Weekly birding round-up: 29 Jun - 5 Jul 2021
The weather may have remained a distinctly mixed and generally rather cool bag throughout Britain and Ireland this past week, but where the birds were concerned it was absolutely red-hot. There was a bit of everything in the news – national and county firsts, immense garden birding, an outrageous wader, and some gripping noc-mig action…
Scorchio!
We’ve been invoking the past glories of midsummer where ultra-rare seabirds are concerned for the last couple of weeks in these quarters but, thus far this summer, it was looking like 2021 wasn’t in any danger of threatening the remarkable run of such birds as the fortunate few enjoyed last year. That was, however, all set to change this week…
July 1st kicked off with news of a Fea’s / Desertas Petrel heading north past Flamborough (East Yorkshire) at 9:35am. Some hours later in the early afternoon it was picked up again, now passing north distantly off Staithes (North Yorkshire). So far, so good.
Inevitably, with eyes on the north east coast now trained out to sea, there was a fair chance it would be seen again provided it continued to follow the coastline and didn’t loop out to sea. Sure enough, further sightings in the late afternoon came in quick succession – off Whitburn CP (Co.Durham), and Brown’s Point, St Mary’s Island and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (Northumberland). Northumberland’s faithful continued to score as the afternoon bled into early evening – the bird being tracked passing Low Hauxley, Coquet Island, Cullernose Point, Beadnell Bay and Annstead Point before, at just after 7pm, being seen off Bamburgh’s Stag Rocks.
Fea’s type past Annstead Point 18:47-18:55 ??No doubt Twitter will do its best to scupper video quality pic.twitter.com/qOGEwYEfQ6
— Ross Ahmed (@RossAhmed) July 1, 2021
At which point, as photographs and video of the bird began to be scrutinised, doubts were setting in about the bird’s stated identity…
Fea’s type petrel past Newbiggin Church Point 17:16pm Well track up the coast @NTBirdClub wrong camera settings but you get the idea. pic.twitter.com/tBvOZbONJ6
— Graham Sorrie (@sorriega) July 1, 2021
Was that a complete breast band on the bird? A breast band no self-respecting Fea’s / Desertas Petrel would be bearing? Oh yes. And the sound of a penny dropping as those who know their South Atlantic seabirds realised that this was, in fact, a compelling candidate for Britain’s first ever Soft-plumaged Petrel.
Fea’s type Petrel . Nice mind. Best pics I could muster. Church point Newbiggin 17.14 Thanks to the folks tracking it up the coast! @NatNewbiggin @seabigginbirds @alantilmouth pic.twitter.com/rERUfHvQhY
— John Graham (@johngrahamart71) July 1, 2021
I think, if asked to predict where that would be found, if ever, many of us would have suggested from a Scilly pelagic – their track record for mega seabirds is an enviable one, after all. But we should never rule out the North Sea… while in some quarters it’s been fashionable to scoff at past, un-photographed, claims of rare seabirds there, the advent and widespread adoption of digital photography marks a sea-change in opinion. Those who claimed outrageous seabirds in the past and suffered the slings and arrows of criticism from their peers can feel justly vindicated – their records may never make the grade for acceptance in this digital photography era of records assessment, but they’ll know what they saw. Rare seabirds can, and do, make it up the east coast of Britain.
And beyond. Graham Catley’s account of his discovery on 6th June 2009 of the North Atlantic’s first (and the Western Palearctic’s second, following a bird seen off Eilat (Israel) in 1997) Soft-plumaged Petrel, originally published in Birding World, remains to this day a classic of its kind, capturing the serendipity of chancing upon the bird in the first place, the flurry of activity that accompanies a fleeting encounter with an unfamiliar seabird, and the journey to working out what it actually was in the first place.
Read Graham's full account here
Of course, we’ll wait to see if this week’s bird makes the grade with the BBRC, but if, as seems likely, it does, the British list’s burgeoning seabird section will be one heck of a bird the richer. All of which begs the question of whatever next? Are we running out of options, or is almost anything possible where vagrant seabirds are concerned? Answers on a postcard… and, meanwhile, something beautiful from Stewart Sexton’s notebook:
A work up sketchy notes from last nights star bird. Things I noticed and were pointed out by others at the time... help from the lads vids and photos too... #Northumberland #LocalPatch #Seawatching pic.twitter.com/2YfzDv22Ye
— Stewart ??? (@Stewchat) July 2, 2021
With Elegant Terns breeding as close to Britain as the west coast of France, further records of this droopy orange-billed rarity seem to have an inevitability about them, for all we’ve a mere four accepted British records on the books to date – albeit mobile birds that have spread their favours widely across the English south coast and a little further north too – with sightings also made in Norfolk and Gwynedd for good measure.
