19/05/2024 - 2.05 pm Whitburn Co. Durham.

The Indigo Bunting found yesterday reappeared in the Lizard Lane area today in the early afternoon (having gone missing all morning) and accordingly was well watched.
Barb and I, weary from our travels and somewhat birded out gave it a miss yesterday but woke up this morning with a decent forecast in prospect and with a packed lunch and a measure of resolve set off regardless. On the local reserve (close by the sea watch hide) a fine male Red-backed Shrike was on show. After lunch we set off for home only to receive a call with the news that the Bunting had reappeared so we did an about turn and eventually managed decent but brief views in the crush of about 20 birders. Photos taken yesterday provide better plumage detail than we could discern and The brown tones would indicate a 2nd cal. yr individual.
Having possibly arrived earlier in conditions which brought to the north east the recent Slate-coloured Junco this surely has the right credentials for acceptance?

Cheers,

Mike P.

Long-toed Stint, Astley Lake, St Aidan's RSPB, West Yorkshire, showing well 4pm

Hartlepool - Jewish Cemetery (late morning 03/10/20)

A phone call from Tony Armstrong advising of a probable Masked Shrike on this site had me hastily gathering my gear whilst Barb made up a packed lunch for me, though she declined to come with me. Apparently in the rain and gloom, the bird (little more than a silhouette hugging the dark lower branches of a thick pine tree, and giving only jigsaw views) had initially been reported as a Woodchat, - (still sufficient to arouse the year listers) but the possibility of a county first had to be taken seriously.

I set off, feeling confident that the bird was likely to stick in view of the poor weather. On reaching the site there were about 40 observers present and the id was no longer in doubt. After some 15 minutes I hadnt managed a glimpse, though someone had seen its tail, then someone else saw a head. Finally I saw the head side on and noted the slender bill, black eye stripe, and whitish supercilium (both more pronounced than on the Fife bird of 2004). In view of the poor light I was quite pleased to be able to see these features as well as I did.

To get the best views, I knelt on the wet grass, set up the scope and zoomed up focusing on the thick branch from behind which it regularly showed. With patience I was able to get a full back on view as it popped right up clearly showing the extensive white patches at the base of both sets of primaries, (though these rather peppered with blackish) but with only subdued hints of the dirty white scapular patches. The mantle and crown were a frosted scaled greyish lacking any of the brown tones displayed by Woodchat. The long dark tail was often the only feature showing hanging below the thick horizontal branches, and though others glimpsed a blackish rump, I was personally unable to see far enough down its mantle myself. I helped a few newcomers with views through my scope which helped them to get onto the bird positionally then completely happy with the id I left earlier than I normally would as social distancing was becoming less than ideal.
I considered the bird to be still in juvenile plumage. 

Should the weather stay poor any Manky birders considering a twitch have an excellent chance of success, though be prepared to get wet.

Regards,

Mike P

 

 

Doc Brewster wrote:

---

Just to finally put it to bed, he claimed on the N.Wales discussion group that it was almost ceratinly the Royal Tern that he saw & then put out as Sandwich Tern. So no assumptions, it's what the observer actually said

---

 

That being the case, the mind boggles...

Exactly Ian. Even if it was the Royal Tern it's not exactly the most obvious bird to expect, and as we all know from years of the Mystery Bird Competition one view of a bird, especially from certain angles, is a lot different from being able to study it with some degree of leisure.
If the Royal Tern is an American one, who knows what else my have come over with it.

Having seen it though the jizz was totally unlike a Sandwich Tern too. One observer likened it to the Jizz of a Gannet  sounds unlikely but I know what he meant. It was a very large, long winged tern, with dark wing-tips, and in addition had a languid flight action. All different from our usual tern species. Such a shame that it didn't ring alarm bells and alert him to try to ID it further, rather than just pass it off as a Sandwich Tern. Such a shame for him, but I've been there, as a novice birder I missed IDing a Bonaparte's Gull which later was correctly IDed and I'd seen it first!!

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 12th of December 2018 10:25:26 PM

Saw the Royal Tern today Mike & with a stonking orange/yellow beak and much bigger size that sighting was actually discussed by everyone there. No-one could believe how it could ever be passed off as a Sandwich Tern. Any tern at this time of year would be 'grilled' as possibly being something interesting. This has to be one of the worst 'one that got away' stories of all time

A Royal Tern has been seen and photographed on Anglesey today. It was oringinally found at Traeth Dulas and then relocated at Traeth Lligwy, both N.of Moelfre. Folk will be searching from dawn tomorrow!

