Cirl Bunting – a mega uncommon species in northern England – was seen in Durham on Monday, beautiful native birders.
The chicken, a male, was photographed by Cameron Sharp at Barnard Castle on Monday 18 March. It was elusive, displaying solely sometimes till the night, and wasn’t seen the next day.
Prior to this individual, there was solely file of Cirl Bunting in Durham which refers to a returning male greater than 40 years in the past.
The male Cirl Bunting at Barnard Castle (Cameron Sharp).
North-East rarity
Cirl Bunting is a localised chicken in Britain, the place it’s on the fringe of its vary, being restricted to the South-West. It has loved a rise in recent years, although, which has concurred with an uptick in extralimital data in counties like Dorset, Somerset and, in 2022, Glamorgan.
Andrew Kinghorn, Chair of Durham Bird Club, defined the rarity of the species within the county: “There is a earlier file of Cirl Bunting in Durham, which pertains to a singing male close to Langley Park in May of 1980. It remained within the space till mid-August.
“What was extra wonderful was that what was certainly the identical male returned once more in April of 1981 and this time stayed till early June. It is inconceivable (with out telemetry or ringing knowledge) to ascertain the origins of this chicken. There is nevertheless proof of British born birds transferring across the nation, a first-year chicken ringed in Sussex on 27 July 1975 was recovered some 638 km to the north in Fife on 11 June 1976.
Origin debate
“So, whereas it’s tempting to recommend this may very well be of continental origin, it might simply as simply be a chicken from a British inhabitants. Wherever it got here from it is a completely implausible file for Durham and I do know I converse for a lot of county birders in hoping this individual is refound within the quick neighborhood in coming weeks.”
The final Cirl Bunting in Durham was in 1981 (Cameron Sharp).