Mobile birds in 2002 and again in 2017 helped spread the love. And speaking of love, the French pair at Polder de Sebastopol have two chicks at their feet as we speak – while a third adult bird was seen with them on 19th... but not later this week on 3rd-5th. Could that missing bird account for the one that Mark Sutton found on Anglesey at Cemlyn on 4th? It’s surely a possibility but, such idle speculation aside, what’s undeniable is the star quality of his find – Anglesey’s first record of the species, and only the second for Wales as a whole.
Still present at Cemlyn as the week drew to a close on 5th, will the magnetism of the ternery there continue to exert a hold upon it, or will it soon set off wandering in the days to come? There’s got to be a chance that the events of 2002 and 2017 may be repeated – there’s still plenty of counties that would welcome adding Elegant Tern to their county lists. If you didn’t already have enough incentive to head to the coast in the days and weeks to come, there’s maybe just a little more now.
And who knows what you might find… as, if it’s not a mega seabird of one sort or another, we’re starting to head firmly into rare shorebird territory at this time of year.
Ireland’s recent run of quality rarities showed no signs of abating any time soon this week with the discovery on 3rd by Christopher O’Sullivan of Co.Cork’s first Short-billed Dowitcher on the Ring estuary near Clonakilty. Co.Cork’s first record, and only the fifth of its kind for Ireland as a whole.
I’ve just found Cork’s 1st and Ireland’s 5th Short-billed Dowitcher at Ring estuary near Clonakilty, Co Cork. Holy crap!
— Christopher O’Sullivan TD (@COSullivanTD) July 3, 2021
Images taken by Paul Connaughton and Ronan Archibald. pic.twitter.com/qCPdj3qxKg
Still present there on 5th, British birders could be forgiven for casting envious eyes towards Co.Cork. It’s been a while since our last, and another would be popular for sure.
Where Rufous Turtle Doves are concerned in Britain, there are a couple of immutable facts. Firstly, they’re occurring more regularly in recent years – of the 16 previous, accepted British records, 11 have been since the turn of the century, making them practically biennial on these shores. And secondly, they’re a bird of late autumn, winter, and early spring – with no records from June-September, they’re a stranger to summer.
That is, until this past week, when a report of a Turtle Dove at Easington (East Yorkshire) in the mid-afternoon of 2nd was followed shortly afterwards by a palpably shocked tweet from Paul French…
Jeezus!! Meena Rufous turtle dove in private garden, Easington now @spurnbirdobs @RareBirdAlertUK @BirdGuides pic.twitter.com/81CgpU7pG2
— Paul French (@nomadbirder) July 2, 2021
As garden birds go, finding a summer meena Rufous Turtle Dove wandering around beneath your feeders has to be one of the ultimate surprises. Paul’s account of what happened is utterly gripping:
“I put my bins on the bird and instantly turned to jelly. I can’t recall what I said exactly… By this point I'm literally shaking like a leaf, and watching this bird walk around under our feeders. I'm trying to run through ID features in my head, but my mind is a blank, and nothing is coming to me apart from ‘Just look at it, it is one!!!’
“After a couple of minutes of incoherent babbling, Georgia said ‘Are you going to put this out on the radio or what?’. At that point, my mind returned, I grabbed the radio, and apparently started the message with ‘Listen up everyone, turn your radios up, there’s a Rufous Turtle Dove in my garden...’. Within what seemed like seconds the local birders were turning up, and I was still in a sort of semi-panic. I've been lucky to find a few good birds now, and I always have the same horrible feeling of what if I'm hallucinating? What if everyone turns up, sees an obvious Turtle Dove, calls me an idiot and walks off? It’s a horrible confliction to the joy and palpitations of actually finding something!
“Anyway, at this point, thankfully, my brain returned and features started popping back in my head. Tertials. Check. Scaps and mantle fringes. Check. Tiny eye ring. Check. Primary projection. Check. Check. Check!! When I counted those five stumpy primaries, my brain relaxed, everything returned to normal working order, and I realised that the reason it just looked like one is that most of the ID issues are with first-winter birds. Adults are, in fact, very striking. A long list of features all combine to produce a very distinctive bird…”
Quite apart from the massive grip-factor of all of this – and let’s be honest, it’s enormous – what I also take away from Paul’s account is some relief that it’s not just me that has the doubt set in the moment I find a good bird. Don’t we all? Equally, haven’t we all heard or read finders’ accounts that seem so utterly self-assured and confident it beggars belief? I for one admire both Paul’s candour and good fortune this week in equal measure.