Mega time on the Shetland Islands with Crag Martin and Song Sparrow on Fair Isle today, Black-faced Bunting and Mamora's Warbler on Unst on 14th May

The North American Horned Lark was still present at Staines Reservoir in Surrey on 13th April 2018, showing very well along the causeway

For those interested in the taxonomic status of this bird, Martin Collinson tweeted on 14th April 2018 "DNA from moulted feather supplied by Graham Jepson has confirmed Staines Horned Lark is definitely of Nearctic origin, possibly one of the western populations"

This bird was first located in November 2017, and according to Birdguides was still present on 14th April, but no sign 15th April so it might have moved on after a stay of almost 5 months

I am on hol so only reporting all this second hand! I now know that Sid is spot on, the original message was put as possible on some sites and as 100% on others!!! Oh the politics of birding! The later claim that I heard of after the high tide I now hear has been withdrawn & isn't on info systems any more! There's some pictures floating around somewhere so it would be nice to see them! If it was one it would be nice if it had the decency to turn up again, preferably at Burton Mere RSPB, not for me as I'm away, but for all those who need it!

Doc Brewster wrote:

---

Report on my pager today of a Greater Yellowlegs on Hilbre Island, Cheshire on the incoming tide at midday. No access until late afternoon, gonna be like whacky races!

---

 Now downgraded to a "possible" on Dee Estuary:-

http://www.deeestuary.co.uk/

Brilliant find Eugene, well done! No twitch beats my few minutes down the road twitch, but don't think either of us had a very large carbon footprint on this one!

My fabulous SW holiday gets even more surreal. I went butterflying on Portland, Dorset today only for a massive national mega to break 5 minutes away from where we were. Soon we were watching a stunning bright, first UK mainland, Yellow Warbler. It is at Culverwell near the ins and given patience shows fabulously well. What a bird, what a holiday, what a 5 minute twitch!!!

***Black-Browed Albatross***
Currently sat on cliffs near Gannet Colony at Bempton Cliffs and has been giving unprecedented views from Staple Neuk viewpoint as of 2.40pm
Cheers

A huge Mega has broken today - a singing male Myrtle Warbler on Skokholm Island in Pembrokeshire. The pictures coming out are stunning, with the bird in cracking plumage. A boat departs from Martin's Haven at 2pm tomorrow and is £27.50, so those folk not at work could be in for a real treat............ needless to say I'm working and first day I can get off is Thursday!

Blue Rock Thrush Stow-on-the-Wold Gloucestershire still present this afternoon

Great views of the Dusky Thrush at Beeley this morning. Showing nicely in the orchard feeding on the ground with several Blackbirds before disappearing for about 30 minutes. As we'd all had good views and needed to be elsewhere, Riggers, Karen and I set off (after a cuppa and a sausage butty courtesy of the hospitable locals) and then got even better views from the other side of the orchard as it fed in the branches of one of the apple trees. A nice bird for the tail end of the year, thanks again to Riggers for the invite. If the Eastern Black Redstart gets an upgrade that will be five lifers in a year

Siberian Rubythroat on Fair Isle today

On Birdguides Cliff Swallow still present at Minsmere 0930

The Mega Alert has just gone off on the pager again and as expected (at least in the last fortnight!) it is a Siberian Accentor. This time it's on Fair isle, at Troila Geo for those heading up to twitch it 

Other news is that so far, by 10.30am at least there has been no sign of the Siberian Accentor at Easington today.

I noticed that a lot of the pictures of the Sunderland bird were perched in trees, unlike the Easington individual. The Yorkshire one did flush to trees occasionally but spent 95% of the time on the ground. Just an additional bit of information, from pictures and other evidence the Sunderland and Cleveland birds seem to be differerent individuals, so making 4 definite Siberian Accentors in the UK so far this autumn with another 2 possibles reported at least.

My mates who bird up there & keep lists (like Andrew Kinghorn who found the Bee Eater in Sunderland a few years ago) record Durham as a birding county. Tyne & Wear just doesn't exist as an official recording/Bird Report area as far as they're concerned. I record other taxa & we use Vice Counties & 10km squares across the board. Only birding that is different! But who cares, the showy Easington Siberian Accentor is still showing fabulously well today, so for all the GM Members that is the closest & showiest one still

And now the fourth Siberian Accentor, at South Docks, Sunderland, co.Durham, in Hendon Docks, but no general access (possibly viewable from outside the dock!). Glad I don't need to see that one, sounds a nightmare!!

p.s. just on RBA that seen outside the dock briefly on Town Moor!

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Sunday 16th of October 2016 08:56:09 AM