Analysis: Britain and Ireland
Was October 2020 one of the best on record? Heaps of rarities and scarcities were found from all points of the compass.
October 2020 will be etched into birders’ memories for a long time: long-standing blockers fell, rarities from west and east appeared in volume and conditions were often ripe for birdfinders to fill their boots throughout Britain and Ireland. Josh Jones rounds up a spectacular month.
After September’s entertainment, October continued the rich vein of form, consolidating 2020’s position as one of the finest autumns in recent memory as stunning rarities came from both east and west. It is impossible to give mention to every rarity in this column, so what follows is a chronological summary of the month’s highlights, plus other miscellaneous goodies.
It was all action from the outset, with 1st producing three different White’s Thrushes in the Northern Isles (North Ronaldsay,
Mainland Shetland and Fair
Isle). An amazing seven had been amassed by the end of the month, with a lingering bird on Lundy, Devon, from 7-26th the pick of the British records; others were on Barra, Outer Hebrides, and at Quendale, Shetland. In Ireland, a brief bird on Inishbofin, Co Galway, on 16th is the second for the island following one in September 2008.
Another rare thrush on 1st was a Swainson’s, found trapped inside a living room on Dursey Island, Co Cork. Two more Swainson’s were seen in October, both on Scilly – St Mary’s on
7-8th and Bryher from 10-15th.
Two of the month’s four Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers also pitched up on the opening day, with a showy bird at Burrafirth, Unst, well appreciated. Others were on Foula, Whalsay and North Ronaldsay. Shetland hosted four Lanceolated Warblers, including an astonishingly confiding bird walking over birders’ boots at Sumburgh on 2-3rd.
The rush of thrushes continued with an Eyebrowed Thrush found on North Ronaldsay on 2nd; this co-operative bird went on to linger till 8th. Two further individuals were latterly found in Shetland, with one trapped at Brae on 7th and another seen briefly on Fetlar later the same day.
A striking juvenile harrier at Barrys Head, Co Cork, on 2nd was quickly identified from photos as a juvenile Northern Harrier – an Irish sixth and a county first. It remained to 4th at least. A Black-browed Albatross seen off Belmullet, Co Mayo, on 3rd was presumably the same as that seen off Brandon Point, Co Kerry, later that evening.
The Siberian Thrush at Kilminning, Fife, was highly elusive but nonetheless hung around to 5th, allowing plenty to see it. Also making it into the opening days of the month was the Yell Tennessee Warbler, which
remained at Burravoe till 4th. It or another was then at Cullivoe from 5-7th, but proved frightfully elusive.
A further Tennessee was found on Inishbofin, Co Galway, on 6th; it lingered at least one more day. With the Upland Sandpiper still on the island to 10th, plus up to two Eastern Yellow Wagtails, Bluethroat and Little Bunting, it was an excellent month to be birding there.
While the opening week of the month was hottest in the Northern Isles, the English east coast also produced in a big way – an elusive shrike at Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland, on 3rd transpired to be Britain’s fourth Masked Shrike, lingering to 4th. It was fitting of this excessive autumn to produce a second Masked Shrike at Shuart, Kent, on 17-18th amid a super fall of eastern birds along the east coast.
The 4th was a red-letter day for rare shrikes, with a Lesser Grey found at Holy Island, Northumberland, upstaged by a fine Steppe Grey at Benacre, Suffolk – they lingered to 5th and 7th respectively. Meanwhile, the month produced five different Brown Shrikes, including a firstwinter that stuck around on Holy Island for more than two weeks from 14th and a male inland at Johnny Brown’s Common, South Yorks, from 18-22nd.
Then, on 6th, a Shorttoed Snake Eagle was found exhausted on the beach at Hengistbury Head, Dorset, and was taken into care. Alas this British fourth died shortly afterwards.
A promising warm front off a transatlantic system delivered the goods to south-west England and southern Ireland in the second week of October. A stunning Black-and-white Warbler on Tresco, Scilly, on 8th was the visual pick of the bunch, but proved a one-day wonder.
On the evening of 8th,
West Sussex’s first Common Nighthawk arrived in off the sea at Church Norton (see page
10). It flew around for a while, lingering just long enough to be twitched by a fortunate few, before disappearing over Pagham Harbour, never to be seen again.
Then, on 9th, Ireland’s third Philadelphia Vireo was found on Inishmore, Co Galway (see page 9). Lingering to 17th, it formed part of a great run on the island that also saw Radde’s Warbler and two Little Buntings logged.
Mizen Head, Co Cork, played host to a Blackpoll Warbler on 10-11th, while the same system produced three Red-eyed Vireos: St Martin’s, Scilly, on 7th, Kenidjack, Cornwall, on 8th and Feohanagh, Co Kerry, on 10th.
The first of five American Buffbellied Pipits arrived on North
Uist on 7th, being followed by records from North Ronaldsay on 10-11th, Scilly (Bryher on 1314th, St Agnes from 14-18th) and Fair Isle on 28th.
A male Western Orphean Warbler was a superb Scottish find at Lothbeg Point, Highland, on 10th. Lingering to the following day, it is the seventh confirmed Western for Britain. Shetland’s first Common Rock Thrush was noted the same day – photographed by a dog walker on Fetlar, it unfortunately wasn’t relocated.
An excellent spell of easterlies mid-month produced one of the best arrivals of eastern birds on record, with Dusky and Pallas’s Warblers featuring heavily. The former registered at least 60 individuals after the first in Essex on 3rd, with the biggest pulse of arrivals between 14th and 18th including seven in Norfolk, six in Lincolnshire and five in Kent. Upwards of 80 Pallas’s Warblers was also a terrific showing, with most arriving during the same period as the Dusky influx and Norfolk faring particularly well, with at least 20 seen in the county after the first arrived on 14th.
