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Citril Finch Added to UK400 Cat A

The occurrence of an adult male CITRIL FINCH on Fair Isle on 6-10 June 2008 has been reviewed and ACCEPTED on to Category A of the UK400 Club British and Ireland Definitive List. Deryk Shaw of Fair Isle Bird Observatory commented on the pristine condition of the bird when trapped and ringed, with no feather damage or damage to the bill, legs or feet.

The species is extremely rare in captivity and is known to make movements of 100 kms or more to coastal NW Spain and has occurred as a vagrant in Morocco, northern France, Belgium and Finland.

LGRE is particularly grateful to the following commentators in the review and assessment of the record: Richard Millington, Chris Heard, Martin Cade, Grahame Walbridge, Mark Golley, Mika Ohtonen, Keith Vinicombe, Neil Alford, Rebecca Nason, Cosme Damian, John Bernard Bell, Mark Breaks, Renee Lafontaine, Dave Holman and Chris Batty.

BBA / UK400 Club Certificates

The British Birding Association/UK400 Club issues Certification for all things birding – be it a new National Year List Record, County Record, 24-hour Day Record or Life List Record.

Certification is given for all Western P Lifelists over 800 and UK/Eire life list totals over 400, 450, 500 and 550.

It also releases Certifications of Merit (eg for finders of very rare species – say Black Lark). To obtain a hard copy, signed by LGRE, simply send a cheque for £2.50 to LGRE, Chaffinch House, 8 Sandycroft Road, Little Chalfont, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 6QL.

Two examples are given below…

Certificate of Merit and Year Listing Certificate

Western Palearctic Life Lists Updated

UK400 Club Western Palearctic Life Lists Updated to July 5th 2008, click link to view online or download

UK Life List master updated

The following changes have been made to the UK 400 Club UK and Ireleand master list

American Red-necked Grebe Added
North Atlantic Little Shearwater Name Change
Chinese Yellow Bittern Deleted
Great Blue Heron Added
Citril Finch Added
Dark-eyed Junco Renamed Slate-colored Junco

You can download the latest version here

LGRE Quick Update

Just a short note to say that I am back in Britain for a short time before my next trip and will endeavour to answer all emails/update life list and year list totals in the next few days. Not for the first time this year have trips cost me some excellent county ticks – this time in the form of Roseate Tern and Eurasian Spoonbill in Bedfordshire.

Scandinavia this year has been particularly difficult, so my 10-day trip there yielded mixed results. It has been a total failure this year on Lemmings and Voles, so many species were in very short supply. The highlight of course was a displaying male SWINHOE’S SNIPE on the Finland/Russia border, only the second record for the Western Palearctic and a new WP bird for me. Second to that was my first-ever WOLVERINE – a very difficult mammal to see.

In terms of owls, GREAT GREY and NORTHERN HAWK were readily seen, and a cute family of 4 fledgling TENGMALM’S still in the nest (one of only 7 nests in one district of Sweden this year) but both Ural and Pygmy Owls had fledged the day before we arrived. Woodpeckers were all missed, as were all 8 singing male Arctic Warblers and numerous River Warblers (the latter had all stopped singing).

A family of RED-FLANKED BLUETAILS was seen (some 32 singing males located in Finland this spring), along with BLYTH’S REED WARBLER and BOOTED WARBLER (we found a nest of the latter). Good numbers of HAZLEHENS were seen (in family groups), many COMMON CRANES, a singing male SAVI’S WARBLER, large numbers of calling CORNCRAKES and some excellent HONEY BUZZARDS. Both RUSTIC and LITTLE BUNTINGS were typically hard to find, but both SIBERIAN JAY and SIBERIAN TIT easier than usual (3 ringed adults of the latter were feeding 9 young in a nestbox at one location).

In the High Arctic, highlights included a fabulous male PINE GROSBEAK on a hotel bird feeder, GYRFALCON, STELLER’S and KING EIDERS, WHITE-BILLED DIVER, many WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLES, LONG-TAILED SKUAS and my best-ever views of ’summer’ BRUNNICH’S GUILLEMOTS.

Trip to Maderia

I am looking to book this trip today or tomorrow. I have organised one boat trip with food to the Desertas Islands for seabirds and a special overnight trip to the volcano for breeding Zino’s Petrel – I will also spend one full day searching for the three endemic species – Madeiran Chaffinch, Madeiran Kinglet and Madeiran Trocaz Pigeon. The trip takes place Wednesday to Saturday next week

The cost of the tour is £193 plus 175 Euros (fully inclusive of flights, credit card booking charges, car hire and fuel, boat charter with food, Zino’s night tour) and does NOT include accomodation charges or charges incurred getting to and from airports

PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU WISH TO COME

Additional bird species seen in UK during 2008

Since my last update in early June, a further 10 species have occurred in Britain and Ireland in 2008, surging the total forward to an impressive six-month total of 376 species.

