It was a largely settled week on the climate entrance and this was mirrored within the birding scene, with the rarity entrance dominated by just a few lingering megas. For most, it’s probably that Waxwings as soon as once more stole the present. The species was reported some 589 occasions on the BirdGuides sightings pages throughout the week and birds proceed to unfold additional south and west. Birds at the moment are current en masse as far south as Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, with some widespread giant flocks together with over 200 at Consett, Durham, and no fewer than 1,000 throughout Glasgow, Clyde, whereas 60 at Ballybogey, Co Antrim, was a notable rely for Ireland. A giant inflow into southern is eagerly anticipated.
Waxwing, Lowestoft, Suffolk (Jim Mountain).
Despite having appeared in Britain some 30 occasions, American Robin is an extremely uncommon customer to Ireland. So uncommon, the truth is, that it has appeared on simply eight earlier events, with probably the most recent coming in the summertime of 1983. This meant that just about each Irish twitcher was recreation for a visit to Dursey Island, Co Cork, when one was discovered there on thirteenth, with native birders scrambling for the final cable automotive of the day at 16:30. It would finish in disappointment for these travelling from additional afield, nevertheless, as there could be no signal the next morning.
Scilly would proceed to draw a gentle procession of twitchers all through the week, with the young feminine Cape May Warbler offering beautiful views on Bryher all through. As eloquently expressed by the finder, Scott Reid, “If Cape May Warbler proves to be the final American wooden warbler to grace our shores in 2023, it could be a becoming strategy to convey the curtain down on the best autumn of transatlantic vagrancy in British birding historical past”. Read his detailed account of the discover right here.
Cape May Warbler, Bryher, Isles of Scilly (Andrew Jordan).
After a 14-day absence, the young male Red-headed Bunting was again at its adopted patch of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire – its tail now fully regrown. Indeed, it’s trying much more superior than the relatively grotty individual loved by many on the finish of October, with vivid lemon-yellow underparts and additional learn feathering beginning to seem on the throat and across the eye.
Red-headed Bunting, Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire (Brett Richards).
Shetland had one final push within the tank, with a Hume’s Leaf Warbler at Tresta, Fetlar, from 14th. A late push of Pallas’s Warblers, in the meantime, included doubles at Portland, Dorset, and Saltash, Cornwall, whereas birds on the east coast at Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk, and The Naze, Essex, have been probably recent arrivals. Both species are sometimes two of the latest autumn vagrants to achieve Britain, arriving into November most years. Elsewhere, a possible Central Asian Lesser Whitethroat candidate was nonetheless at Landguard NR, Suffolk and a vocal Cetti’s Warbler at Colby on sixteenth was a notable report for the Isle of Man.
Hume’s Leaf Warbler, Tresta, Fetlar, Shetland (Paul Macklam).
A Red-throated Pipit on North Ronaldsay, Orkney, made it into its third week; a shock discover in Clyde involved an Olive-backed Pipit over Strathaven on seventeenth. Another was at Voe, Mainland Shetland, with Richard’s Pipits in Cornwall and Somerset. A bumper flock of six Shore Larks at Brean Down was a Somerset ‘mega’, although sadly information would not emerge till every week later. Birds at Audenshaw Reservoirs, Greater Manchester, and Loch na Keal, Mull, Argyll, have been additionally notable, with others at eight east coast websites.
Shore Lark, St Andrews Bay, Fife (Tom Moodie).
A moulting feminine Siberian/Amur Stonechat photographed at Rossie Bog, Fife, on 18th sadly would not be relocated. Elmley NNR, Kent, hosted the one Eurasian Penduline Tit of the week and Wrynecks have been in Devon and Pembrokeshire. A paltry three Great Grey Shrikes have been famous – at Morden Bog, Dorset, Kielder Forest, Northumberland, and Lake Vyrnwy RSPB, Powys. At least three Northern Treecreepers remained in Scotland, alongside small numbers of Continental Coal Tits and Northern Bullfinches.
A gradual procession continued to be interested in the east Norfolk coast all through the week, the place a juvenile Pallid Swift allowed for some wonderful shut up views over the church at Winterton-on-Sea. Further Common/Pallid Swifts not confirmed to species degree flew over Ingleby Barwick, Cleveland, and Helvick Head, Co Waterford. The Co Wexford Northern Harrier spent a lot of the week alongside the decrease reaches of the River Slaney, with the Pallid Harrier nonetheless close to Warham Greens, Norfolk. Disappointingly, no Rough-legged Buzzards have been reported from wherever throughout the evaluation interval.
Pallid Swift, Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk (Ian Curran).
In Essex, the Canvasback remained with giant numbers of Common Pochard at Abberton Reservoir all through. As a widespread species in captivity, its look was all the time more likely to elevate questions – and an eyebrow-raising discover noticed no fewer than three unearthed at Flixton GPs, Suffolk. A verify of previous Suffolk Bird Reports reveals this to be a web site the place undesirable, captive wildfowl have been generally dumped for a number of years, which included six Canvasback dumped on the web site within the spring of 2020. Thankfully, these three have been later discovered to be pinioned – and are due to this fact unlikely to be liable for the looks of a fully-winged chicken at Abberton. An in-depth thread these two data and the vagrancy potential of Canvasback by Alex Lees on X could be discovered here.
