Rarity Round-up
The year ended with what may turn out to be a UK first, a mandtii Black Guillemot
The best rare birds seen in the UK and Ireland throughout December
December proved to be a relatively low-key month for rarities, letting the year fade nicely through the Christmas period with something of an air of peace, rather than a mad, mega panic. Easily the most exciting bird story came from south Lincolnshire on 7th, when Dave Roberts found a Black Guillemot in the mouth of the River Welland at the Cut End area, where the Rivers Welland and Witham (aka The Haven) both flow into The Wash (very near Frampton Marsh RSPB). Black Guillemot is a rare enough bird in Lincolnshire to spark a decent ‘twitch’ in the county. Indeed, the last one in the county was in the 1980s, and the December bird was only the twelfth record in Lincolnshire. A few days later visitors noted that the distant bird was particularly white even for a winter Black Guillemot (which are already surprisingly pale birds). The long and short of it was that with better views, better photographs (see above) and consultation of literature and field experts, the Lincolnshire guillemot showed a range of features which strongly suggested it was a bird of the High Arctic subspecies mandtii. This could turn out to be the first confirmed example of this taxon in the UK. This ‘race’ was at one stage considered a full species by the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU; the equivalent of our BOU), and though currently lumped with the rest of Black Guillemot subspecies (including our breeding birds), could potentially be given full species status in the future. The Cut End guillemot was last seen on 10 December. Perhaps it is somewhere off the east coast still, awaiting rediscovery.
Finch invasions
Meanwhile, back on dry land, just like in November, Parrot Crossbills provided the bulk of the headline news. The previously discovered flocks at Santon Warren, Norfolk (which peaked at 42 birds), and the Wishmoor Bottom, Berkshire, group of up to 18 birds, remained through the month. Additional Parrot Crossbill flocks found in December, included up to 12 at Howden Reservoir, on the Derbyshire/south Yorkshire border, three at Broxbourne Woods, Hertfordshire (from 18th) and three at Woodbury Common, Devon. How many ‘cryptic’ flocks are still out there in
the wider country is, of course, a mystery. But surely, there will be further revelations in the coming month of two. On a finchy theme, the Hawfinch invasion settled down as far as new arrivals were concerned, with fresh discoveries of settled feeding flocks continuing well into the New Year, including some of 40-plus birds in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. Coues’s Arctic Redpolls had a mini-invasion, with well-watched birds at Hazlewood Common, Suffolk (since late November), and Eccles on Sea, Norfolk. Another was with Lesser Redpolls at Swillington Ings, West Yorkshire. Apart from the Parrot Crossbills, perhaps the main story of the month was of the sporadic appearance of a Snowy Owl in south-west England. First appearing on Bryher, Scilly at the end of November to 2 December, the distinctively barred owl was relocated at Carn Brea on mainland Cornwall on 12th, then at Carn Gloose, also Cornwall, on 18th. It was back on Scilly on St Martin’s, in early January. Another Snowy Owl underwent a bit of a tour of Orkney during November into January.
Other rarities
Typically late, a couple of Desert Wheatears turned up in December, including a male at Happiburgh, Norfolk, and presumably the same bird at nearby Eccles on 2-5 December. On 23 December, a male was found at Whitby, North Yorkshire, which proved to be one of the most photogenic and obliging birds of the turn of the year. Other late rare arrivals included a Killdeer near St Mary’s airport, Scilly, on 29th and a Ross’s Gull at Longhoughton, Northumberland on 31 December (but not seen in the New Year). Other rare birds grabbing headlines during the month included a Penduline Tit at Longford, Gloucestershire, from mid-month and an exceptionally ‘showy’ Barred Warbler at Titchfield Haven, Hampshire. Most of the other rare birds were ‘lingerers’, including Dorset’s Stilt Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs and Cornwall’s two Pacific Divers.
Fake news
This being the last month of 2017, it seems appropriate to end with a couple of pieces which could appropriately be described as ‘fake news’. These were a couple of stories which appeared during December which prompted some twitchers into instant mobilization mode. Firstly, there was the White-crowned Black Wheatear in Scunthorpe, which we reported in the January issue. As stated then, this bird proved to be an ‘owned’ individual which was known to have gone missing (and was easily caught and returned to its ‘aviary’). Secondly, mid-moth saw reports and accompanying photographs of a Hawk Owl near Knaresborough, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire. As with the wheatear, though, it soon transpired that the owl was from a ‘collection’ nearby.