The additions are as follows -:

WILSON’S STORM PETRELS: usual June/July occurrences off Scilly
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER: Grove Ferry (East Kent) summer adult 20 June
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER: Maxey GP (Cambs) 7-9 June
PACIFIC SWIFT: two separate sightings along the Spurn Peninsular (East Yorks)
LITTLE SWIFT: south over Spurn Point then relocated well inland at Old Moor Wetland (Yorks)
Melodious Warbler: 2+ including one trapped and ringed at Portland Observatory (Dorset) 4 July
EASTERN SUBALPINE WARBLER: Portland Bill 24 June
BOOTED WARBLER: South Gare (Cleveland) 29 May
DUSKY WARBLER: Blakeney Point (Norfolk) 4 June
CITRIL FINCH: Fair Isle (Shetland) 6-10 June (first British record)

Rare Bird Alert Friday 4th July 2008

This is the UK400 Club Rare Bird Alert for Friday 4th July 2008, issued at midnight and published in association with Rare Bird Alert Pagers, www.birdguides.com and the Regional Birdline network, with additional information gleaned from the local email groups and websites.

On Orkney, a WHITE-BILLED DIVER in full breeding attire remains on South Ronaldsay for its third day, showing exceptionally well in Water Sound off Churchill Barrier No.4 and best viewed depending on tide either from the pier at Sands Hotel or the toilet block at the northern end of the barrier. Nearby, an adult summer ROSE-COLOURED STARLING continues to visit an Evie garden, taking advantage of a peanut feeder at HY 319 277, with another at St Margaret’s Hope. Also taking advantage of peanut feeders is the long-staying and rather gaudy male COMMON ROSEFINCH at the Tyndrum cafe in Forth, whilst that same county harbours 2 Spoonbills at Kinneil Lagoon.. On the Outer Hebrides, the female SNOWY OWL continues to be harassed by allcomers (both human and avian) at Aird an Runair, North Uist.

In Norfolk, a LESSER YELLOWLEGS in full breeding plumage continues to grace Cley Marsh NWT Simmond’s Scrape, along with 3 Eurasian Spoonbills and 6 Little Gulls, with the long-staying summering male RED-BACKED SHRIKE still at Sea Palling. In neighbouring Suffolk, the summering GREAT WHITE EGRET flew over Brantham this afternoon.

The first-summer drake Hooded Merganser (of unknown origin) continues to show well at Radipole Lake RSPB (Dorset), between the reserve’s Westham Bridge and the Gurkha Restaurant, with 65 Balearic Shearwaters off nearby Portland Bill prior to 1000 hours and a MELODIOUS WARBLER trapped and ringed in the Observatory Garden early morning..

The ever-present Lancashire GLOSSY IBIS was visible from the In-Focus shop at Martin Mere WWT Reserve this morning, with the BLACK GUILLEMOT still at Heysham Harbour mouth and a first-summer Eurasian Spoonbill still at Inner Marsh Farm RSPB (Cheshire).

A WHITE STORK (of possibly suspect origin) flew towards Pleasley Pit, Glapwell (Derbyshire) whilst an unseasonal first-summer GLAUCOUS GULL remains at Pensarn (Conwy) and a long-staying GREAT NORTHERN DIVER at inland Chasewater (Staffs)..

Cambridgeshire’s ‘resident’ RED-NECKED GREBE showed well in Dudney Creek at Grafham Water this morning in all its summer splendour, whilst in South Devon, a SLAVONIAN GREBE remains off Dawlish Warren NNR, on the Exe Estuary.

Further seabird activity included 3 CORY’S SHEARWATERS 40 kms south of The Lizard (Cornwall).

Large numbers of COMMON CROSSBILL continue to be seen throughout the country, with other evidence of return movement noted by Whinchat and Osprey.

Return wader passage has commenced, with adult Green Sandpipers, Whimbrels and Black-tailed Godwits at a number of inland localities, and a WOOD SANDPIPER at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs). An adult PECTORAL SANDPIPER remained at Coedbach Marsh, Kidwelly (Carmarthen) until at least 3rd.

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