BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND......................................................MEDITTERANEAN GULLS CONDER POOL PETE WOODRUFF

Sunday 18 September 2011

Scilly Goodies!


At least three 'goodies' have already turned up on the Scillies - are you going this year? - and I found videos of all three which are good, in particular the first which is an excellent one of the singing Northern Waterthrush. But if you've not the time or interest in all three I'd go for the Black And White Warbler an excellent film of this little beauty, though I'm both puzzled and disappointed at not being able to hear this bird singing it's head off even though there is a bird heard in the background....try it and see/hear for yourself.

The Northern Waterthrush breeds from Alaska across Canada to Nova Scotia, it winters from Florida, Cuba and Mexico south to Ecuador, Peru and northern Brazil....In any event, this bird is lost and had no intention of finding itself on the Scilly Isles where the first record of the species for Britain was found in September 1958 at St Agnes. 



Another North American bird, the Black-And-White Warbler winters south to northern South America. It is - as the video reveals - a quite simply unmistakable bird the first British record of which was of a bird found at Scalloway, Mainland Shetland in October 1936, this bird was dead, the first live bird found was at St Mary's, Isles of Scilly 40 years later in September 1975.

           

Yet another North American bird, the Solitary Sandpiper is one of the rarest North American waders in Britain, it breeds in the coniferous forest belt of northern North America and winters mostly in South America. The first British record of this species is of a bird some time prior to 1870 at Strathclyde, Lanarkshire. 


I'm off to the Scillies....are you cumin!

7 comments:

  1. You wont tempt me Pete :-) Rather see a patch tick in the form of a nice Yellow Browed Warbler........I'll keep waiting then !

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  2. Dont need any of these. Of the realistic possibilities in the forthcoming westerlies, two out of Myrtle W, Phil Vireo, Scarlet Tanager and Hermit Thrush (obliging one if there is such a thing) might tempt me. Looking at the charts and rather more northerly track than Katis, could be another dose of Buff-bellied Pipit coming up now we all know how to identify them

    Outer Hebs might be a good place to be.....but it will be wet, windy and hard work!

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  3. A man after my own heart when it comes to birding....I ain't going either Warren.

    May need to be corrected here Pete but....

    Myrtle Warbler....no previous records in Britain but one in Ireland October 2010.

    Philadelphia Vireo....two records, one Ireland Oct 1985, one Scilly Isles Oct 1987.

    Scarlet Tanager....a stunning N.American bird with 'one or two' records in Britain.

    Hermit Thrush....'one or two' records, the first on Fair Isle, Shetland in June 1975.

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  4. Dont understand the info source here Pete - its certainly inaccurate - try Yellow-rumped Warbler instead of Myrtle

    Regards

    Pete

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  5. I appreciate you already know the following Pete, but for the benefit of others....

    There have been in excess of 20 records of Yellow-rumped Warbler in Britain, the first being an individual which visited a bird table in Devon in 1955 for almost five weeks when it was found dead following a severe frost.

    I'm not aware of any inaccuracies in my previous comments, but am aware of a 'lumping' issue with three other North American bird forms.

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  6. Pete - I'm afraid you have a very out of date source for the number of Scarlet Tanager & Hermit Thrush assuming your source includes Ireland - I've missed three of the latter through them not 'behaving themselves'. Some of these birds have got rarer (see the recent entry on Lee Evans site for comments on population reductions in the states/Canada), for example an American Redstart would be a mega-twitch these days - I'm old enough to appreciate the Gib Point bird! Similarly Black-billed Cuckoo which I havn't seen. Re-current birds, dont 'need' Baltimore Oriole either! The track taken by Katria was absolutely brilliant for the Scillies, but I dont rate the current jet-stream line at all, although Iceland scored today and there will undoubtedly be something Nearctic passerine-wise on the Outer Hebs in the next few days

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  7. Pete....I think you've been mislead by my obscure 'one or two records' re Scarlet Tanager and Hermit Thrush for which perhaps I should apologise.

    Thanks for your continuing to look in which gives me some added encouragement to keep it going....though hard know how much longer for I must say.

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