Weekly birding round-up: 24 - 30 Sep 2024
While former Sibe classics were playing out elsewhere this week, and those birders of a traditional holidaying nature headed for Scilly or Shetland, those left on mainland Britain had a treat coming their way by the weekend. Not necessarily an easy bird in any sense, but one that ultimately rewarded patience. Autumn was well and truly under way in recent days.
It’s certainly felt like it’s been a long time coming. The photo of the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler picked up dead beneath the lighthouse on St Agnes (Scilly) on 21st October 2016 came as a bolt from the blue. Unlike some eastern vagrants we could mention, it seemed generally without precedent, and wasn’t followed by a flurry of further records.
The British Birds 'new for Britain' article can be found here
Whether or not the bird found on Portland (Dorset) on 22nd October 2012 was a Pale-legged or a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler seems destined to remain forever an unresolved enigma. The point here being that Pale-legged Leaf Warbler didn’t do an Eastern Crowned Warbler and follow its first confirmed British record with three more birds in quick succession.
And that ill-fated bird of 2016 feels, in birding terms, a lifetime ago, for all it’s within the past 10 years. So much has changed in the interim. Hitherto unimaginable seabirds have become, if not de rigeur, then certainly within the not unreasonable realms of possibility. The first tentative breeding steps have been made on our shores by pioneering wetland species from Continental Europe. Rapid DNA determinations made by birder-friendly scientists from poo samples sent by eagle-eyed and determined birders are no longer the stuff of dreams.
And so on. That ex-Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, stiff on the palm of a hand on St Agnes in 2016, was fast-receding into the history books. Until this week…
An elusive warbler, found at Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) on 25th, was thought initially to be an Arctic Warbler, an identity called into question once the bird was heard to call – by the evening, it was being mooted as a potential Eastern Crowned Warbler. Our first, in 2009 at Trow Quarry (Cleveland), had been followed by three more, culminating in a bird that spent 4th-6th October 2016 at none other than Bempton Cliffs RSPB.
So far, so intriguing, but the stakes were set to rise significantly when, in the evening of 27th, news broke that analysis of the bird’s call had confirmed it was none other than a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler.
Britain’s second Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, alive and kicking, at a mainland site, on the eve of the weekend… The potential for an epic twitch was very much on.
The fly in the ointment, of course, was that the bird was, not unreasonably, an elusive skulker of the first order, generally scrotting around at low level in dense cover. Patience was needed to get a view, let alone a satisfactory one. However, as 28th-30th unfolded, photos from the field suggested that some were, eventually, getting just that. Quite whether a dead bird from 2016 counts as a blocker is rather moot, but there’s a sense that this week’s fine extant example may well be a blocker in the making for those who don’t make a move upon it while it’s still present in East Yorkshire.
Seabirds proved themselves far from done with us this week, with a succession of decent birds seen over the course of recent days.
We’ll start with rare shearwaters seen in Cornish waters – a Barolo Shearwater was seen passing close inshore off Mousehole in the morning of 25th, while a probable Yelkouan Shearwater was seen in the morning of 26th from Pendeen. In Devon, a confirmed Yelkouan Shearwater was seen on 29th off Berry Head (Devon).
Large shearwaters were still passing us by, albeit in smaller numbers than of late – around 1,600 Cory’s and 2,450 Great were logged, respectively, in Britain and Ireland as a whole this week. The most notable count of either was easily the 2,000 Great Shearwater seen from The Lizard (Cornwall) on 26th.
Around 1,700 Balearic Shearwater were also noted during the week – of these, 214 birds seen from Berry Head (Devon) on 29th were the best single site return.
A couple more Fea’s Petrel sp were seen this past week – one heading north past Long Nab (North Yorkshire) on 24th, and another that day past the Skellig Islands (Co.Kerry).
Around 25 Leach’s Petrel records were logged lately, widely scattered around the coast and, on 28th, inland – a bird was found on Rutland Water (Leicestershire) that day.