However, both were eclipsed by a major arrival of Red-flanked Bluetails from mid-month. BirdGuides data suggest that no fewer than 32 of this iconic ‘Sibe’ were logged in the month. Up to a dozen were in Norfolk alone, with a peak count of four at
Holme-next-the-Sea on 17th and another caught on camera trap at Pensthorpe on 11th. Three inland counties were also treated to their first bluetail: in Bedfordshire, one was at Biddenham from 18-20th, with another trapped in Derbyshire at Whitwell on
18th. Then, on 28th, the first for Worcestershire was at Lion Wood, lingering to
30th.
But the main talking point of the fall mid-month was Britain’s first Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin since August 1980 (and first twitchable since 1963!), which was discovered on the saltmarsh at Stiffkey, Norfolk, early on 17th (see page 8). A bird of the eastern subspecies syriaca, it lingered until 21st, giving itself up to many hundreds of admirers during its five-day stay.
In any other year, a twitchable mainland Taiga Flycatcher would
likely have comfortably been bird of the week, even month, for many, but the scrub robin relegated the flycatcher at Trow Quarry in South Shields, Co Durham, from 14-18th to second best (see page 11). A British fourth, it’s the first to be gettable since the Shetland bird of autumn 2009.
Amid the eastern excitement, a Blackpoll Warbler was found at East Burrafirth, Shetland, on 16th and went on to linger to 29th; amazingly a Lanceolated Warbler was also there on 16th. Also in Shetland, a female Pine Bunting spent three days at Skaw, Unst, from 20th, while eight sites in the archipelago scored Hornemann’s Arctic Redpolls, including up to four at Norwick, Unst. There were also Coues’s Arctic Redpolls on Unst and Yell.
At the opposite end of the country in Kent, Dungeness
NNR hosted its third Short-toed Treecreeper of the year on 14th.
Often considered the harbinger of the impending winter, the first Desert Wheatear of the autumn was at Boulmer, Northumberland, from 18th. Pallid Swifts were in Kent on 5th, Suffolk on 8th and Hampshire on 22-23rd.
A productive storm arrived in the South-West Approaches on 24th, bringing with it a super fall of American landbirds to Scilly. A first-winter male Rose-breasted
Grosbeak on Gugh on 24th looked set to be the highlight, although this was utterly eclipsed when Britain’s third Indigo
Bunting was found on St Agnes mid-afternoon on 25th. Evidently exhausted, it lingered until early afternoon the following day, when it disappeared, never to be seen again – given its poor condition, it is presumed to have perished. Two Red-eyed Vireos were also found on 25th, with singles on Bryher and St Agnes.
Just when it felt like Shetland’s excellent autumn might be drawing to a close, Unst produced a first for Britain on 25th. A firstwinter East Siberian Wagtail, the attractive ocularis subspecies of White Wagtail, spent all of five minutes on the beach at Westing before flying off, never to be seen again. There are just two previous WP records, both in the past couple of years and including one in Sweden, and this is probably a taxon that will occur again someday.
A good crop of ‘eastern’ stonechats through October saw several of each species. A first-winter male at South Gare, Cleveland, from 17-30th was confirmed as Stejneger’s by DNA analysis, as was one of three stejnegeri candidates in Norfolk – the one at Happisburgh from 5-7th. Others were at Holkham from 16-25th and Warham
Greens on 20th. Another surefire Stejneger’s was at Medmerry RSPB, West Sussex, from 2022nd. Meanwhile, at least three different Siberian Stonechats ( maurus) were in Shetland, with a showy first-winter on Gugh, Scilly, from 16-20th.
A total of perhaps 10 Eastern Yellow Wagtails was amassed during October, including an inland bird near Sandy, Bedfordshire, on 7th, plus county firsts from the likes of Hampshire and Kent. In contrast, ‘just’ six Citrine Wagtails were found.
More than 30 Olive-backed Pipits were noted, most in Shetland or along the east coast between Norfolk and Yorkshire. It’s been a great autumn for Red-throated Pipits, with more than 20 seen in October including at least six on North Ronaldsay alone.
Another species 2020 will be remembered for is Rustic Bunting, with at least a dozen seen in the first half of October to add to September’s arrival. Upwards of 50 Little Buntings included an inland bird at Thursley Common, Surrey.
Well worth a shout was Staffordshire and Warwickshire’s first Pallid Harrier – a female that toured the Middleton Lakes RSPB area from 7-10th. Snowy Owls were on Mainland Shetland and St Kilda.
A juvenile Pacific Golden Plover was an excellent find at Findhorn Bay, Moray, on 10th, lingering to 29th. Keyhaven Marshes, Hants, hosted an incredibly confiding Wilson’s Phalarope from 9-20th, while there was a late Baird’s Sandpiper at Dawlish Warren, Devon, on 27th. It was a good month for Lesser Yellowlegs, with at least 12 seen, while Spotted Sandpipers were in Argyll,
Ayrshire and Devon.
As October progressed, wildfowl became increasingly prominent. Two Cackling Geese returned to North Uist for another winter, at least one was on Islay and further singles were with Barnacle Geese in Co Mayo and Dumfries and Galloway, with one among Pink-feet near Stirling, Forth, from 22-28th. A handful of Snow Geese were strewn across Scotland, Black Brant were in four counties and an apparent Grey-bellied Brant turned up in Co Dublin.
At least six Blue-winged Teal remained in the Outer Hebrides, with four on North Uist and two on Barra. A minimum of two also hung around on The Mullet, Co Mayo. The White-winged Scoter returned to the Lothian coast for another winter on 27th, the King Eider hung around in Findhorn
Bay, a sole Lesser Scaup was at Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, while up to 20 Ring-necked Duck and seven American Wigeon were seen. ■