Canvasback (left of centre) with Common Pochard, Abberton Reservoir, Essex (Josh Jones).
Lincolnshire boasted an grownup drake Ferruginous Duck, discovered at a personal web site close to Langtoft on seventeenth. Lingering birds have been in Dorset and Cambridgeshire. Five Lesser Scaup – in Cornwall, Clyde, Outer Hebrides, Co Antrim and Co Donegal – all lingered, as did the Bufflehead at Corbally Road Reservoir, Co Antrim. Other totals comprised the long-staying Blue-winged Teal, 5 American Wigeon, 9 Green-winged Teal and 13 Ring-necked Ducks. Offshore have been 9 Surf Scoter (together with three off Lothian) and the lingering King Eider off Lewis, Outer Hebrides.
Ferruginous Duck (left) with Tufted Duck, Langtoft, East Yorkshire (Josh Jones).
Green-winged Teal, Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire (Howard Butler).
A Todd’s Canada Goose was nonetheless close to Temple, Lothian, with three Black Brant in jap England and Snow Geese at 4 websites. Red-breasted Geese have been reported from Norfolk and Northumberland.
Looe, Cornwall, loved one of many higher finds of the week with a Spotted Sandpiper on 14-Fifteenth. The first-winter White-rumped Sandpiper lingered all through at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire, with Long-billed Dowitchers nonetheless in Norfolk, East Sussex, Cornwall and Co Waterford. The Lesser Yellowlegs continued in jap England and American Golden Plovers have been at 4 websites. Three Eurasian Dotterel at Lake Vyrnwy RSPB, Powys, have been a shock for mid-November, whereas Somerset retained a Kentish Plover.
Long-billed Dowitcher (decrease centre) with Black-tailed Godwits, Walmsley Sanctuary (MEMBERS ONLY), Cornwall (Paul Davies).
An exceptionally late Cory’s Shearwater blogged slowly east previous Blakeney and Sheringham, Norfolk, on Fifteenth, with not less than one off Ballycotton, Co Cork. Several Great Shearwaters have been once more off Devon and Cornwall, with others passing St Margaret’s at Cliffe, Kent, and Ballycotton. Two within the mouth of the River Parrett close to Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, for a number of hours on Fifteenth attracted undesirable consideration from predatory gulls and corvids.
Grey Phalarope, Gwithian, Cornwall (Adrian Lea).
Cornwall was the latest county so as to add Brown Booby to the 2023 totaliser, with an grownup off Penzance on 18th. Small numbers of Leach’s Storm Petrel have been logged alongside the Bristol Channel, as much as 18 Grey Phalaropes have been reported and 5 Sabine’s Gulls have been between Kent and West Sussex. No fewer than 5 White-billed Divers off Papa Westray, Orkney, have been joined by one off Unst, Shetland.
A primary-winter Ring-billed Gull was recent in on St Mary’s, Scilly, on nineteenth, with a returning grownup again at Blackrock, Co Louth.
Sabine’s Gull, Norman’s Bay, East Sussex (John Lauper).
Western Palearctic
São Vicente, Cape Verde, seems to have been topic to a notable Sub-Saharan arrival in recent days, peaking with three Red-billed Queleas at Mindelo on nineteenth – the Western Palearctic’s first – which have been joined by an unprecedented flock of 25 Sudan Golden Sparrows. A Grey-headed Gull was on Boa Vista, whereas a drake American Wigeon was at Dayat Dar Bouazza, Morocco.
A spotlight in mainland Spain, in the meantime, noticed a Black-capped Petrel scythe previous Cabo de Peñas, Asturias, on Fifteenth. Amazingly, that is simply the second report for mainland Europe after one off close by Estaca de Bares in early August. The Waxwing rely in Galicia elevated to 4, with lingering rarities comprising a Lesser Crested Tern, American Herring Gull, American Black Duck and two Lesser Flamingos. News from the Canaries consisted of a Tristram’s Warbler and Sudan Golden Sparrow on Gran Canaria and a Lesser Scaup on Tenerife.
A showy grownup drake White-winged Scoter shut inshore off Heligoland on 14th turned the primary German report. Returning Stejneger’s Scoter have been off each Denmark and Sweden, with different information together with the juvenile Pacific Diver nonetheless off Öland, Sweden, and lingering Northern Harrier in Denmark. Iceland’s fourth Purple Heron paid a go to to Kópasker.
Two Ross’s Geese continued in Belgium alongside two Pygmy Cormorants, with a Black Scoter at Ameland, Netherlands. A Forster’s Tern was at Goulven, France, whereas two White-rumped Swifts at Langarica Canyon are the primary report for each Albania and the Balkans.