The honours were shared this week between Britain and Ireland for Brown Booby sightings – one was seen passing Fife Ness (Fife) on 27th, with another possible reported later that day going south past Eyemouth (Borders); while in Ireland, a probable was seen on 24th off Achill Island (Co.Mayo).
Numbers of Pomarine Skua picked up this week, with some 150 birds logged, including decent numbers moving along the Kent coast into the mouth of the Thames Estuary on 27th – 20 birds were seen off the Isle of Sheppey (Kent) at Shell Ness that day. Numbers of Long-tailed Skua also picked up, with around 80 birds recorded nationwide.
Lastly, a White-billed Diver was seen on 30th from Whitburn CP (Co.Durham).
In Suffolk the recent Purple Heron remained at Gifford’s Flash on 24th, and as such kicks off this week’s long-legged beasties.
Most of the running, however, was made by Glossy Ibis, with 17 birds in total recorded in Britain and Ireland as a whole. Some sites held multiple birds – three were seen in Hampshire at Titchfield Haven NNR again on 24th and 29th-30th; and duos at Dungeness (Kent) on 28th, and Etton-Maxey Pits (Cambridgeshire) on 27th-30th.
Also providing interest in Hampshire, a Black Stork was seen over Hayling Bay on 28th.
The week proved a good one again for Corncrake, with two birds showing well on Shetland in the Tingwall Valley as the week began on 24th, and another that day on Fair Isle for good measure; while down in Cornwall on 24th another was found at Porthgwarra. While the Tingwall birds dodged traffic with varying degrees of adroitness as the week wore on, additional birds were found on Westray (Orkney) on 25th, and at Hummersea (Cleveland), also on 25th.Scilly meanwhile turned up Spotted Crake on Tresco on 26th-30th, and St Mary’s on 28th.
Honkers and quackers are, one assumes, both going to feature between now and well into the spring as their traditional summer and early autumn hiatus is well and truly over.
Starting with the former, a Ross’s Goose was in the Fail area of Ayrshire on 26th-29th with Pink-footed Geese.
Pink-feet also wafted Snow Geese our way – two were seen coming in off the sea with the former species at Temple (Lothian) on 25th; followed by singletons logged at Lossiemouth (Moray) on 26th-27th, and near Hempriggs (Moray) on 30th; in the Banks Marsh NNR area of Lancashire & North Merseyside on 27th-29th; at Frodsham Marsh (Cheshire & Wirral) on 29th; and on the Ythan Estuary (Aberdeenshire) on 28th-30th.
Two Ferruginous Duck continued to lurk at Shawell (Leicestershire) until 28th, while the drake was still at Draycote Water (Warwickshire) on 27th, and a female again seen in Cambridgeshire at Ouse Fen RSPB on 28th.
The eclipse drake Lesser Scaup also remained on Belvide Reservoir (Staffordshire) on 24th-30th; another drake was on Inch Island Lake (Co.Donegal) on 28th; and a drake reported from Balgray Reservoir (Clyde) on 28th also.
Two Ring-necked Duck were seen this week – one on Lewis (Western Isles) on 24th-29th; and another at Windermere (Cumbria) on 25th.
Lately back in the news, the drake Canvasback was still to be seen at Abberton Reservoir (Essex) on 30th.
The American Wigeon remained in East Yorkshire around Kilnsea Wetlands NR on 24th-29th.
Finally, a Surf Scoter was reported from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 27th.
There was a lot of action amongst the weekly waders this week, not least the reappearance of the erstwhile adult male Hudsonian Godwit again in Cheshire & Wirral on Hale Estuary on 27th.
The prior week’s starring Wilson’s Phalarope also made it into the present week, still present at Old Hall Marshes RSPB (Essex) on 24th-25th.
Essex also gave us the Lesser Yellowlegs still at Vange Marsh RSPB on 24th; while another was found on 30th at Pilning Wetland (Gloucestershire).
Two Red-necked Phalarope were present at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 25th. Grey Phalarope meanwhile were seen at Chew Valley Lake (Somerset) on 26th; from the Scillonian on 27th and 28th; on Drift Reservoir (Cornwall) on 28th; on 29th at Fife Ness (Fife) and Gorran Haven (Cornwall); 30th from Helvick Head (Co.Waterford), Unst (Shetland), Pendeen (Cornwall), St Ives (Cornwall) where three birds were noted, and Bridges of Ross (Co.Clare) which accounted for two birds; and a probable from Pendeen (Cornwall) on 27th.
