Weekly birding round-up: 13 - 19 Aug 2024
It felt inevitable that another high quality Nearctic wader would be heading our way some time soon, and the past week amply delivered. Not that, to begin with, this was a settled bird… but good things come to those who wait, and the patience of birders in the north-west was duly rewarded over the weekend.
News of yet another superb wader this early autumn broke on 13th, with the discovery of an adult male Hudsonian Godwit at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB (Cheshire & Wirral). It transpired the bird had arrived there the evening before and, in time, we learned it had been seen at Connah’s Quay (Flintshire) earlier on 12th.
But after showing at Burton Mere on 13th, the bird did a bunk, wasn’t to be seen thereafter. Somerset, in 2015, unblocked Hudsonian Godwit for many of us after the species’ fleeting heyday in Britain in the early 1980s, and a one-day reprise in Aberdeenshire in September 1988. Since then, birds in Fife and Shetland kept things ticking over for British birders – but a bird in the northwest of England was always going to be popular. That Shetland bird, in 2023, was a male – could this week’s bird be one and the same individual? The bird seen in the early 1980s in Yorkshire and Devon was one and the same, so there’s some precedent for such returning and mobile birds…
There is however something truly obliging about any bird that puts in an appearance over a weekend, at a time when more birders have a chance of connecting with it. And when it’s a rarity of this calibre? That’s doubly welcome. Fortunately for birders from near and far, the Hudsonian Godwit was back again on 18th-19th at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB.
The annual late summer pelagics off Scilly continue to go from strength to strength, each the very best sort of seabird lottery – you book your ticket and never quite know what the date in question will bring, but these days there seems to be a not unreasonable expectation that there could be something significantly rarer than a Wilson’s Petrel (or double figures thereof) about to hove into view over the near horizon.
Scilly’s South Polar Skua account opened early this year, with the bird seen from the pelagic of 5th July. Since then, nothing, albeit neighbouring Cornwall has had a couple of subsequent putative birds, seen from The Lizard on 8th, and in Falmouth Bay on 10th.
That was set to change this week, with a bird photographed from the pelagic on 16th, some six miles southeast of St Mary’s. Is this the last bird of the 2024 season? One rather doubts that…
Found as the previous week drew to a close, the identity of the Canvasback on Abberton Reservoir (Essex) firmed up as the new week began, and there it remained until 19th. Intriguingly, a report emerged of a probable bird recently at Cliffe Pools RSPB (Kent) – one and the same, perhaps?
Once more, the week’s notable seabirds beging with a Scopoli’s Shearwater - and once again, we need look no further than Irish sea-watching behemoth, Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) to supply the bird, an individual noted from there on 13th. Another probable was logged from here on 16th for good measure.
Cory’s Shearwater continued to dominate the large shearwater sightings, with some 12,000 birds recorded in British and Irish waters as a whole. With a certain inevitability, the week’s highest single site count came from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 13th, where 2,200 birds were seen. Great Shearwater meanwhile began to muster, with an increase on recent weeks, amounting to around 4,400 birds seen across the region. Of these, 1,000 birds were seen at sea from the ferry off Plymouth (Devon) on 16th; while 500 were seen at sea some 10 miles off Start Point (Devon) on 14th.
And what of Balearic Shearwater? Around 1,800 birds were noted this past week, with a peak count of 500 off Portland (Dorset) on 16th.
Back to Ireland now, where several sightings of Fea’s Petrel sp ensued across the week – on 13th from Skellig Islands (Co.Kerry) and Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare); on 15th from Melmore Head (Co.Donegal); and on 16th from Annagh Head (Co.Mayo). Surely a Scillonian bird is in the offing soon?
What Scilly was still dominating were sightings of Wilson’s Petrel, with 47 birds noted from the week’s pelagics a significant proportion of the overall weekly British and Irish total of 125 birds. In Ireland, Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) was doing its level best to bring the game to Scilly, with 37 birds noted from here over the course of the week, and a daily top score of 18 birds on 13th.
A Leach’s Petrel was seen from Lewis (Western Isles) on 17th, and another from North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 19th.
A shade over 90 Pomarine Skua were seen in Britain and Ireland this week, with 17 seen from Bloody Foreland (Co.Donegal) on 18th the highest single site tally. With them came a handful of Long-tailed Skua – birds were seen from Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) on 13th, 16th, 17th, and 18th (on the latter date, two birds were seen here); off Holy Island (Northumberland) on 15th; off Streedagh (Co.Sligo) on 17th, where two birds were noted; on 18th at Fife Ness (Fife); and on 19th in Cornwall at Porth Kidney Sands.
Close, but no cigar for seawatchers in Kent this week when a possible Brown Booby was seen distantly from Minnis Bay. Given a confirmed bird had been seen heading northwest at sea off Calais (France) earlier in the afternoon, there’s a distinct possibility these were one and the same. Frustrating!
