This is the UK400 Club Rare Bird
Alert for Week Ending Friday 11 December 2015....
The adult PACIFIC DIVER, still in partial
summer plumage, continues in Penzance Harbour (Cornwall), ranging between
Penzance Harbour (off Jubilee Pool) and St Michael's Mount but is mobile &
elusive. Beware of 1-2 adult Black-throated Divers in same area too, with 3
Great Northern Divers. Low tide and calm conditions are preferable when
searching for this wintering bird.
Over 25 displaced juvenile Great Northern
Divers continue inland (including 5 on Draycote Water & 2 on Farmoor
Reservoirs), with a Black-throated Diver inland on one of the private fishing
pits at Blashford Lakes HWT, north of Ringwood (Hants). It has been a good
December for Red-necked Grebes, with twitchable birds in North Norfolk in
Blakeney Harbour & Brancaster Staithe, while inland birds remain at Alton
Water (Suffolk) (from the Holbrook Hide), Rutland Water (Leics) (in the North
Arm) and at Farmoor Reservoirs (Oxfordshire).
A BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS was sighted 1.5
miles north of Castlegregory (Co. Kerry) on 8th, sat on the sea at Sandy Bay at
3.50pm, while several juvenile European Shags still remain inland.
In County Cork, the first-winter AMERICAN
BITTERN continues at Castlefreke Lake, Owenahincha, but is often elusive and out
of view from the adjacent road, while a CATTLE EGRET performed well today with
cattle opposite Lound Cottages, SW of Sea Palling (Norfolk) by the Hickling Road
at TG 417 262. Up to 3 CATTLE EGRETS still remain in South Devon in the
Teigngrace area, while 30 or so Great White Egrets continue to overwinter,
including one far to the northwest on Barra (Outer Hebrides). A GLOSSY IBIS
remains on the Pett Levels (East Sussex) but is elusive in roadside ditches,
while up to 34 Eurasian Spoonbills are wintering in Poole Harbour
(Dorset).
The regular white morph adult SNOW GOOSE has
most recently been seen at Cardurnock (Cumbria) with Barnacle Geese, with
several small flocks of Greenland White-fronted Geese out of range, including up
to 9 at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs). The neck-collared Lesser White-fronted Goose of
Norwegian origin remains on Shetland with 22 Taiga Bean Geese still on the
Cantley Marshes in Norfolk's Yare Valley and a singleton with Greylag Geese at
Seaton, near Grove Ferry (Kent). Three RICHARDSON'S CACKLING GEESE remain on
Islay (Argyll) with wintering Barnacle Geese, as does a single TODD'S CANADA
GOOSE at Lissadell (Co. Mayo). Around 12 Black Brants are wintering, with at
least 3 in north Norfolk and 2 in Dorset, but once again, Red-breasted Goose is
absent other than known non-naturalised individuals. A 'new' first-winter drake
AMERICAN WIGEON was at Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham (Devon) today, while up to 9
North American Green-winged Teals are to be found, Ferruginous Ducks of rather
dubious origin at Dinton Pastures Country Park, Winnersh (Berkshire) and
Kingfisher Lake, Blashford GP (Hants), the two first-winter RING-NECKED DUCKS at
Rooksbury Mill LNR, Andover (Hants) and adult drakes at Bray Lake, Maidenhead
(Berks) & near Pitlochry (Perthshire), the drake LESSER SCAUP at Chew Valley
Lake (Avon) and several in Ireland including 2 on Lough Gill, the adult drake
SURF SCOTER off Joppa (Lothian) and a small number of Smew scattered
about.
The juvenile PALLID HARRIER continues to
perform daily over the saltmarsh and sueda at the extreme south end of
Snettisham RSPB reserve (Norfolk) (accessed from the car park in village and a
walk of over five miles in total), while perhaps 8 juvenile ROUGH-LEGGED
BUZZARDS remain, including 3 in farmland to the south of the Choseley Drying
Barns near Titchwell (Norfolk) and a singleton at Frinton Golf Course
(Essex).
The juvenile SPOTTED SANDPIPER was still
present at Pilmore Strand, Youghal (Co. Cork) until at least 7th, while the
GREATER YELLOWLEGS remains on the Isle of Wight on the River Medina and both
juvenile LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS remain, at Cresswell Pond (Northumberland) and
Pennington Marshes' Jetty Lagoon (Hants) respectively. Both GREY PHALAROPES
continue to entertain in the NW corner of Farmoor 1 Reservoir (Oxon) with others
elsewhere at Stevenston Point, Ayr (Ayrshire) and off Crymlyn Burrows (South
Wales) on 11th.
The usual adult BONAPARTE'S GULL is at
Dawlish Warren NNR (South Devon) but erratic in its appearances, while it looks
as though our longest-staying Ring-billed Gull at Walpole Park Lake, Gosport, is
not coming back this winter. At least 8 of the latter are wintering in Ireland,
while the adult survives in Dingwall (Highland) and a first-winter is near
Sancreed (Cornwall). Large numbers of Caspian Gulls are being seen, including up
to 11 at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk) and 9 at Dungeness (Kent), with the 3rd-winter
SMITHSONIAN'S GULL still with Herring Gulls in fields at Jericho Farm, St Just
(Cornwall) but elusive. A small number of Glaucous & Iceland Gulls are being
reported, a juvenile of the latter at the Fisher Fleet, King's Lynn (Norfolk)
being particularly popular. A BRUNNICH'S GUILLEMOT was photographed on the sea
at South Gare (Cleveland) on 9th but was not seen again after it was attacked by
a Great Black-backed Gull.
The RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE remained in Ladysmith
Road, Scalloway (Shetland) until 8th, with an extremely late first-winter Common
Swift in Margate (Kent) on 6th-8th. An overwintering HOOPOE continues near
Kingswinford (Staffs), west of Wall Heath in the landscaped quarry off of
Enville Road at DY6 0BP, while wintering SHORE LARKS include 3 in Thornham
Harbour (Norfolk) and 1-2 in Teesmouth (Cleveland), one of which was seen at
North Gare today.
A BLACK-BELLIED DIPPER was seen on the River
Glaven at Natural Surroundings, Glandford (Norfolk) today, with a few BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS about, including 10 on the Lang Stracht in Aberdeen, 3 in Jarrow
(Tyneside) and 5 at Gateshead (Tyneside).
A BARRED WARBLER continues to visit fat
feeders and peanuts between Thorntonloch & Torness (Lothian), with an
elusive DUSKY WARBLER at Atherington Pools, Climping (West Sussex) and a
YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER at Broadsands Ley (Devon). Up to 3 PENDULINE TITS have
been present at Titchfield Haven NNR (Hants) since 8th, best located from the
reserve's West Hide.
For further details or to provide additional
information, contact Lee Evans on LGREUK400@aol.com
