It proved to be an exciting week of birding thanks to a warm south-easterly airflow, and one that will be fondly remembered for a mass arrival of Red-backed Shrikes in particular. The review period also produced an arrival of Marsh Warblers and further Temminck's Stints, but it was the astounding find of a wayward American landbird in North-East England that had the BirdGuides app mega alert sounding over the weekend.
A mega-rarity from North America wouldn't have been on many people's bingo cards in a week that felt 'drifty' for European migrants, yet it was the first-summer male Indigo Bunting that firmly occupied the minds of twitchers over the weekend. Found by the astounded Peter Bell in his garden at Whitburn, Co Durham, on 18th, the bird will prove the fourth British record if accepted as wild. Read the finder's account here. Interestingly, another first-summer male was found in south-east Iceland on 19th, while a probable was reported at Skagen, Denmark, on 9th.
Indigo Bunting, Whitburn, Durham (Matthew Mellor).
The species is known in captivity in Europe, which has led to some speculation about this bird's origins. Wild-caught Indigo Buntings were commonly imported, mainly from Mexico, in the late 1960s through to the 1980s, but imports have dried up since. This coincides with two British records consigned to Category E – namely adult males at Wells Wood, Norfolk, in October 1988 and Flamborough, East Yorkshire, in May 1989 – and a spike in records across Europe that presumably related to escapes from captivity. More recently, three birds in the Netherlands in spring 2019 were captive escapes. That said, records of escaped birds have largely dried up since the ban on wild imports, and its age is right for a wayward vagrant. Perhaps it arrived during 2023's bumper autumn for 'Yanks', wintered somewhere in southern Europe or North Africa, and now on its way heading north.
Indigo Bunting, Whitburn, Durham (David Brown).
A major movement of Red-backed Shrikes towards the end of the week resulted in an astonishing fall of the species between Shetland and North-East England. A conservative estimate saw at least 207 reported by the close of play on Sunday, with a heavy bias towards the Northern Isles. A minimum of 32 on Fair Isle is the second-largest total in the island's history, with a further 67 across Shetland and 35 in Orkney. No fewer than eight were on Holy Island, Northumberland, on 18th.
Red-backed Shrike, Fair Isle, Shetland (Alex Penn).
South-easterlies also deposited a significant number of Marsh Warblers to Shetland, with at least 28 birds noted. Two birds were in the recording area at Spurn, East Yorkshire, with singles in Kent and Essex. A fine supporting cast included no fewer than four Thrush Nightingales – birds at Blakeney Point, Norfolk, North Ronaldsay, Orkney, and both Hillwell and Cunningsburgh, Mainland Shetland. That brings the spring total to seven, the highest since 2013. Red-breasted Flycatchers were in Fife and Shetland, with 21 Bluethroats – most, if not all, of the Red-spotted variety – in the Northern Isles and North-East Scotland. A brief male Red-spotted was at South Gare, Cleveland. Other totals included five Common Rosefinches, three Wrynecks and 13 Icterine Warblers, including one of the last species singing at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire.
Red-spotted Bluethroat, Findhorn Bay, Moray & Nairn (John Henderson).
The now-annual mid-May Great Reed Warbler influx produced at least four arrivals, with vocal songsters in Dorset, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire. A singing Savi's Warbler returned to Saltholme RSPB, Cleveland, for the second spring in succession, with others still in Rutland and East Yorkshire. Observatory staff on Bardsey Island, Caernarfon, were treated to a male Eastern Subalpine Warbler on 17th, though female subalpine warblers on Lundy, Devon, and Whalsay, Shetland, weren't identified to species level.
Great Reed Warbler, Ouse Fen RSPB, Cambridgeshire (Matthew Mellor).
A male Citrine Wagtail was photographed at Widewater Lagoon, West Sussex, on 15th. There was a male Grey-headed Wagtail in Aberdeenshire and a Greater Short-toed Lark at Blakeney Point, Norfolk. A singing European Serin was found by a birder at a wedding in a West Sussex garden and the White-spotted Bluethroat continued in Gloucestershire, with further bits of interest including European Bee-eaters at 16 sites, four Woodchat Shrikes, four Hoopoes and 15 Golden Orioles. An Alpine Swift over Porthgwarra, Cornwall, on 16th was joined by a Red-rumped Swallow, with another Alpine Swift over Bardsey Island, Caernarfon, on 14th.
Woodchat Shrike, Dungeness RSPB, Kent (Shane Vale).
It was another productive week of Montagu's Harrier sightings, with up to eight in England including a twitchable first-summer male at Greylake RSPB, Somerset. One was in Ireland at Tacumshin, Co Wexford. Four Pallid Harriers included a notable record of an adult male over Shoeburyness, Essex, on 14th and first-summers in Gloucestershire, North Yorkshire and Shetland. Black Kites were in three counties and male Red-footed Falcons were at Worth Marsh RSPB, Kent, and Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB, Cambridgeshire. European Honey Buzzards returned to publicised watchpoints in Sussex.
