Weekly birding round-up: 16 - 22 Jul 2024
Quiet times, these.
And predictably so. We’re in the Sargasso Sea of the British birding calendar, the traditionally peaceful period between the heights of spring and autumn migration. Sure, some shorebirds are on the move, and seabird action could properly kick off at the drop of a hat, but in the absence of a big ticket bird from either camp, we’d not anticipate a huge amount of activity in late July. And so it proved this past week.
The presumably returning Pacific Swift found in Shetland as the prior week waned continued its short annual residency in recent days on 16th-17th, ranging widely around the Virkie area.
In the past it’s ranged as far north as the cliffs of Noss so, for Shetland birders, there’s still the tantalising possibility this supremely mobile bird will turn up unexpectedly in their local patch. There’s not much on the Shetland list that Unst’s missing, but this one remains a juicy, if hitherto distant, prospect.
With no eye-popping seabird rarities to distract us, it fell to Wilson’s Petrel to lead the seabird news this week. Inevitably, pelagic forays yielded birds – two were seen from that off Scilly on 18th followed by a mighty haul of 21 birds from the pelagic of 22nd, while two were seen on 18th from a pelagic off the coast of Co.Cork; and half a dozen from the Co.Cork pelagic of 21st. An at-sea record came from the Scillonian in the afternoon of 22nd, queasily reminding a good few of us how we saw our first Wilson’s back in the day. Land-based observers in Cornwall had their dedication rewarded with single birds noted from Porthgwarra on 19th and 21st, and The Lizard on 20th, and two from Pendeen on 22nd; while one was seen from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 21st.
A single Leach’s Petrel was trapped and ringed on the Orkney Mainland at Birsay on 19th.
Large shearwaters remained a relatively scarce commodity, with Cory’s Shearwater easily the commoner of the two options – around 140 were noted, overall, from British and Irish waters; with 23 birds seen from the Scilly pelagic on 22nd the best haul of their kind. Great Shearwater were significantly less numerous – two were logged on the Scilly pelagic of 18th, and a singleton off the Scillonian that same day; four were seen from Toe Head (Co.Cork) on 21st, with one also off the Co.Cork pelagic that day, and a further singleton seen from Pendeen (Cornwall); and, on 22nd, another was seen from the Scillonian, a single bird from the Scilly pelagic, while Pendeen notched up two birds, and a single bird was noted passing Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare).
Around 40 Balearic Shearwater were noted over the course of the week, with a predictably south-westerly English bias, which contained the week’s highest count, that of 11 birds seen on 22nd from Start Point (Devon). An outlier was the bird that had filtered up the North Sea, seen off Hornsea (East Yorkshire) on 16th.
Handfuls of the two scarcer skua species were seen in recent days, neither amounting to double figures as a whole. Pomarine Skua were seen from Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 16th and 17th; in Cornwall on 18th from Porthcurno and St Levan; and on 19th off Porthgwarra (Cornwall), Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire), and in Scapa Bay (Orkney). On 22nd singletons were logged at Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon), Start Point (Devon), and Dalkey (Co.Dublin).
Two Long-tailed Skua were seen from the pelagic off Co.Cork on 18th, with a singleton seen off Porthgwarra (Cornwall) on 19th; two were reported from North Queensferry (Fife) on 19th; a single on 21st from Pennance Point (Cornwall), and two that day from a pelagic off Co.Cork; and possible birds were seen on 20th at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) and The Lizard (Cornwall).
A few of the scarcer herons showed up in recent days to enliven the long-legged beasties side of proceedings. A Night Heron was heard passing over Meppershall (Bedfordshire) shortly before midnight on 16th; and another inland record came from Padworth Lane GPs (Berkshire) on 19th.
Edited photos of the 2nd calendar year Night Heron at Ouse Fen RSPB on the early morning of Monday 8th July. pic.twitter.com/7Z7enlfLOH
— Dave Gandy (@DavidGandyBkk) July 19, 2024
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron meanwhile was last reported from Co.Mayo at Belcarra on 15th.
Burwell Fen (Cambridgeshire) scored itself a Purple Heron on 17th; while another was reported that day over Yarrow Valley (Forth).
