During a week of changeable temperatures and welcome showers across much of Britain, Shetland hit the headlines again this week, with the refinding of last week's Pacific Swift in the vicinity of Dunrossness, Mainland, from 4-8th at least. Providing some of the best-ever views of the species in Europe, attendant photographers managed some simply mind-blowing photographs. Only one bird has ever spent more than one day at the same site – that the highly popular individual at Trimley Marshes, Suffolk, on 15-16 June 2013 – and, unsurprisingly, this latest example proved likewise, with at least one twitcher making the long journey from the Scottish mainland on 4th. It was hard for birders to know which way to look that evening as it made a series of ridiculously low passes over Boddam – turning 180 degrees provided views of the summering Broad-billed Sandpiper! Another Pacific Swift report was received from near Stittenham, Highland, on 6th.
Pacific Swift, Boddam, Mainland, Shetland (John Coutts).
Honours for the week's best find were shared by two counties on the south coast of England. Britain's first twitchable Marsh Sandpiper since 2019 featured in Kent, an adult at Dungeness RSPB on 8th. On the Isle of Wight, meanwhile, an adult European Roller was at Brading Marshes RSPB on 8-9th. It is the island's first modern-day record – the last dates from as far back as 1886!
Marsh Sandpiper (second from left) with Common Redshanks, Dungeness RSPB, Kent (Graham Jepson).
European Roller, Brading Marshes RSPB, Isle of Wight (Rik Addison).
Birders on both sides of the Irish Sea will be hoping the Sooty/Bridled Tern off St Bees Head, Cumbria, for 20 minutes on 5th settles into a routine at a tern colony somewhere. It was thought to be a Sooty Tern by the lone observer, owing to black upperparts and a prominent broad forehead patch. In Ireland, meanwhile, it was a Caspian Tern instead providing mega interest. A red-ringed adult in the vicinity of Broadmeadows Estuary, Co Dublin, on 9th is just the 14th for Ireland as well as the second for Co Dublin. Four were noted in Britain: Titchwell RSPB, Lincolnshire, on 3-4th, Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, on 6th, Papa Westray, Orkney, on 7th, and North Foreland, Kent, on 8th.
I turned up just in time at Broadmeadow Estuary to see another Irish lifer, Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) with @Victor_Caschera, again later at a distance with others. @BirdWatchIE @BWIFingal @IRSBG1 @Team_eBird @BirdGuides @BirdsMatter_ie @BirdwatchExtra @Irishwildlife oldie pic.twitter.com/Sai45oc15J
— Brian E.Carruthers (@BrianCrunchie) July 9, 2023
The Least Tern was also in Co Dublin, with the Northumberland American Black Tern moving to East Chevington, Northumberland, from 7th. Two or three White-winged Terns were noted in Britain, with one at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB, Cambridgeshire, on 3-4th joined by birds in Scotland (along the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, on 6-7th and at Skinflats Lagoons, Forth, on 9th). The Oare Marshes, Kent, Bonaparte's Gull returned for its 11th year, with others reported from Stag Rocks, Northumberland, and Loch Gairloch, Highland.
White-winged Tern, Skinflats Lagoons, Forth (Dennis Morrison).
It was another excellent week of Wilson's Storm Petrel action in the South-West Approaches, with 18 off Galley Head on 7th becoming a new record count for mainland Co Cork. Four Co Cork headlands in total enjoyed sightings, with another off Annagh Head, Co Mayo. Two off Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, would prove notable Welsh records if confirmed, with additional birds off five Cornish headlands. A further 18 were off Scilly on 3rd – a productive trip that also included four Sabine's Gulls, two Great Shearwaters and a Cory's Shearwater.
Wilson's Storm Petrel, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Richard Stonier).
Sabine's Gull, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Scott Reid).
Small tallies of both Great and Cory's Shearwaters in the south-west peaked with a Cory's close inshore off Severn Beach on 3rd – just the third record for South Gloucestershire. Rarity news comprised a probable Barolo-type shearwater from the ferry between Kennacraig and Port Askaig, Argyll, on 2nd, while a Fea's-type petrel was off Ballycotton, Co Cork, on 6th. Other news included a handful of Sabine's Gulls, Long-tailed and Pomarine Skuas.
Great Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Joe Pender).
Cory's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Joe Pender).