Similarly tantalising, an unconfirmed report came of an at-sea possible Black-browed Albatross south of Ullapool (Highland & Caithness) on 14th. We’ve been spoilt in recent years for an easy Albert… 2024 has been an unwelcome return to scarcer form.
Starting the long-legged beasties this week with Night Heron, we had several birds to go at in recent days. On 14th, individuals remained at Potter Heigham Marshes (Norfolk) and North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire), the latter bird still present there on 18th-19th; while in Kent the recent bird remained settled at Oare Marshes KWT on 14th-17th; and a further bird was seen on 15th in Wiltshire at Amesbury.
Night Heron @NorthCaveWet this afternoon pic.twitter.com/trniMboMPS
— SteveClippo (@ClippoSteve) August 18, 2024
In Devon, the Purple Heron continued to be settled in at Exminster Marshes RSPB on 13th-19th. A juvenile was once again reported from Leighton Moss RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 18th.
Glossy Ibis remained in relatively short supply. In due course, we’ll hear whether they’re continuing to consolidate their tentative breeding foothold here… but this week, news concerned single birds lingering at Breydon Water (Norfolk) on 13th and 18th still; at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) still on 13th-19th; at Deeping Lakes LWT (Lincolnshire) still on 14th-18th; and at Titchfield Haven NNR (Hampshire), where one still on 14th-18th had found a companion on 17th. A further bird was noted over Christchurch Harbour (Dorset) on 14th; one in Norfolk at Cley NWT on 18th; a bird in Scotland at Mersehead RSPB (Dumfries & Galloway) on 18th; while in Ireland, one was again seen at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 16th and 18th.
A Corncrake was heard singing on 17th near Tetbury (Gloucestershire).
And a Spotted Crake was found on 19th at Lodmoor RSPB (Dorset).
Once again, our paddle around the rarity duckpond begins in Scotland where the drake Stejneger’s Scoter remained in recent days off Musselburgh Lagoons (Lothian) on 13th-19th.
A little to the south, the first-summer drake Surf Scoter was still present off the Northumberland coast around Howick on 13th.
In East Yorkshire, the Blue-winged Teal remained at Tophill Low on 14th-18th.
Checking in once more, the drake Black Duck remained on Cross Lough (Co.Mayo) on 15th.
Both recent drake Ferruginous Duck remained at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) until 17th, and on Willen Lake (Buckinghamshire) until 18th also.
An eclipse drake Lesser Scaup was found on Belvide Reservoir (Staffordshire) on 17th-19th.
In Highland & Caithness, the drake Ring-necked Duck was still present on Loch Watten on 15th; and a further sighting came on 18th on Loch of Wester.
On the whole, numbers of scarce and rare waders reported this past week were a little down. But in terms of variety, we’d nothing to complain about and, in their number, there were several settled, obliging and deservedly locally popular birds to be seen.
Starting in West Sussex with one such, the adult Semipalmated Sandpiper remained around Sidlesham Ferry Pool on 13th-19th, with a juvenile found on 18th-19th at Hayle Estuary (Cornwall), and a final juvenile at Owenahincha (Co.Cork) on 19th.
Proving equally settled, in Lothian the Baird’s Sandpiper remained at Aberlady Bay on 13th-18th.
In Moray, a White-rumped Sandpiper was sitting tight at Spey Bay on 14th-19th; while another remained at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th-16th. Additional birds were found on 18th at Beacon Ponds NR and at Spurn on 19th (East Yorkshire), and Ventry (Co.Kerry) on 18th.
The recent Pectoral Sandpiper remained at Lilbourne Meadows NR (Northamptonshire) on 13th; another was reported from Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 16th; while on 17th-19th a further bird was found at Scotney GPs (East Sussex), with a foray to nearby Dungeness RSPB (Kent) on 18th.
Scotney GPs also gave us a Temminck’s Stint on 17th-19th; another was present at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 17th-19th also; while the bird remained at Elmley NNR (Kent) on 13th-15th.
Both recent American Golden Plover remained on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 13th-17th, and in East Yorkshire at Sammy’s Point on 16th-19th again. Another (or a Pacific Goldie) was seen in flight over North Point Pools (Norfolk) on 18th.
Back in Northamptonshire at Lilbourne Meadows NR, the Lesser Yellowlegs was still present on 13th-19th. Another was found on 19th on Benbecula (Western Isles).
A Black-winged Stilt was once again reported from Cuckmere Haven (East Sussex) on 18th.
A Red-necked Phalarope was seen on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 13th-14th.
