Today's Highlights 20 February 2013

SCOTLAND

 

On the Outer Hebrides, the drake HARLEQUIN DUCK remains for its third day off Balranald, North Uist, south of Aird an Runair, whilst on Shetland, the first-winter male PINE GROSBEAK continues its stay at North Collafirth, today in Spruces at the entrance to Forsa Farm again. In Aberdeenshire, the female DESERT WHEATEAR continues to survive at Rattray Head, whilst on Shetland, the first-winter RING-BILLED GULL continues at East Voe of Scalloway.

 

NORTHEAST ENGLAND

 

Newly discovered today was a drake RING-NECKED DUCK at Normandy Barracks Pools, Leconfield (North Yorks), with a single TUNDRA BEAN GOOSE with Greylags at Cowpen Marsh (Cleveland) and the drake Green-winged Teal still at Dorman's Pool, Teesmouth (Cleveland)..

 

NORTH WALES

 

Three SURF SCOTERS continue to be seen off Llandullas Beach (Conwy)

 

SOUTH WALES

 

The adult BONAPARTE'S GULL is still visiting the shingle island just upstream of the Portobello House on the Ogmore Estuary (West Glamorgan), whilst in Pembrokeshire, both the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and GLOSSY IBIS continue at Pickeridge Pools, Gann, and Marloes Mere respectively. The BLACK-THROATED DIVER is still to be seen from the Yacht club car aprk at Llanishen Reservoirs (East Glamorgan)

 

MIDLANDS

 

A cracking adult drake FERRUGINOUS DUCK is still with Northern Pochards at Priory Country Park, Bedford (Beds), whilst the GREAT WHITE EGRET remains in the Chess Valley at Chenies Bottom bridge (Bucks). The 3 TUNDRA BEAN GEESE remain at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs), viewable from the Holden Tower, with 2 more at Radwell Lakes (North Beds).  Both SLAVONIAN and BLACK-NECKED GREBE remain on Rutland Water (Leics), with 4 different GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS on Carsington Water (Derbyshire).

 

EAST ANGLIA

 

The 'BLACK-BELLIED DIPPER' continues to sing from the small tributary just west of the Three Nuns Bridges in Thetford (Norfolk) today, with 3 showy Otters closeby along the neighbouring Spring Walk. Meanwhile, ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARDS include the two at Haddiscoe Levels and the male at Burnham Overy Dunes/Holkham Freshmarsh (both Norfolk)

 

A WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE of unknown origin that flew in off the sea at Hunstanton (Norfolk) on Saturday and has since frequented the Anmer and Houghton Park area was seen again this morning

 

THE SOUTH EAST

 

In Kent, the male PENDULINE TIT remains at Stodmarsh NNR, favouring the bulrush clump at the end of the Alder Trail, whilst on the Berkshire/Hampshire border, the PALLAS'S LEAF WARBLER remains elusively in riverine scrub at the River Blackwater, often 200 yards east of the sewage compound.

 

The GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, Scaup, Black-necked Grebe and Smew remain on Staines Reservoirs (Surrey), with up to 8 Water Pipits nearby on Staines Moor.

 

THE SOUTH WEST

 

Bird of the moment continues to be the breeding-plumaged adult PIED-BILLED GREBE at Ham Walls RSPB (Somerset), on the main pool from the second viewing point just under a mile walk west from Ashcott Corner car park, whilst further south in South Devon, the long-staying LESSER YELLOWLEGS continues in the Ernesettle Creek, adjacent to the River Tamar.

 

The drake AMERICAN WIGEON continues to commute between Bowling Green Marsh RSPB and Darts Farm fishing pond, Topsham (South Devon), whilst the drake RING-NECKED DUCK has returned to Wimbleball Lake (Somerset). Another drake RING-NECKED DUCK is at Par Beach Pool, St Austell (Cornwall), with 3 immatures still residing on Tresco Great Pool (Scilly). All 6 first-winter GREENLAND WHITE-FRONTED GEESE remain on Scilly at Porthellick Pool, St Mary's whilst Bodmin Moor's drake LESSER SCAUP has relocated to Siblyback Reservoir (Cornwall).