The weekly sandpipers were headed by the discovery of a Spotted Sandpiper at Cameron Reservoir (Fife) on 25th-30th.
Pectoral Sandpiper remained at Clifton Pit (Nottinghamshire) on 24th-27th; Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) on 24th; Abberton Reservoir (Essex) on 24th-27th; and Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) on 26th. Further Irish individuals were found on 28th at Dursey Island (Co.Cork), and Rogerstown Estuary (Co.Dublin). On 29th birds turned up on Colonsay (Argyll & Bute), Mizen Head (Co.Cork), and Rosses Point (Co.Sligo). On 30th a final bird was found at Newton Scrapes (Northumberland).
Three Buff-breasted Sandpiper were present on South Uist (Western Isles) on 25th, dwindling to one bird there by 27th; and a singleton was seen on 24th-26th still at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford).
A White-rumped Sandpiper was seen on 27th at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford).
Tacumshin also enjoyed a Baird’s Sandpiper on 24th; additional sightings this week coming from Churchtown Beach (Co.Wexford) on 27th and 30th, Blanket Nook (Co.Donegal) on 27th-30th, and on 30th at Carne Harbour (Co.Wexford).
An unconfirmed report came of a Semipalmated Sandpiper at Mevagissey (Cornwall) on 27th.
The juvenile Temminck’s Stint remained settled at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) on 25th-28th.
In Devon the recent Long-billed Dowitcher remained at Dawlish Warren NNR on 24th-25th.
The adult Black-winged Stilt was still in Cambridgeshire at Ouse Fen RSPB on 24th-29th; a juvenile was found on 30th at Exminster Marshes RSPB (Devon).
The week was a good one for Dotterel, with some 20 birds recorded – a trio on Scilly on Tresco on 25th-27th and Bryher on 28th; 10 birds on Little Scoat Fell (Cumbria) on 25th; single birds at Navax Point (Cornwall) on 26th, Browhouses (Dumfries & Galloway) on 27th, St Mary’s (Scilly) on 29th-30th, and St Agnes (Scilly) on 30th; and four at Worth Marsh RSPB (Kent) on 28th.
Lastly, American Golden Plover put in another solid showing, with seven birds logged in recent days – in Ireland at Clahane Strand (Co.Clare) on 24th-28th still, and at Dundalk (Co.Louth) on 27th; in Scotland on Barra (Western Isles) on 25th-30th, South Uist (Western Isles) on 24th still, Lewis (Western Isles) on 25th, and Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 26th-30th again; on The Lizard (Cornwall) on 28th; and in Wales at Llyn Aled Reservoir (Conwy) on 25th and 29th again.
A shade under 75 Sabine’s Gull were logged this week, a pronounced movement of them on 27th into the southern reaches of the North Sea helping considerably to boost their numbers. In common with Pomarine Skua that day, the north Kent coast was particularly blessed in this regard.
Two adult Bonaparte’s Gull were found at Crossfintan Point (Co.Wexford) on 24th; and a further possible was noted at Brownsea Island NT (Dorset) on 27th.
A Ring-billed Gull was seen at Blennerville (Co.Kerry) on 26th-29th.
Just two Glaucous Gull were found this past week, the first being a bird near Kinsale (Co.Cork) on 27th, and the latter a bird on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 29th.
The adult Forster’s Tern was back in Poole Harbour in Holes Bay on 30th.
Finally, the Whiskered Tern remained at Lough Beg (Co.Derry) on 24th-25th.
An excellent week for raptors saw the prior week’s adult male Northern Harrier at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) joined there by a second male individual in the evenings of 25th, 28th and 30th.
The adult female Pallid Harrier seemed settled back into Warham Greens (Norfolk), being seen there intermittently on 24th-29th. The juvenile bird remained in East Yorkshire around Welwick Saltmarsh YWT and Kilnsea Wetlands NR on 24th-30th.