Red-footed Falcon, Worth Marsh RSPB, Kent (Shane Vale).
Shetland's seventh Little Bittern made for a pleasing sight in a marigold-lined ditch at Brow Marsh, Mainland, on 18th. Another was sound-recorded in Co Wexford overnight on 19th. The Purple Heron count at Stodmarsh NNR, Kent, increased to three, with a further eight in England and one in Wales at Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan. Black-crowned Night Herons were in Surrey, Devon and Co Cork.
Little Bittern, Brow Marsh, Mainland, Shetland (Rebecca Nason).
Purple Heron, Stodmarsh NNR, Kent (Shane Vale).
The excellent showing of Temminck's Stint continued in earnest throughout the week, with birds at 30 sites across Britain. Another continued in Co Antrim. Five at Titchwell RSPB, Norfolk, on 16th was the largest single flock, with two other sites in the county boasting trios. Notable sightings from landlocked counties were received from Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with one on the west coast at Marshside RSPB, Lancashire. Pectoral Sandpipers were in four counties and Black-winged Stilts were in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. It continues to be a poor spring for Eurasian Dotterel, with birds at only three sites. Lingering Nearctic shorebirds included four American Golden Plovers, two Lesser Yellowlegs and a Long-billed Dowitcher in Co Cork.
Temminck's Stint, Low Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland (Gary Woodburn).
American Golden Plover, Coveney Byall Fen, Cambridgeshire (Matthew Mellor).
Aside from the major shrike influx, Northumberland peaked with return of the adult American Black Tern at Long Nanny from 15th. Back for its fourth summer, it is the first record of a breeding-plumaged adult in Britain. Elsewhere, a mobile Gull-billed Tern was in Somerset on 18-19th and Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire, hosted an White-winged Tern on 15th. The Elegant Tern remained near Belmullet, Co Mayo.
American Black Tern, Long Nanny, Northumberland (Philip Edwards).
American Black Tern (right) and Arctic Tern, Long Nanny, Northumberland (Gary Woodburn).
Bonaparte's Gulls continued in Dorset and Shetland, with an adult Ring-billed Gull still residing in a Perthshire Common Gull colony. Glaucous Gulls dwindled to seven and just three Iceland Gulls were noted. The first Wilson's Storm Petrels of 2024 involved four from a Co Cork pelagic off Fastnet on 19th. An adult Sabine's Gull was off Skye, Highland.
A drake Blue-winged Teal accompanied two Garganey at Chamberhouse Marsh, Berkshire, on 17th. Otherwise, lingering wildfowl comprised seven Ring-necked Duck, two Green-winged Teal in Shetland and a Ferruginous Duck in Warwickshire, plus an American Wigeon and Surf Scoter in Argyll. The adult Red-breasted Goose remained with Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, throughout. White-billed Divers were noted off Highland and Shetland.
Bonaparte's Gull, Norwick, Unst, Shetland (David Cooper).
Ring-billed Gull, Loch Turret Reservoir, Perth & Kinross (Mike Chandler).
Western Palearctic
Coinciding with the discovery of an Indigo Bunting on the east coast of England was a first-summer male at Höfn, Iceland, on 19th. It is the third Icelandic record and the nation's first in spring. A probable male was also photographed at Skagen, Denmark, on 9th.
Indigo Bunting, Höfn, Austurland (Brynjúlfur Brynjólfsson).
A remarkable find in France saw a Green Heron fly north-west past research vessel Thalassa at sea south-west of L'Île-d'Yeu on 15th. A brief West African Crested Tern candidate visited Jard-sur-Mer with Sandwich Terns on 19th and two Elegant Terns were again reported. A Rüppell's Vulture overflew Saint-Félix-de-Rieutord, while a raptor-fest in the Low Countries included two Egyptian Vultures, Cinereous Vulture and Bearded Vulture.
Surprisingly, the Canadian-ringed Ross's Goose resurfaced 750 km to the south-east near Kuopio, Finland, on 14th, having seemingly ditched the second bird and rejoined northbound Barnacle Geese. Finland's second national first of a productive week saw a Dark-eyed Junco at Bosund on 19th. Two White-winged Scoter remained in Iceland, with a Baikal Teal and a Pacific Diver in Norway.
Jbel Mousa, a vulture feeding station on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar, hosted an unprecedented three White-backed Vultures this week, alongside a number of Rüppell's Vultures.
- Keep up to date with by-the-minute sightings updates of rarities, spring migrants and significant birds in your local area at www.birdguides.com/sightings or via the BirdGuides app. New users are entitled to a one-month free trial.