And speaking of admiration, the bird in question, Yorkshire’s third latter-day record of meena Rufous Turtle Dove, did the decent thing and stuck around into 5th, proving a popular draw over the weekend for east coast birders.
Granted this last headline relates entirely to belated news, but the birds in question are way too lovely to relegate to the main body of the piece. While the past month’s daily news has been dominated by the impressive influx of Rose-coloured Starlings across Britain and Ireland, another, less ostentatiously showy species has been slipping in under our radar.
Or at least, almost unseen and unheard. Those paying attention, and in the right place at the right time, have been aware that Baillon’s Crakes are on the move too.
Just when I was thinking that the Gloucestershire Great Spotted Cuckoo heard over Stroud on 31st March was going to romp home with the title for the most impressive noc-mig sound-recording of the year, along came Sean Ronayne and a single nocturnal flight call recorded on an autonomous recording device overnight at Buckroney (Co.Wicklow) on 24th June – Sean knew what he was hearing, having recorded Baillon’s Crake in Catalunya last year…
…and this wasn’t even the first Co.Wicklow Baillon’s Crake of the year, for it transpires another had settled on territory in the county for a fortnight in late May and early June, a male bird being heard singing away there for days on end before eventually falling silent. While the site in question is still being monitored, there’s been no further sign of him or his ilk.
For all Britain is on the cusp of a hundred accepted Baillon’s Crakes to date, the situation is a very different one in Ireland – there just three past records sit on the books, none of which were in Co.Wicklow, and two of which date to the mid-19th century. An Irish mega, then… but surely not one that’s going endure for a great many years as a blocker.
The species, formerly much more commonplace in north-western Europe, has staged something of a modest comeback as a breeding species in the last couple of decades, and we can reasonably expect we’ll get our share of pioneering birds in years to come – in 2012 at least six and perhaps as many as eleven singing males were logged in Britain, of which at least four birds were at one site in Anglesey alone. Either drought or heavy rain in their mainland Continental range can displace them, so it’s always going to be worth keeping an eye or an ear out for them, in Britain or, as news this week shows, in Ireland.
And that’s not all folks… as further belated news came this week of another bird, heard singing at Alkborough Flats NR (Lincolnshire) on 5th-7th June. It’ll be interesting to see, when the dust settles on 2021, how many birds were heard across Britain and Ireland. I’d bet it’s more than the three we learned about this past week…
There’ll be many a reader of these columns who, at some point, made the pilgrimage up to Shetland in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s to see Albert, the lovelorn Black-browed Albatross, sitting on the Saito Outcrop on the northern extremity of Unst. For many, it felt like a rite of passage at the time – not quite easy, for Unst is a hell of a long way away from mainland Britain, but if you were prepared to make the effort, and put in a day or two or three, almost a dead cert.
And then, after 1995, Albert was gone – presumably old age had carried the venerable bird away, given its hitherto impeccable annual faithfulness to Saito. All of a sudden, for a new generation of birders, Black-browed Albatross was genuinely difficult to catch up with in Britain once more. Testament to this was the warm reception and willingness to travel on uncertain waters that greeted a bird that that returned to Sula Sgeir (Western Isles) for three summers between 2005 and 2007.
Still, that bird wasn’t what you’d call accessible, let alone obliging. But now, finally, in 2021 a Black-browed Albatross came back on the menu for pretty much anyone who cared to see it – the bird returning to Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorkshire) last week continued to show there, and nearby, on 29th-30th, and again on 4th-5th - and to say it showed well would be quite the understatement…
We’ll see if this becomes a regular feature on the Yorkshire coast in years to come but, elsewhere, birders will continue to have to rely on outrageous good fortune if they’re to cross paths with a bird – as happened on 3rd, when an albatross sp was seen from Cape Clear (Co.Cork).
A trio of Wilson’s Petrels were logged in recent days, all at sea – one some 13 miles off Penzance (Cornwall) on 30th, and the others from the RV Celtic Explorer, on 1st 124 miles off the Blasket Islands (Co.Kerry), and on 4th 15 miles from Slyne Head (Co.Galway).
The RV Celtic Explorer also accounted for seven Long-tailed Skuas on 1st, and a further single bird on 2nd; while the summering adult remained in Shetland in the Loch of Clumlie general area on 29th-5th.