A Pallid or Montagu’s Harrier was reported from Thorpeness (Suffolk) on 26th.
In Kent the obliging juvenile Red-footed Falcon continued to delight on Sheppey at Elmley NNR on 24th-26th; another probable juvenile was seen passing through Lodmoor RSPB (Dorset) on 26th.
Finally, back where we started, at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford) a Black Kite was to be seen on 26th-28th; and in England, a probable was noted near Chippenham (Wiltshire) on 26th.
The week just gone was ticking a lot of boxes for keenly anticipated Sibes, and traditional stronghold of their kind, Shetland, seems like a good place to start with them. A magnificent day’s birding there on 24th served up both Lanceolated Warbler and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler in sheltered South Mainland burns. Another Lanceolated was trapped and ringed on 24th on North Ronaldsay (Orkney), while pleasingly the prior week’s Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler was re-found in Cleveland at Tynemouth on 24th-26th.
Cleveland also held on to a Greenish Warbler at Saltburn on 24th-25th still.
Around 650 Yellow-browed Warbler were logged during the course of the week, brightening anybody’s day who was fortunate enough to bump into one.
A Dusky Warbler was found at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 24th.
Unst (Shetland) scored two Arctic Warbler on 24th, followed by a singleton near Spiggie on Mainland on 25th; and another was seen at Spurn (East Yorkshire) on 28th-30th.
Away from all this northern and eastern Phyllosc action, a Western Bonelli’s Warbler was found on Tresco (Scilly) on 24th-28th.
Scilly also produced a Paddyfield Warbler, trapped and ringed on St Mary’s on 24th.
The week began, in Shetland, with a Blyth’s Reed Warbler still present on Whalsay on 24th-25th; another was found on Unst on 28th. South Uist (Western Isles) also retained a bird on 23rd-25th; and a mainland British bird was found at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 28th.
Marsh Warbler remained on St Kilda (Western Isles) and Papa Westray (Orkney) on 24th; one was present at Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 24th; and a possible at Quendale on Mainland Shetland on 28th.
Flamborough (East Yorkshire) also sported an Icterine Warbler on 28th-30th; and the Melodious Warbler remained at Cape Cornwall (Cornwall) on 24th.
Wrapping up the scarce and rare warblers, Barred Warbler enjoyed another strong week, with some 55 birds logged nationwide over the course of the period.
Returning to our keenly anticipated Sibe theme, Brown Shrike were seen on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 25th and North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 26th-30th.
On Foula (Shetland) the recent Isabelline Shrike sp was still to be seen on 24th.
Red-backed Shrike were a relatively scarce commodity – single birds were seen at Houghton Regis (Bedfordshire) still on 24th-30th; at Welcombe Mouth (Devon) on 25th; St Martin’s on 28th-30th and St Mary’s (Scilly) on 28th-30th; Tynemouth (Northumberland) on 28th; Yell (Shetland) on 28th-30th; and Sullom Voe (Shetland) on 30th.
In Cleveland, the Great Grey Shrike remained on Hartlepool Headland on 25th-28th.
A possible Eastern Yellow Wagtail was noted on Out SKerries (Shetland) on 30th; while a Blue-headed Wagtail was on Yell (Sherland), and a further probable at Arbroath (Angus) that day also.
Shetland gave us a stonking Pechora Pipit at Quendale on 28th-30th.
Richard’s Pipit were logged in Lincolnshire on 28th coming in off the sea at Sandilands Pit NR, and at Gibraltar Point NNR; and another on Shetland at Loch of Hillwell on 29th. On 30th the Gibraltar Point NNR bird was seen again, another found at Galley Head (Co.Cork), and a probable flushed at Alnmouth (Northumberland).
The week was another good one for eastern stonechat sp, with probable Siberian Stonechat recorded at Fair Isle (Shetland) still on 24th-30th; St Kilda (Western Isles) on 24th still; at Tantallon (Lothian) still on 24th; at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) still on 24th-28th; and at Saltburn (Cleveland) on 25th, Weybourne Camp (Norfolk) on 25th-29th, and Flamborough (East Yorkshire) on 28th-29th.