Spurn's third Pacific Golden Plover spent a brief period on the Humber off Chalk Bank on 9th, with one still on North Ronaldsay, Orkney. Pectoral Sandpipers were in three counties, with a Temminck's Stint at Kilnsea, East Yorkshire, and a Long-billed Dowitcher still in Norfolk. A male Red-necked Phalarope at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, afforded some excellent views. Growing Black-winged Stilt chicks continued at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, and Edderthorpe Flash RSPB, South Yorkshire, with non-breeding birds at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire, and Adwick Washlands RSPB, South Yorkshire (two).
Red-necked Phalarope, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (David Carr).
Black-winged Stilt, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Malcolm Rowley).
The attractive first-summer Steppe Grey Shrike hung on at Kilmory, Highland, until 4th. The only Red-backed Shrike of the week was on North Ronaldsay, Orkney, with Rosy Starlings in North Yorkshire and Co Clare and the White-spotted Bluethroat still at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire. An apparent male Black-headed Wagtail at Middlebere, Dorset, late on 7th would constitute just the fourth July record. Two Marsh Warblers were in Shetland, with a Great Reed Warbler in Gloucestershire. A Tawny Pipit was reported in Dorset.
Steppe Grey Shrike, Kilmory, Highland (Pete Walkden).
It was Highland's turn to host a 'scarlet' red Common Rosefinch this week, with an adult male singing in a garden near Muir of Ord. A first-summer continued to sing from Lundy, Devon, too, while a Hoopoe was in a garden at Bushley Green, Worcestershire. In Norfolk, the three European Bee-eaters at Trimingham look set to give a nesting attempt a second try, with at least 12 again in Scilly and extreme south-west Cornwall.
European Bee-eater, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly (Kris Webb).
A confirmed Black Kite was over Conyer, Kent, with unconfirmed sightings in Norfolk and Buckinghamshire. Wandering European Honey Buzzards were over 12 sites and an adult male Montagu's Harrier drifted west over Thorne Moors NNR, South Yorkshire, on 7th.
Purple Herons were at Tealham Moor, Somerset, and Gosforth Park, Northumberland, with an additional possible in Borders. Black-crowned Night Herons at five sites included new birds in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Cheshire. Caerlaverock WWT, Dumfries & Galloway, hosted a Spotted Crake and an unringed White Stork continued in Cambridgeshire.
Purple Heron, Gosforth Park NR (permit only), Northumberland (Frank Golding).
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ouse Washes RSPB, Cambridgeshire (Paul Ward).
A strong 2023 at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, got even better with the find of an eclipse drake American Wigeon from 7th. East Anglia's Lesser Scaup count increased to two with the find of a first-summer drake at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, with another new discovery comprising a drake Ferruginous Duck at Draycote Water, Warwickshire.
American Wigeon, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Tony Davison).
Western Palearctic
Miraculously, May's Hooded Vulture was relocated in Spain this week, photographed on a Red Deer carcass near Vidrieros, just inland of Santander, on 5th. The first record of the species for Europe, it was trapped and ringed near Jbel Moussa, Morocco, back in April, which allowed it to be confirmed as one and the same. The species currently resides on Category D of the Spanish list thanks to two records in Cádiz – at La Janda in February 2003 and Tarifa in September 2007 – and one suspects they will be reevaluated in light of recent events.
A much-anticipated colonisation of Spain by House Bunting might have occurred in recent weeks, with at least three present in a residential area of Algeciras. The first record of multiple individuals in Europe, the species is a common resident as far north as the northern coast of Morocco, including the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. A Spur-winged Lapwing at Sanlucar de Barrmeda on 2nd will become Spain's first if accepted, with a Lesser Flamingo at the same site and the Ancient Murrelet still at Huelva. A Western Reef Heron lingered in Catalonia.
House Bunting, Algeciras, Andalucia (Javi Elorriaga / Birding The Strait).
The Netherlands's third Green Warbler comprised a singing male at Borssele on 6th. An adult Semipalmated Sandpiper was at Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1-3rd, with a Oriental Turtle Dove still at Johannishus and a Pacific Golden Plover at Ottenby, Öland. A Steppe Eagle was along the Swiss-Austrian border.
In Brittany, France, a female King Eider made for an excellent find at Hillion, with a Spotted Sandpiper on L'Île-d'Yeu. At least two Elegant Terns were still in France, as was the White-rumped Swift at Minerve. In the Biscay, a Bulwer's Petrel past Lège-Cap-Ferret, Gironde, on 5th marks an exceedingly rare land-based record.
It appears last summer's Swinhoe's Storm Petrel showing in the Israeli Red Sea might not have been an anomaly, with four again off Eilat on 9th.
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