Gap (West Sussex).
Norfolk meanwhile dominated sightings of Caspian Tern - at Buckenham Marshes RSPB on 19th-20th and 23rd; Hickling Broad NWT on 20th and 24th; Strumpshaw Fen RSPB on 22nd-23rd; and Cley NWT on 23rd. A further bird was seen in Lancashire & North Merseyside at Leighton Moss RSPB on 22nd, and Kent landed itself a bird on 23rd at Cliffe Pools RSPB.
In Northumberland the adult female surinamensis American Black Tern remained at Long Nanny on 18th-24th.
Over to Ireland next, where the Elegant Tern was once more seen briefly on Inis Doire (Co.Mayo) on 20th, and once more on 23rd-24th.
In Co.Dublin the adult male Least Tern was again noted around Portrane on 20th-23rd.
Best of the week’s gulls was, by some margin, the return of the regular adult Bonaparte’s Gull to Oare Marshes KWT (Kent) on 21st-24th.
A few Glaucous Gull were still to be seen – not least at Balormie Pig Farm (Moray), which attracted two birds on 19th. Singletons were seen at Amble (Northumberland) still on 18th, and South Uist (Western Isles) on 19th. Another was reported from Dunnet Head (Highland & Caithness) on 21st.
Finally, an Iceland Gull was present at Loch Fleet (Highland & Caithness) on 21st-23rd, while the Portballintrae (Co.Antrim) individual remained present there on 23rd.
Cornwall provided a succession of Black Kite sightings again this past week – on 19th in the morning at Connor Downs, and in the afternoon at Ludgvan and near Goldsithney; and on 20th at St Buryan and again at Hayle. Away from there, another bird was noted on 18th over Nailsea (Somerset); one remained in Derbyshire on 23rd still at Loscoe; and a final bird was seen on 24th at St James South Elmham (Suffolk).
A first-summer male Montagu’s Harrier was seen in Lincolnshire on 22nd at Gibraltar Point NNR.
Lastly, a Snowy Owl was seen at Nybster heading south over the sea towards Noss Head (Highland & Caithness) on 24th.
The weekly passerines need to begin with the rarest of the lingering birds from the prior week, this of course being the Green Warbler still present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 18th-20th, and trapped and ringed there on 19th.
Fair Isle also retained its recent Blyth’s Reed Warbler on 18th; while the singing bird at Dornoch (Highland & Caithness) also lingered on 18th-21st. A possible was reported heard singing at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 23rd.
The resident Great Reed Warbler continued to hold fast at Ouse Fen RSPB (Cambridgeshire) on 18th-22nd.
Shetland held a near monopoly upon Marsh Warbler this week, with birds on the islands noted in Lerwick at Clickimin still on 18th-22nd, and nearby Helendale on 22nd also; at Boddam on 21st; and on Yell and Unst respectively on 22nd. On 24th East Yorkshire got a look in, with one trapped and ringed and Spurn, and one in song at Hornsea Mere.
Lingering Savi’s Warbler remained at Pulborough Brooks RSPB (West Sussex) on 18th, Cahore Marshes (Co.Wexford) on 18th-22nd, and at Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 18th-22nd.
A singing Icterine Warbler was found in Highland & Caithness at Creag Meagaidh on 19th.
An unconfirmed report of an Alpine Swift at Lakenheath Fen RSPB (Suffolk) on 18th came to nothing further subsequently.
Just two Bee-eater to report this week, a substantial contraction on the preceding week – these being a bird at Thurso (Highland & Caithness) on 21st, and another on 24th near Catfield (Norfolk).
A handful of Red-backed Shrike were logged lately – one at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 18th; another on 18th at Brora (Highland & Caithness); in Shetland, a female on Fair Isle on 20th-21st, and another on Foula on 22nd; and, on 23rd, at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) and inland at Corby (Northamptonshire).
Shetland and Orkney respectively supplied a summer Waxwing apiece in recent days – one on Shetland on Yell again on 18th; and an Orcadian bird on Sanday on 19th.
A Golden Oriole was heard in Suffolk on 23rd at Eastbridge.
In Norfolk the Rose-coloured Starling remained at Gorleston on 18th; and another was seen in a Caernarfon (Gwynedd) garden on 20th. In a year that’s far from a classic for the species, a note of caution was sounded by another garden bird this week – an escapee bearing a blue ring in Wellington (Somerset) on 19th.
The white-spotted male Bluethroat was remained on territory at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) on 18th-24th.
The recent singing male Red-breasted Flycatcher remained at Carron Valley Reservoir (Forth) on 19th-23rd; and another was found on Tory Island (Co.Donegal) on 20th-21st.
A male Blue-headed Wagtail was seen at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 22nd.
Back to Co.Donegal’s Tory Island, a Common Rosefinch was seen on there on 20th. Another was reported on 23rd in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB.
And finally, a Black-headed Bunting was reported from Thornwick Bay (East Yorkshire) on 18th.
Our overseas news starts up in Iceland, where the country’s first Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross was photographed in inshore waters off Reykjavik on 22nd.
https://x.com/TarsigerTeam/status/1804754507575812104Staying in the north a moment, in Norway the displaying Wilson’s Snipe remained at Svanhovd on 20th-21st; while in Denmark the Sandhill Crane remained at Skagen on 18th, and the Pygmy Cormorant at Slotsmosen on 24th.
In the Netherlands meanwhile the first-summer drake Canvasback was still to be found at Vogelplas Starrevaart on 18th-24th.
And finally, France, which was having an excellent time of it lately. The Elegant Tern remained at Polder de Sebastopol on 19th-24th, with an African Royal Tern also present there on 19th-24th. The Bridled Tern was once again back at Ile aux Moutons on 23rd. For good measure, a Cream-coloured Courser was seen at Gillonay on 21st.
What dreams can we conjure from the cauldron of historic precedent this coming week? The final week of June tends to be a peaceful time, but it’s not been wholly uneventful in the past – with a nod to events in Iceland this past week, Britain’s first Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross was picked up in Somerset at Brean Down on 29th June 2007, kept overnight and, to a nation’s twitching community’s collective chagrin, released unbeknown to them the following morning.
Two records apiece of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Cedar Waxwing serve as timely reminders that an outrageous passerine isn’t completely out of the question with a fair following wind.
High pressure over Scandinavia could certainly be conducive to something interesting drifting over our way. Setting our sights a little lower, five past records of Lesser Grey Shrike seem like a fair portent for another being found this coming week…
Jon Dunn
25 June 2024
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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