 

Up to 45 LAPLAND BUNTINGS are at Rosenannon Downs (Cornwall)

What a year for ROLLERS

As July comes towards a close, we can look back on the summer as being exceptional for EUROPEAN ROLLER occurrences. Not withstanding an extremely popular adult that spent three weeks in East Yorkshire, since 26 July another (or the same) has been frequenting Orkney Mainland in the vicinity of Meddle Hill at Finstown. It was still showing well on fenceposts this evening.

 

Not that far away, on North Ronaldsay (Orkney), an adult moulting WESTERN BONELLI'S WARBLER continues in Holland House garden

 

This past week has also been good for both PURPLE HERON and WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN, with singles of the former involving a juvenile at Coombe Hill Meadows (Gloucs), a long-staying adult at Stodmarsh (Kent) and perhaps the same at Oare Marshes NR, Faversham, and a further bird in Cambridgeshire at Mepal Washes. WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERNS appeared at Staines Reservoirs (Surrey) at dusk on 28 July (departing at dawn next day), Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) on 28 July (moving south to Orfordness) and further adults at Alton Water Dam (Suffolk) and Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 29-230 July.

 

An adult SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was discovered in East Lothian on 29 July and was still showing well today - two miles west of Dunbar on the south side of Tyninghame Bay commuting between Sandy Hurst spit and the mouth of the Hedderwick Burn. Meanwhile in Cheshire, an adult BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER continues to visit Frodsham Marsh No 6 Tank and a summer-plumaged adult LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER continues to grace the South Lake at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs). PECTORAL SANDPIPERS are to be found at Bishop Middleham Floods (County Durham) and in the NW corner of Normandy Marsh, SE of Lymington (Hants).

 

On St Kilda, the adult male SNOWY OWL continues its summer sojourn on the barren and windswept Hirta, whilst a GLOSSY IBIS remains at Walton Hall Marshes, The Naze (Essex).

 

In Somerset, the male IBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF continues to sing and call erratically from Silver Birches at the east end of the Porlock Toll Road, just east of the metal bench and log pile on the first bend west of Porlock

 

Not much to report from IRELAND apart from the male SNOWY OWL on Arranmore and GLOSSY IBIS and MONTAGU'S HARRIER at tacumshin.

The latest RBA at-a-glance

Click here to see the latest news from January 2012 - http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/8DYCT4bkOO0_Oms4AotUGh0SPM0vahqkjzr-BG5kolC8Pw8yOOq3Jo_ocaqhcGOdEMa9mpu4oLUZ8lbRQw1VulxjLRQiObIL/UK400ClubMasterDatabase_RBIBAI_2012Onwards.xls

Simply scroll down the database to see the most recent updates

The Best on offer

Well with two days into 2012, a total of 235 species has been recorded in Britain and Ireland with numerous long-staying vagrants keeping New Year visitors busy......

In addition to the DARK-EYED JUNCO in the New Forest at Hawksley Inclosure, two first-winter male DESERT WHEATEARS remain at Beacon Point, Newbiggin-on-Sea (Northumberland) and Bempton Cliffs RSPB (East Yorks) Staple Neuk Viewpoint respectively.

A good list of waders includes the first-winter GREATER YELLOWLEGS still at Skelbo, near Loch Fleet (Sutherland) (on flooded fields opposite the entrance to Coul Farm) and a first-winter LESSER YELLOWLEGS with a Spotted Redshank at Burnham-on-Sea (Somerset). Last year's Somerset LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS are now both together at Lodmoor Country Park (Dorset), whilst another is in South Wales at Kidwelly Quay (Carmarthenshire) and the first-ever wintering PECTORAL SANDPIPER remains at Dundonald Camp, Barassie (Ayrshire). Three SPOTTED SANDPIPERS are to be found, with the adult at Chew Valley Lake Herriott's Bridge causeway (Avon) and juveniles at Lyme Regis West Cobb (Dorset) and at the north end of the River Plym at Plymouth (South Devon). Perhaps best of all, the first-winter WESTERN SANDPIPER continues at Cley NWT (Norfolk).