Some 45 Red-breasted Flycatcher were seen during the week. Rather like a Yellow-browed Warbler, nobody’s day was ever made the worse for seeing one of them.
East Yorkshire notched up a couple of former heavyweight rarity Red-flanked Bluetail - birds seen at Spurn on 24th, and Flamborough on 28th.
A Bluethroat remained on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 24th-27th; another was seen briefly at Freswick (Highland & Caithness) on 24th; on Shetland on 29th, one was found in North Mainland at Ronas Voe, and another on Out Skerries; on 30th, one was present on Fair Isle, while the Ronas Voe bird remained present on Mainland.
The Lizard (Cornwall) attracted a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling on 26th-30th.
Hoopoe broke the double figure threshold this week, with almost a dozen birds logged, including an unusual report of two together at Hextable (Kent) on 26th.
Similarly, Wryneck flirted with double figures this week across the region as a whole.
A Golden Oriole was found in Shetland’s west side at Mid Walls on 24th.
On Lundy (Devon), the recent Short-toed Lark remained present on 24th-29th, and another was found on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 30th.
A probable Pallid Swift was seen on 30th at Hengistbury Head (Dorset).
Just under 30 Common Rosefinch were logged this week, scattered the length of Britain between Scilly and Shetland. Four were a notable tally from Isle of May (Fife) on 30th.
Ortolan Bunting remained on St Agnes (Scilly) on 24th-26th, and Inner Farne (Northumberland) on 24th-25th. A further probable was noted over Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon) on 25th, and a bird on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 29th.
Last, but never least, a Little Bunting remained on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 24th; another was found at Wick (Highland & Caithness) on 28th; and a final bird on Unst (Shetland) on 30th.
Spain’s magnificent Estaca de Barres was at it again this week with some superlative sea-watching – 20 South Polar Skua recorded off here on 28th.
A single South Polar Skua was seen in France from Audierne on 28th; while a probable Long-billed Murrelet that day off Semaphore de Brignogan would have been the week’s most exciting seabird by some margin had it only been confirmed. Also in France, the long-staying Hudsonian Whimbrel remained at Salin-de-Giraud on 27th.
In Germany the Northern Mockingbird remained settled at Feldflur Rheidt Am Schfott on 24th-30th.
A Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler was found in the Netherlands at Vlieland on 29th.
Norway enjoyed a Blyth’s Pipit on 30th at Utsira.
A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was present in Portugal at Quinta do Lago on 28th-30th.
Out on the Azores, a Great Blue Heron was seen on Corvo on 24th; while a Trindade Petrel was seen heading south past Flores on 27th, and two off Corvo on 30th.
Wait, what, the first week of October already? How the heck has that snuck up on us so quickly?
Let’s slow down just a minute. October is a month to be savoured, each week providing treasures from the past to look back upon with fondness, and potential for new cherished memories to be formed.
So what of that first week of the month that lies ahead? It’s a stone-cold classic time for those arch Sibe skulkers, Lanceolated and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, with in excess of 30 and 20 accepted histotic records of each, respectively, for the coming week. Other warblers from the east are very much available – five past accepted Sykes’s and ten Booted Warbler speak volumes about the week’s potential in this regard.
You want rarer still? Two Thick-billed Warblers, and one Eastern Crowned Warbler, have been found in the coming week in past years. We can certainly do rarer.
(And lest we forget, the coming week boasts two accepted records apiece for Siberian Blue Robin, Rufous-tailed Robin, and Siberian Rubythroat. All good, then…)
And from the west? Oh, there’s plenty of mega action in the history books and, in the wake of the disruption in the force caused by Hurricane Helene, who knows what might be thrown out into the Atlantic to be tossed our way? One thing’s for sure, the coming week is red-hot for Red-eyed Vireo - fully 70 of our accepted 172 British birds to date were found in the first week of October. One for the Scilly faithful to aim for in the week to come…
Jon Dunn
01 Oct 2024
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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