LITTLE SHEARWATER
August 16, 2007
It was a red-letter day in Cornwall yesterday with a LITTLE SHEARWATER passing close inshore off St Ives Island at 1430 hours. The bird was initially picked up by Lancashire birder Pete Morris, and as it swiftly swept west across the field of view, other birders including Royston Wilkins and Brian Mellow managed to get on to it. Dave Holman and Christine Stean, although on site, failed to get good enough views of it as it rounded the corner of the bay.
It represented the 398th species of the year. Later on in the afternoon, the moderating NW winds produced a close-in WILSON’S PETREL (Brian Mellow, Mashuq Ahmad and Royston Wilkins) flying west at 1705 hours, with the total haul off Pendeen Watchpoint during the day including 17 Great Shearwaters, 5 Cory’s Shearwaters, 44 Balearic Shearwaters, 33 Sooty Shearwaters, 1,500+ Manx Shearwaters, 332 Storm Petrels, a possible Wilson’s Petrel at 3.35pm, 25 Arctic Skuas, 6 Great Skuas, 6 Common Scoter and 3 Atlantic Puffins (per John Swann).
Elsewhere in the country, an adult WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER returned for a second evening over the high tide roost at Breydon Water (Norfolk), whilst a WILSON’S PHALAROPE showed well throughout the day at Bishop Middleham (County Durham) just south of the village at the east end of Castle Lake and viewable from the track beyond the castle leading to the sewage farm (cNZ 326 306).
The first-summer LESSER GREY SHRIKE remains in residence on Fair Isle (Shetland), with the non-breeding SQUACCO HERON still showing well at Fenland Fisheries, NE of Earith (Cambs) (at TL 392 764), the GREAT WHITE EGRET still at Swillington Ings SE of Leeds (West Yorks) (on St Aidens Flash) and the adult-type WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN on Abberton Reservoir (Essex) (from Tony Soper Hide accessed from reserve). A further GREAT WHITE EGRET flew in off the sea at Dungeness (Kent) at 0915 this morning and rested on the shingle beach for half an hour before flying off at 0950.
Once again, AUDOUIN’S GULL evaded the masses. Yesterday’s 2nd-summer/3rd-winter at Seaton (South Devon) failed to show up today despite being present until dark on 14th. The bird was discovered late morning by local birder Steve Waite, roosting with large numbers of gulls forced inland by the inclement weather at Seaton Common. Most keen Devon birders were either at work or seawatching at Berry Head or Prawle at the time of its finding and it was a real lottery as to who would make it.
The only place the bird could be seen was from the hide at Seaton Marshes, where it remained in view from 1130 until 1327. At that time, the bird tucked itself into a tussock of grass and sat down out of view, and was only seen again briefly at 1347 hours, when the whole gull flock took flight and dispersed. During this period, just 24 Devon birders connected - Steve, Mark Bailey, Ernie Davis, Dave Hopkins, Reg Harding, Dave Stone, John Gale, Doug Cullen, Andrew Cunningham, Alan Bundy, Dave Hellier, Phil Abbott, Gavin Haig, Matthew Knott included. Despite extensive searching, it was not seen again all afternoon/evening until Stuart Piner and Dan Pointon relocated it at dusk, roosting on warehouses by the Lifestyle Leisure Fun Pool Complex in Seaton. The bird was kept under observation (and photographed) from 2055-2108 but then disappeared as darkness arrived.
In IRELAND, an adult WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER at Tacumshin Pools (Co. Wexford) was new in.
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