Of the remaining ''good birds'' on offer, the CATTLE EGRET remains at Warblington (Hampshire), no less than 21 GREAT WHITE EGRETS at widely scattered localities, GLOSSY IBISES on the Isles of Scilly at Lower Moors, at Exminster Marshes RSPB (South Devon), at Stodmarsh NNR water meadows (Kent), at Fingringhoe Wick NR (Essex) and at Leighton Moss RSPB (Lancs).

Rare geese include the continuing RICHARDSON'S CANADA GOOSE with local Canadas at Torr Reservoir (Somerset), the adult LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE of unknown origin with the Taiga Bean Geese at Buckenham Carrs RSPB in the Yare Valley (Norfolk) and first-winter RED-BREASTED GEESE at Tollesbury Wick (Essex) and Exminster Marshes RSPB (South Devon), whilst rare wildfowl are represented by at least 4 AMERICAN WIGEONS (the easiest being drakes at Kirk Loch, Lochmaben, Dumfries & Galloway and at Wintersett Reservoir, West Yorks), 12+ AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEALS, a juvenile female BLUE-WINGED TEAL at Longham Lakes (Dorset), an adult drake FERRUGINOUS DUCK on Ivy Lake, Blashford Lakes HWT (Hants), SURF SCOTERS at Dawlish Warren NNR (South Devon) and in Penzance Harbour (Cornwall), the juvenile female BUFFLEHEAD on the Loe Pool at Helston (Cornwall) and the ever-present drake Hooded Merganser at Radipole Lake RSPB (Dorset).

East Anglia maintains its stranglehold on ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD occurrences with at least 6 birds being regularly seen (others remain on Shetland and in North Yorkshire) whilst Orkney enjoyed a very brief visit from a glorious white morph GYRFALCON just before 2011 ended.

A HOOPOE has brightened up the Lake Lothing area of Lowestoft (Suffolk) with its appearance whilst that same county continues to harbour virtually all of the nation's wintering crop of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (about 100 birds in total, mainly frequenting Ipswich Hospital and Martlesham Heath. Four SHORELARKS are at Holkham Gap saltings (North Norfolk) with a RICHARD'S PIPIT wintering at Wyke Regis (Dorset) and the HUME'S LEAF WARBLER at the same locality.

In IRELAND, the rarest offerings are the regular wintering adult FORSTER'S TERN in County Galway at Kinvara, 1-2 NORTH AMERICAN HERRING GULLS, a drake LESSER SCAUP at Lough Gill and the surviving HOUSE CROW at Cobh (County Cork). A LONG-BUILLED DOWITCHER is at North Slob WWR (County Wexford) and a RICHARD'S PIPIT was located today.at Killard Nature Reserve in County Down

DARK-EYED JUNCO in the New Forest

On Boxing Day 2011, non-birdwatchers noticed and photographed an odd 'chaffinch' feeding with other birds in the car parking area of Hawkhill Inclosure, 2.5 miles west of Beaulieu, in the New Forest (Hampshire) at about SU 350 020. They saw the bird again on 30 December and then notified Keith Betton by sending him images of the bird. It turned out to be a first-winter male DARK-EYED JUNCO and consequently the 453rd species to be recorded in that record year.

Although not seen on New Years Day, an enthusiastic attempt was made at seeding an area of the car park and this quickly did the trick - the bird showing well today on a number of occasions, feeding alongside Dunnocks, Robins, Reed Buntings and Chaffinches.