Numbers of Pomarine Skuas picked up a little in recent days – on 1st single birds were seen from Cullernose Point (Northumberland) and Long Nab (North Yorkshire), with three that day from Flamborough (East Yorkshire); on 2nd, two were seen at sea off Staithes (North Yorkshire), and two from Whitburn CP (Co.Durham) – the latter site providing a single bird also the following day; and away from the North Sea, one was noted from Porthgwarra (Cornwall) on 3rd, and two from there on 4th.
On 30th a Cory’s Shearwater was seen in White Sands Bay (Lothian). Meanwhile Balearic Shearwaters were logged from Portland (Dorset), where two birds were recorded on 30th and 3rd, a singleton on 4th, and three on 5th; Start Point (Devon), where two birds were seen on 3rd; and The Lizard (Cornwall), where a single bird was noted on 5th.
Finally, back to Scotland, where a White-billed Diver completes the week’s seabirds, seen on 1st at Sandside Bay (Highland).
A trio of settled Glossy Ibises kick off a quiet week for scarcer long-legged beasties – these were the birds still present at Lackford Lakes SWT (Suffolk) on 29th, Dungeness (Kent) on 1st-2nd, and Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) on 3rd.
Two Purple Herons were also still available – one in Suffolk at Minsmere RSPB on 29th, and the other at Brading Marsh RSPB (Isle of Wight) again on 1st and 4th.
A probable Night Heron was seen from a moving vehicle on 2nd near Loughton (Essex).
And finally, a Corncrake was singing at Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 5th.
As befits the height of summer, the rarity duckpond’s surface was for the most part calm and unrippled. Best of the very slim pickings was by a country mile the drake Black Scoter still present off Blackdog (Aberdeenshire) on 30th-1st…
…while up in Shetland the first-summer drake King Eider was seen intermittently from Baltasound on Unst on 29th-4th.
Which just leaves us our honorary wildfowl, the adult male Pied-billed Grebe still plying his lonely trade up on Loch Feorlin (Argyll & Bute) on 1st-3rd.
As noted in the headlines, it’s high time things started hotting up in the shorebird stakes and, this week, Hickling Broad NWT was more than obliging. In addition to the two settled Black-winged Stilts still present there throughout the week until 4th, Hickling also delivered a stonking adult Pacific Golden Plover on 3rd-4th. In the wake of the perhaps unfortunate Collared Pratincole there recently, the site’s having an absolutely blinding run of form. Whatever next?
The plover relocated to Cley NWT in the afternoon of 4th, and remained there during 5th. Returning a moment to Black-winged Stilts, the two other recent birds stayed put in Gloucestershire at Pilning Wetland on 29th-2nd.
A Temminck’s Stint was found inland at Little Marlow GPs (Buckinghamshire) on 29th.
A couple of Pectoral Sandpipers hinted at things to come in the weeks ahead – one was present on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 29th, while another was reported from Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 1st.
Away from their breeding quarters, Red-necked Phalaropes were seen again this week at Cley NWT (Norfolk) on 29th, and in Suffolk at Minsmere RSPB on 30th-1st.
To the delight of a steady stream of local and visiting birders alike, the first-summer Bonaparte’s Gull remained up on Unst (Shetland), being seen daily there until 4th.
Glaucous Gulls were in short supply in recent days – sightings coming from Soldier’s Point (Co.Louth) on 29th; and near Portstewart (Co.Derry) still on 5th.
Iceland Gulls were similarly denuded, with just sightings from St Mary’s, and neighbouring Tresco and St Martin’s (Scilly) still on 29th-5th to show for the week.
We move onto the terns next and naturally have to begin with the adult male Least Tern, still squeaking away in Co.Dublin near Portrane on 29th-4th.
The recent Cornish Gull-billed Tern hung around at the start of the week, being seen again at Hayle Estuary RSPB on 29th.
Recently arrived Caspian Terns continued to be a welcome sight in recent days – one was seen again in Lincolnshire at Barton-upon-Humber GPs on 29th, while one at Southfield reservoir (East Yorkshire) on 29th was back up to two birds there on 30th-2nd, albeit with a little wandering to nearby freshwater bodies thrown in for good measure. Meanwhile, the Finnish-ringed bird remained in Carmarthenshire at the National Wetlands Centre WWT on 29th.
Of a quiet week’s raptor sightings, the first-summer male Red-footed Falcon still present on St Mary’s (Scilly) on 30th-5th was the best of it.
A probable Black Kite seen over Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire) on 30th was followed by a confirmed sighting in Dorset near Studland on 2nd.
