UK400 Club Rare Bird Alert Monday 4th August
August 4, 2008
This is the UK400 Club Rare Bird Alert for Monday 4th August 2008, issued at 1500 hours and published in association with Rare Bird Alert Pagers (come and see us at Stands 53 & 54 at the Birdfair www.birdfair,org.uk) whilst utilising information gleaned from the Regional Birdlines, BirdGuides, local email groups & websites and individual observers.
The star bird throughout the weekend and today is an adult female LESSER GREY SHRIKE which is frequenting some Oak trees, brookside scrub, gorse clumps and fenceposts on Middlebere Heath in the valley just west of Wych Heath, by the Corfe River (at cSY 966 843). It represents only the 5th Dorset record, following singles near Hurn (shot) in September 1842, in Wareham Forest on 23 August 1965, briefly at The Nothe, Weymouth, on 18 October 1987 and at Stoford on 20 May 1989.
DETAILED DIRECTIONS
Leave the A351 just north of Corfe Castle at the Norden roundabout and follow the minor road to the left for 1.5 miles to Scotland Farm. Just beyond there, park sensibly and courteously at the entrance to the public bridleway at SY 961 841 and continue past the gate to the first stile. From here, follow the new fenceline NE and after 200 yards, start searching the fenceposts for the shrike. From the far end of the fence, a line of gorse goes away from you and on the dead gorse protruding is another favoured hunting post. If not here, the bird can be found in the bushes and Oak trees bordering the Corfe River, particularly where a new ditch is being dug out (eg in the area with the yellow mechanical digger). The bird is typically mobile and wide-ranging.
Nearby, the 7 immature Spoonbills remain at Middlebere, Poole Harbour, with 2 adult Roseate Terns on Brownsea Island and the eclipse drake Hooded Merganser at Radipole Lake RSPB (the latter now favouring the west side of the channel with roosting Tufted Ducks, viewable distantly from the Gurkha Restaurant car park - 40p for half-hour parking). Balearic Shearwaters continue to daily pass Portland Bill, and a Wood Sandpiper is present on the Tip Scrape at Lodmoor NR.
In Orkney, we had a ‘new’ TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL on Stronsay on 2nd (with just the adult male remaining on Fair Isle and female at Esha Ness Lighthouse) and an eclipse drake AMERICAN WIGEON at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB (Aberdeenshire) (on 2nd-3rd).
A handful of CORY’S and GREAT SHEARWATERS were noted off Cornwall and Scilly at the weekend, with a WILSON’S PETREL identified amongst 250 Storm Petrels from a short pelagic (3rd) and 61 ROSEATE TERNS counted from Long Nanny Burn in Northumberland.
The SHORELARK remains at Spurn Point (East Yorks), with a male RED-BACKED SHRIKE in Richmond Park (Gtr London) on 2nd.
The adult summer WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER appeared again at Cresswell Pond (Northumberland), with adult summer PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and at Havergate Island (Suffolk) briefly. Adult PECTORAL SANDPIPERS remain at Gibraltar Point NR (Lincs) and Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk).
The pair of COMMON CRANES remain at Sleap Moor (Salop), with another two at Welney WWT (Norfolk), whilst in Avon the drake FERRUGINOUS DUCK continues at Chew Valley Lake.
A CASPIAN TERN flew north past Formby Point (Merseyside) at 1355 on 4th.
In IRELAND, the first BAIRD’S SANDPIPER of 2008 was discovered at Shanagarry Pools (Co. Cork), NNW of Ballycotton (2nd), whilst the first-summer drake KING EIDER remains at Lady’s Island Lake (Co. Wexford).
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