Glossy Ibis meanwhile were cropping up with some regularity. At Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) numbers swelled to three birds noted on 16th, dropping back to two there by 20th-21st; while two were seen at Cahore Marsh on 22nd. Lincolnshire’s reliable Deeping Lakes LWT boasted two birds again on 17th and 20th; while two were seen over East Bergholt (Suffolk) on 18th; and two over Southport (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 22nd. Singletons were seen over Sizewell (Suffolk) on 16th; at Worth Marsh (Kent) still on 17th-21st; in Norfolk at Breydon Water on 17th-22nd, at Cley NWT on 17th and 20th-21st, and at Snettisham RSPB and Berney Marshes RSPB on 22nd; at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) still on 17th-20th; in Hampshire still at Titchfield Haven NNR on 19th; and at Cowbit Wash (Lincolnshire) again on 16th-18th. A further possible was seen at Summer Leys NR (Northamptonshire) on 20th.
Chief amongst the notable quackers this week was the steadfast drake Stejneger’s Scoter, still present off Musselburgh Lagoons (Lothian) on 16th-21st.
Last seen in the Blackdog area of Aberdeenshire in early July, the first-summer drake White-winged Scoter seemed to have been relocated when a first-summer bird was located off St Cyrus (Aberdeenshire) on 21st, and Kinnaber (Angus) on 22nd. By the close of play on 22nd opinion had erred towards this particular individual being a probable hybrid rather than a pure White-winged after all.
Moray supplied sightings of American Wigeon again this week, at Loch Spynie on 18th, and Balormie Pig Farm on 19th.
An unconfirmed report of a Ferruginous Duck came from Shustoke Reservoir (Warwickshire) on 17th followed, on 21st-22nd, by a drake settled on Willen Lake (Buckinghamshire).
Enjoying a good week for the species given the time of year, the drake Ring-necked Duck was still present at Llyn Brenig (Denbighshire) on 17th-20th, while further sightings came from Highland & Caithness at Loch Watten on 16th, and Loch Scarmlate on 17th; and on Lough Neagh at Troome (Co.Antrim) on 16th.
Much as we anticipated, the week just gone was a fair one for White-rumped Sandpiper, with a scattering of birds found. In Co.Wexford, sightings came from Tacumshin on 19th-20th and Ring Marsh on 20th; a bird was seen in Cumbria at Rockcliffe on 17th; and a further possible in Norfolk at Breydon Water on 18th.
A possible Baird’s Sandpiper was seen on 20th at Balormie Pig Farm (Moray).
Back in Norfolk, a Temminck’s Stint was present at Cley NWT on 20th-21st.
Western Isles, meanwhile, scored a Pectoral Sandpiper on South Uist on 17th.
Returning our gaze to Co.Wexford, the Long-billed Dowitcher remained at The Cull on 17th-20th.
The first-summer Lesser Yellowlegs was again seen in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 19th-20th, while an adult bird settled into Finningley (Nottinghamshire) on 18th-22nd.
Finningley, of course, has been in the news lately for the ongoing presence of the adult Black-winged Pratincole there, a stay that extended into the present week with the bird still to be seen there on 16th-17th. The bird finally decided to seek pastures new at that point, being found in East Yorkshire at Easington and Kilnsea Wetlands NR on 18th, and then Low Barns DWT (Co.Durham) on 19th.
A Red-necked Phalarope was reported from Pett Level (East Sussex) on 21st.
Finally, in Cambridgeshire two Black-winged Stilt were seen in flight over Burwell Fen on 20th.
Having starred in the headlines the preceding week, the first-summer Franklin’s Gull remained this week in London off Crossness on 16th-17th. This was followed by a first-summer bird at Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir (London) on 18th; and a sighting of a bird in Lincolnshire on 18th also at Anderby Marsh.
Meanwhile, in Kent the adult Bonaparte’s Gull remained settled at Oare Marshes KWT on 16th-22nd; a further probable was noted heading west past Cley NWT (Norfolk) on 21st.
