In the week that Glastonbury took place, it was perhaps fitting that the avian headline act was a late-night performer: a Eurasian Scops Owl in Norfolk. Heard singing at Billingford Lakes in the small hours of 23rd, a Pyramid Stage-sized crowd wasn't to enjoy the bird, alas, with no sign the following evening. Almost 100 British records belie the trickiness of catching up with Eurasian Scops Owl in this country and, despite having occurred in Norfolk eight times, the most recent of them was as long ago as 1954.
Aside the owl, there was little doing on the new rarities front, even in this year of the seemingly never-ending spring passage – ultimately not surprising given we're pretty much amid the quietest period of the birding calendar. That said, Guns N' Roses weren't the only North American superstars on this side of the pond this weekend, with a fine adult Franklin's Gull gracing Holland Haven, Essex, for a few hours on Friday 23rd. The last county record, at Abberton Reservoir in 2016, was also the most recent widely twitchable bird in the South-East. A first-summer Bonaparte's Gull was on Papa Westray, Orkney, the previous day.
Franklin's Gull, Holland Haven CP, Essex (Richard Jeffree).
The other two new rarities found this week were a Western Subalpine Warbler trapped and ringed at Skokholm, Pembrokeshire, on 24th and a Savi's Warbler at RSPB Saltholme, Cleveland, on 21st, the latter providing a tiny bit of uplift at a site suffering from bird flu this summer, as so many gull and tern colonies are.
Savi's Warbler, Saltholme RSPB, Cleveland (Bob Howe).
Lingering rarities included a few individuals singing to crowds, namely the Cambridgeshire Little Crake, the White-spotted Bluethroat in Gloucestershire and Cleveland's Great Reed Warbler. The Least Tern was back at Portrane Point, Co Dublin, from 24th, the American Black Tern remained gettable at Long Nanny, Northumberland, and the drake Lesser Scaup reappeared at St John's Loch, Caithness. Meanwhile, it was more Arctic wildfowl than Arctic Monkeys in Aberdeenshire, where the King Eider was still to be found at Ythan Estuary.
White-spotted Bluethroat, Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire (Mark Leitch).
The decent arrival of Marsh Warblers continued this week, with at least 10 new birds unearthed, with as many as 20 different sites hosting individuals in total. Two Blyth's Reed Warblers were in Shetland. A single Icterine Warbler was on the same archipelago until 20th.
Kent, London and Norfolk held all the European Bee-eater records, with the latter county also continuing to host the Rosy Starling at West Runton until 20th. Golden Orioles and Red-backed Shrikes were recorded at five sites each, with a first-summer Woodchat Shrike at Long Nanny, Northumberland, on 21st. A Hoopoe was at Rothiemurchus, Highland, on 20th.
Woodchat Shrike, Long Nanny, Northumberland (Gary Woodburn).
Four sites logged Common Rosefinch – a species that's had a decent June – including the popular male in Cumbria. A European Serin was at Portland, Dorset, on 20th. After a poor past 12-16 months for Crossbill nationally, it seems we may be in for something of a better autumn with a few movements detected in the North-East, including 187 south past Hunmanby Gap, North Yorkshire, on 25th. Watch this space for further arrivals in July.
Common Rosefinch, Kendal, Cumbria (Paul Slade).
Things continued to stir gently in the South-West Approaches, with a further three Wilson's Storm Petrels reported this week, along with a trickle of Cory's and Great Shearwaters. Apparently summering White-billed Divers were present on the seas off Caithness and Outer Hebrides.
A tidy showing of White-winged Terns saw birds recorded at Colney GPs, Norfolk; Hornsea Mere, East Yorkshire; Huttoft Bank Pit, Lincolnshire; and Langford Lowfields, Nottinghamshire. Now seems a good time to try and find one if you live in this part of the world. Some 150 Little Terns over Hickling village, Norfolk, on 23rd was notable but perhaps a little worrying given the aforementioned spread of bird flu. Indeed, unusually large dispersions of gulls and terns was a bit of a theme this week and included an eyebrow-raising count of 150 Mediterranean Gulls at Frensham Great Pond, Surrey, on 25th. There was a smattering of lingering Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gulls in Ireland and Scotland, but we await the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of 2023 – perhaps there'll be one before June is out.
In Norfolk, the fetching American Golden Plover continued to perform well at Cley Marshes throughout. The Co Wexford Lesser Yellowlegs was at Lady's Island Lake until 19th, while three sites hosting Pectoral Sandpiper was odd for June, including a bird at Hollesey Marshes, Suffolk, on 22-23rd. A Eurasian Stone-curlew at Beauly, Highland, was very notable.
American Golden Plover, Cley Marshes NWT, Norfolk (Matthew Mellor).
A range of Black-winged Stilts were still on offer and included successful breeding birds at Edderthorpe Flash RSPB, South Yorkshire, with news of three hatched chicks revealed, plus two more chicks from a second nest at Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire. It sounds like it's been a difficult breeding season for waders in Iceland, though, so it'll be interesting to see what numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and so on appear as July runs through.
Black-winged Stilt, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Chris Miles).
Black-crowned Night Herons were still being found and, although the number of reports has eased off, one wonders if a breeding record will be confirmed this summer. Purple Herons too continued to make the news page, with at least six sites hosting birds.
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ouse Washes RSPB, Cambridgeshire (John Richardson).
Three Ring-necked Duck and a single Green-winged Teal were logged, along with two Surf Scoter.
Two first-summer male Red-footed Falcons were discovered, at Dungeness, Kent, and Boyton Marshes, Suffolk, respectively. Four sites reported Black Kite and a ringtail Montagu's Harrier was at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, on 24-25th.
Western Palearctic
A cracking Caspian Plover at Tønder, Denmark, was a mega discovery on 23rd. It's 580 km from Tønder to Spurn, as the plover flies – just imagine the scenes if one of these beauties rocked up at Kilnsea Wetlands!
In Andalucia, Spain's popular Ancient Murrelet was still around, hanging out on Odiel River but only showing well in line with a high tide. In the same province, a Lesser Flamingo was at Coto Doñana, especially notable given the state of this vagrant species' favoured Spanish site of Fuente Laguna de Piedra.
Other bits of note across the region included Egypt's first Brown-throated Martin at Abu Simbel on 21st, Austria's first Spectacled Warbler at Wiedersberger Horn from 22nd and an Asian Desert Warbler that somehow made it towards the edge of the Arctic Circle at Tauvo, Finland, on 25th.
