With action in the South-West Approaches already building, a sustained spell of south-westerly winds from midweek delivered near-unprecedented numbers of Cory's Shearwaters to waters off southern Ireland and south-west England. Porthgwarra, Cornwall, boasted some of the most impressive totals, reaching a conservative estimate of 6,500 on 30th, while 2,863 were logged off Galley Head, Co Cork, on 28th. Similar numbers were noted from the Scillonian III between Cornwall and Scilly, with a minimum count of 2,500 on 30th.
Cory's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Ian Bollen).
But it was the Isles of Scilly that was on the frontline of the action. An evening pelagic on 28th – the first 'Birders' Special' of the season – got off to an incredible start when a Scopoli's Shearwater was photographed in the very first hour of the trip – only the fourth British record. There has never been a better time to record Scopoli's in British and Irish waters due to an ongoing widespread displacement of the species, with large numbers leaving the Mediterranean Sea much earlier than usual, coinciding with record-breaking tallies of Portugal and northern Spain. It transpired that at least three more were photographed on 30th among at least 3,500 Cory's Shearwaters – itself a record total for a Scilly pelagic – and 1,500 Great Shearwaters, a joint-record Scilly pelagic count. No fewer than 43 Wilson's Storm Petrels were recorded over the course of the week, alongside three Sabine's Gulls and two Long-tailed Skuas. Saturday's highlight was a Cuvier's Beaked Whale, only the second live English record of this secretive cetacean.
Scopoli's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Richard Stonier).
Scopoli's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Sam Viles).
Pick of the rarity action elsewhere included four Fea's-type petrels, with birds off both Porthgwarra and Pendeen, Cornwall, as well as Galley Head, Co Cork, and Bunowen, Co Galway. Wilson's Storm Petrels were off six Cornish and nine Irish headlands (four in Co Cork, three in Co Kerry and singles in Co Clare and Co Galway). Rare Welsh records of Great and Cory's Shearwaters were off both St Govan's and Strumble Heads, Pembrokeshire. Other notable records included at least two Sabine's Gulls in the North Sea, three more Long-tailed Skuas and a number of North Sea Cory's.
Wilson's Storm Petrel, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Joe Pender).
Long-tailed Skua, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Joe Pender).
Meanwhile, a smart moulting male Hudsonian Godwit was a surprise at Grutness, Mainland Shetland, on 30th. As well as being the first for the achipelago, it is the fifth British record and tenth for the Western Palearctic. After a 17-year gap between the second and third records, the species has enjoyed a more recent upturn in fortunes, with records in 2015, 2020 and 2023, alongside an additional Irish record in 2015.
Hudsonian Godwit, Grutness, Mainland, Shetland (Rebecca Nason).
An adult American Golden Plover photographed at Ynyslas, Ceredigion, on 23rd was likely the Skokholm, Pembrokeshire, bird on its holidays. It was back on the latter island from 25th, while another was in Co Londonderry at Myroe Levels. A Pacific Golden Plover was again on the River Humber off Spurn, East Yorkshire, on 29th, with one more still on North Ronaldsay, Orkney. Long-billed Dowitchers were at Cley Marshes, Norfolk, and on Westray, Orkney, the latter a fresh arrival. A White-rumped Sandpiper moved between Tacumshin and Lady's Island Lake, Co Wexford, with five Pectoral Sandpipers across Britain and Ireland.
American Golden Plover, Skokholm, Pembrokeshire (Bethan Clyne).
Pectoral Sandpiper, North Point Pools, Norfolk (Andy Thompson).
In Kent, an immature Kentish Plover lived up to its name with an appearance at Pegwell Bay on 26th, with a Temminck's Stint also in the county at Dungeness RSPB. The Black-winged Pratincole held out in Co Donegal, while Black-winged Stilt families remained in Kent, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.
Black-winged Stilt, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Matthew Mellor).
Both Gull-billed and Caspian Terns at Tacumshin, Co Wexford, on 25-26th made for an exceptional Irish double. Also part of another excellent week of tern action in Ireland, a probable Elegant Tern was at Ballycotton, Co Cork, while the Co Dublin Least Tern hung on. A glut of Caspian Tern reports included a notable Aberdeenshire record off Girdle Ness on 30th, with additional birds in Norfolk and Co Cork. In Dorset, the first-summer Forster's Tern made for a popular fixture at Arne RSPB, performing reliably throughout the week for the first time since mid-May.
Forster's Tern, Arne RSPB, Dorset (David Carr).
On the Highland-Argyll border, last week's Bonaparte's Gull crossed the Sound of Mull to Craignure, Mull, on 30th, with the regular adult still in Kent. A strong candidate for a Norwegian-ringed adult Baltic Gull at Netherfield, Nottinghamshire, proved too distant to allow for the ring to be read.
Whinchats began moving this week in what felt like early murmurings of the autumn season on the passerine front. A Melodious Warbler on Whalsay, Shetland, and a Rosy Starling at Pevensey Bay, East Sussex, were new discoveries, with a brief Common Rosefinch at Spurn, East Yorkshire. Elsewhere, the Black-headed Wagtail was still in Co Londonderry, the summering Red-backed Shrike continued on North Ronaldsay, Orkney, and a European Serin was in Dorset.
Melodious Warbler, Skaw, Whalsay, Shetland (John Irvine).
Rosy Starling, Pevensey Bay, East Sussex (John Lauper).
Exciting news from Lincolnshire saw the news that Marsh Warblers bred at an undisclosed coastal locality this summer, representing the first breeding record for the county. This week, other Marsh Warblers were at Bempton Cliffs RSPB, East Yorkshire, and Hollesley, Suffolk. The trio of European Bee-eaters remained at Trimingham, Norfolk, paying a brief visit to Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on 26th, while an Alpine Swift overflew Saltfleetby St Peter, Lincolnshire.
A Black Stork west over Wymeswold, Leicestershire, on 27th came as a surprise. The unringed White Stork continued in Cambridgeshire, while another unexpected record saw three Purple Herons head north-east over Porth Joke, Cornwall, on 26th. Black-crowned Night Herons were at four sites.
Ring-necked Duck were in Glamorgan and Suffolk and a Surf Scoter was again off Angus. The Lothian King Eider proved somewhat more mobile.
White Stork, Smithy Fen, Cambridgeshire (Tom Hines).
Western Palearctic
Pleasing news for regional listers saw the White-faced Whistling Duck remain on Sal, Cape Verde, for another week. Best find of the week concerned a female White-headed Duck at Brabantse Biesbosch, the Netherlands, while the female Steller's Eider at Wesselburenerkoog, Germany, remained. A Pacific Golden Plover was new in at Echzell, with a Sociable Lapwing still in Poland.
In France, a Pygmy Cormorant was at Erstein, with the King Eider at Yffiniac and Elegant Tern at Sète both lingering. The Sooty Tern resurfaced at La Palmyre over the weekend and a returning Long-legged Buzzard was at Thibie.
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