A probable ringtail Montagu’s Harrier in Warwickshire at Ladywalk NR and Maxstoke on 29th preceded a confirmed bird in Lincolnshire at Messingham Sand Quarry LWT on 2nd.
Finally, out on St Kilda, the resident female Snowy Owl was again seen on 29th.
Heading up the passerines section this week has to be the prior week’s star turn, the Roller, still brightening up the vicinity of the A1101 near Icklingham (Suffolk) on 29th-1st. While maybe not the very rarest, this showy bird will surely be a firm favourite of many come the year’s end.
Nine Bee-eaters reported heading south over Sandwich (Kent) on 1st had me wondering if the recent flock in Norfolk were doing a bunk… but then, on 2nd and 3rd, there they were again, at Cromer and Sheringham respectively. A single bird was noted in Norfolk at Stiffkey on 2nd, while two were logged in Suffolk at Iken on 2nd also. On 4th the nine birds were seen heading south over Happisburgh, while further Norfolk sightings comprised duos at Waxham and Mautby, and four birds over Heacham; and on 5th a single Norfolk bird was noted at Morston.
A feel-good story this week concerned the successful rehabilitation and release of an Alpine Swift, picked up exhausted on 22nd at North Cheam, and released on 30th at Leatherhead (Surrey). It, or another, was found over Broom GPs (Bedfordshire) in the early evening of 5th. Read the full story here
A female Red-backed Shrike was seen in East Sussex at Iford on 1st; and another bird in Norfolk at Weybourne Camp on 4th.
On Unst (Shetland), the Short-toed Lark lingered on Lamba Ness on 29th.
Shetland also supplied one of the week’s two Marsh Warblers, on Fair Isle on 29th; the other being seen and heard at the opposite end of the country, on St Agnes (Scilly) still on 29th also.
The Great Reed Warbler was again heard at Besthorpe NWT (Nottinghamshire) on 2nd-4th.
A Savi’s Warbler was heard only at Cotswold Water Park (Wiltshire) on 1st.
Two singing Icterine Warblers were found this week, both on 29th – one at Egleton NR (Leicestershire), and the other at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire).
Some 25 Rose-coloured Starlings were logged across the region this past week, of which three-quarters appeared to be new birds. Peak count were two in Co.Kerry at Ferriter’s Cove on 29th.
The singing male Bluethroat remained at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucestershire) 2nd.
A Grey-headed Wagtail was seen at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) on 2nd also; and a male Blue-headed Wagtail was present at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB (Lancashire) on 5th.
A Common Rosefinch was heard in song near Blairgowrie (Perth & Kinross) on 29th.
Finally, a Serin was present on Portland (Dorset) on 2nd, and another was in song at Landguard NR (Suffolk) on 5th.
Starting the overseas news relatively close to home, in France the pair of Elegant Terns continued to rear their two chicks at Polder de Sebastopol on 3rd.
A Lesser Crested Tern was seen on 4th at the mouth of the Rio de San Pedro. Elsie, the Farne Island stalwart and contemporary of Albert on Hermaness, seems like a very distant memory indeed nowadays.
A Western Swamphen was present in Switzerland at Gletterens on 2nd still.
In Holland, a Pygmy Cormorant lingered at Everdingen on 1st-3rd, with a further sighting from Vijfheerenlanden on 4th.
To Finland next, where a White-tailed Lapwing remained at Otanmaki on 28th-29th; and an Eastern Imperial Eagle was seen at Vainkkala on 1st.
An Oriental Pratincole was found on 5th in Denmark at Videaslusen, the second national record of the species.
In Iceland, the Black-and-white Warbler was still present at Syðra-Lágafell on 30th.
Finally, in Saudi Arabia, the White-throated Swallow remained at Sakaka on 3rd.
Hard to believe we’re already into the second half of the year… and, if the past week’s anything to go by, it’s not just the English football team that starts the second half strongly.
The week ahead offers ample historic promise for what might turn up – everything from crazily rare raptors, like the popular Amur Falcon that spent 6th-17th July 2017 kicking around the Polgigga and St Buryan area of Cornwall, to still more improbable seabirds, like the moribund Ascension Frigatebird picked up on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 9th July 1953.
As neither species has proven to be a one-off, never say never… but, with shorebirds starting to be on the move, it’s time to pick another more probable example from the hat for the coming days. Marsh Sandpipers (almost) make it to double figures historically in the week ahead, and who’d say no to one of these dainty delights? Not me.
Jon Dunn
6th July 2021
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
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