The week was once more a good one for Grey Phalarope, with a shade over 20 birds seen in total. Most of those were off Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare), where a cumulative 18 birds were seen in the course of the week, with a peak count of 11 birds on 13th. Elsewhere, three were seen from the Scilly pelagic of 15th; and singletons off Pendeen (Cornwall) on 14th; from the Ullapool / Stornoway ferry (Highland & Caithness / Western Isles), also on 14th; and off Bloody Foreland (Co.Donegal) on 18th.
Numbers of Sabine’s Gull continued to climb, with around 65 birds seen in the course of the week. Once again, Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) was the place to be, with 51 birds seen from here alone, with 30 noted on 13th making up a substantial proportion of that number.
In Kent the adult Bonaparte’s Gull remained settled at Oare Marshes KWT on 13th-19th.
A Glaucous Gull was reported from Coquet Island (Northumberland) on 14th, while a first-summer bird was seen in Co.Durham on 16th at Whitburn CP, on 18th at Ryhope, and on 19th at Sunderland.
West Yorkshire continued to supply Caspian Tern sightings, both at Eccup Reservoir on 13th-17th and 19th again, once more at St Aidan’s RSPB on 16th-19th, and on 19th at Allerton Bywater Pastures. A further bird was found way to the south at Pegwell Bay (Kent) on 16th.
A White-winged Black Tern was reported in Cornwall at Hayle Estuary on 13th; later in the day, one was confirmed not a million miles away in the county at St Ives.
Finally, a possible Bridled Tern was seen twice off Filey (East Yorkshire) on 19th.
Just the one Montagu’s Harrier was seen this week, a first-summer female at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 13th still.
Tacumshin also gave us a Black Kite on 17th-19th; while another was seen on 16th in Somerset at Shapwick Heath NNR.
Autumn! It’s officially autumn now. And how do we know that? Because the first Citrine Wagtail has checked in, a bird that settled this week on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 14th-19th. Another flyover bird was noted in East Yorkshire at Spurn on 19th.
Shetland as a whole was enjoying a good week of it, for a fine Lesser Grey Shrike was showing well on Mainland at Channerwick on 13th-18th.
Red-backed Shrike, meanwhile, were seen on 13th at Brook Down (Isle of Wight), and Littlehampton (West Sussex).
A Marsh Warbler was also seen in Shetland in recent days, on Unst on 14th. Equally unattainable for all but the fortunate observer, another bird was heard sub-singing at a private site in Kent on 17th.
A couple of Melodious Warbler were found on 16th – one on St Michael’s Mount (Cornwall), and another on Grassholm (Pembrokeshire).
Up on Lewis (Western Isles), the recent Alpine Swift continued to prove tenacious, staying put there until 19th. Another was found in Dorset at Ferrybridge on 14th.
Dorset was also graced by a Hoopoe at Abbotsbury on 13th; another was found in Kent on 18th at Sandwich Bay.
Kent also enjoyed a Bee-eater over Kingsdown on 18th; and a Tawny Pipit over Abbot’s Cliff, also on 18th.
Wryneck were seen this week in London at Richmond Park on 13th, at Carnsore Point (Co.Wexford) on 14th, and at Chipping Sodbury Common (Gloucestershire) on 19th.
A Red-breasted Flycatcher was on Longstone (Northumberland) on 19th.
Finally, a possible male Common Rosefinch was seen on St Ninian’s Isle (Shetland) on 15th.
The decent Nearctic waders weren’t confined to Britain this week, for in the Netherlands a fine pair of birds were found in recent days – a Western Sandpiper at Grandyk on 15th-19th, and a Greater Yellowlegs at Zevenhoven on 16th.
We’ve touched already upon the Brown Booby seen in French waters off Calais, heading towards Kent on 16th…
…but the main seabird prizes this week were to be had in Spain, off the mighty Estaca de Barres. Here, on 14th and 15th, Black-capped Petrel were seen; a Brown Booby on 15th; and a South Polar Skua on 16th.
Denmark continued to enjoy a good run of form, with the Pygmy Cormorant still present at Slotsmosen on 17th-19th; the Zitting Cisticola still present at Grenen on 17th; and the Sandhill Crane at Bygolm Vegle still on 14th-19th.
In Norway, a Green Warbler was trapped and ringed at Osterbotn on 15th.
Israel’s recent Basra Reed Warbler remained at Eilat on 15th.
And finally, an opening salvo from the Azores on 17th-18th, when a Little Blue Heron was found on Terceira.
The coming week looks set to feature a whole lot of weather coming our way off the Atlantic. Westerlies… too early for a decent passerine? Well, maybe not…
No fewer than five British and Irish Yellow Warbler owe themselves to the coming week, approaching half of all past records of the species. It’s a really good time to bump into one if you’re very lucky… so let’s hope somebody is in the coming days. And if you’re checking out westerly locations, there’s also the possibility of the first Buff-breasted Sandpiper of 2024 to consider…
Jon Dunn
20 Aug 2024
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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