A first-summer Sabine’s Gull was seen from the Scilly pelagic of 18th; and another bird from a pelagic off Co.Cork on 21st.
After a week that drew a blank for white-wingers – and there’s been many a summer lately when that doesn’t happen – normal service resumed this past week with the merest frosting of their kind on the general gull news. We’ve Lewis (Western Isles) to thank for a lingering second-summer Glaucous Gull on 16th-20th; while in Moray the third-summer individual was once more seen on the Lossie Estuary on 20th.
And so to terns. In Shetland, the recent Gull-billed Tern remained at Scatness on 16th.
Caspian Tern were seen at Hodbarrow RSPB (Cumbria) on 16th, and Winterton (Norfolk) on 20th.
Norfolk also featured in the news for the adult White-winged Black Tern again seen at Ken Hill Marshes on 16th.
The adult female surinamensis American Black Tern settled on Coquet Island (Northumberland) on 18th-22nd.
Finally, in Ireland the adult Least Tern was still present around Portrane (Co.Dublin) on 16th-21st, with a foray to Baltray (Co.Louth) again on 18th.
We’ve just a trio of notable raptors to report upon this week. Starting in Cumbria, the recent first-summer male Red-footed Falcon was once again seen at Wedholme Flow on 19th.
On 22nd, the first-summer male Montagu’s Harrier was once again seen at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire).
While we finish in Co.Dublin, where a Black Kite was seen at Dundrum on 16th.
As the week drew to a close, an Alpine Swift was seen heading west over Pett Level (East Sussex) on 22nd.
Norfolk meanwhile enjoyed Bee-eater on 19th at West Runton, Cley NWT, and Titchwell RSPB.
In Suffolk, the prior week’s male Red-backed Shrike remained at Minsmere RSPB on 16th; and a female was found on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 17th-18th.
A Marsh Warbler was trapped and ringed on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 21st.
A possible Greenish Warbler was heard, briefly, in Chelmer Park (Essex) on 22nd.
A Red-rumped Swallow was found on 19th at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire).
Angus landed a Rose-coloured Starling at Abroath on 22nd; another was reported from Norfolk’s Thetford on the same day.
A male Blue-headed Wagtail remained at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 19th-20th.
Finally, a female Black-headed Bunting made a fleeting appearance on Orkney at Hoy on the morning of 19th.
Pick of the overseas news this week has to be the gorgeous Blue-cheeked Bee-eater that graced the Netherlands on 16th-17th at Haasveld.
Simply WOW!!!!! 4th for The Netherlands. Groene Bijeneter, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. pic.twitter.com/3MoNhUPk2V
— Maurice van Veen (@orchidmorris) July 16, 2024
In France, the Elegant Tern remained at Polder de Sebastopol on 19th, while the Bridled Tern remained at Ile aux Moutons on 16th. Meanwhile, the White-rumped Swift was back at Minerve in the Red-rumped Swallow colony on 16th.
Finally, in Denmark a Griffon Vulture was found at Skelsnaesbugten on 15th-16th.
We remain firmly in the realms of intriguing possibility this coming week where waders of various shapes and sizes are concerned. There’s a vast array of species of varying degrees of scarcity and rarity that have been found in Britain and Ireland in the week to come over the years, and almost anything seems possible. Some of the heavyweights of the shorebirds section of the British and Irish lists have shown up in the last week of July…
Realistically though, while more White-rumped Sandpiper are surely just a formality, we could reasonably aim our sights a little bit higher, but not unrealistically so. Sixteen accepted past British records of Marsh Sandpiper for the week to come are an encouraging late summer precedent. Just one, in the week to come, would be particularly welcome for Irish birders, where the species remains a much more refined rarity encompassing a mere five records ever, the last individual seen on Swords Estuary (Co.Dublin) on 6th-9th May 2017.
Speaking of which, should you be anywhere near Swords Estuary this coming week, it’s not a bad place to visit to speculatively shoot for the stars. The past 25 years have delivered both Short-billed Dowitcher (found there on 24th July 2000) and Great Knot (found there on 25th July 2004). You could do much worse.
Jon Dunn
23 July 2024
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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