Rarity Round-up
A Great Spotted Cuckoo proved to be one of the real rarity superstars of the month
The best rare birds seen in the UK and Ireland during March
In what was another quiet month on the rarity front, it is only right and proper to start with the star bird of March, the Tengmalm’s Owl on Mainland, Shetland. Present since late February, by the start of the month, it had already relocated to Lea Gardens, Tresta. It was last seen on 2nd and wasn’t relocated by the time the gardens were closed to the public on 6th.
But the story doesn’t end there, as perhaps unsurprisingly, the owl was still there (or thereabouts)! On 10 April, news broke that it had been refound, once more at Lea Gardens, and that viewing would be available on 12-14 April. But, if and when that story unfolds further, it will be for next month’s Rarity Roundup.
Probably the most popular rare bird of the month (after the Shetland Tengmalm’s Owl) was the adult Great Spotted Cuckoo which was found at Ventnor, Isle of Wight on 21st. It remained in the area, scoffing
caterpillars (as cuckoos do), until at least the second week of April. Great Spotted Cuckoos are rare visitors from southern Europe (with about 55 accepted UK records, going back to the mid-19th Century), recorded just about annually.
Eagles on the move
A species which is not strictly a rarity dominated many days of rare bird news during the month: White-tailed Eagle. Of course, though resident in Scotland (after the reintroduction scheme which started nearly 45 years ago), White-tailed Eagles are still genuinely rare south of the border. So the continuing presence of an immature bird in southern England was very welcome.
During the month, the first report was from Westdean Woods, West Sussex. There were further reports from Hampshire, then Essex and Suffolk on 19th. The next day, the eagle was seen passing first east then back west in north Norfolk. And on 22nd, it was still in north Norfolk, seen from several sites. Come 23rd, though, and it was once again on the move down the coast to the south and west entering Suffolk. It was seen intermittently until being located at Walsingham Norfolk on 31st.
Meanwhile, the ‘Yorkshire-based’ immature was seen at Idle Valley NR, Nottinghamshire, and Hatfield Moors,
South Yorkshire in mid-month, before being seen over sites in East Yorkshire and at Sleddale, Cleveland and Durham, before heading to North Yorkshire and then back south to Leeds, West Yorkshire.
And to complete the picture, an adult White-tailed Eagle was over Amwell NR, Hertfordshire, on 25th.
Well-spread stork action
On the subject of big, broadwinged soaring birds, White Storks featured prominently during March. It is never entirely clear with White Storks whether they are truly wild birds, but benefit of the doubt can surely be given to several of the storks on the move this spring. Birds were seen over Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Cornwall (with five over Truro), Kent, West Sussex, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Glamorgan, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Cheshire.
And breathe!
Other key rarities
Rare wildfowl during the month included a (probable) Greybellied Brant at Inverness Airport, Highland. Also in Highland, a lovely drake Blue-winged Teal was at the wee loch at Mellon Charles, from 18th until at least 7 April. A drake Lesser Scaup was at Chew Valley Lake, then Blagdon Lake, Somerset. There were at least seven ‘new’ Ring-necked Ducks around the country, in addition to the four or so that were lingering from last month. More controversial (as ever) was a drake Baikal Teal photographed at Welney WWT, Norfolk, on 20th.
A Red-flanked Bluetail was trapped (and ringed) at Landguard, Suffolk on 23rd. And while considering things blue and chatty, there was a male Bluethroat at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire on 31st.
Early spring overshoots included Red-rumped Swallows at Fingringhoe Wick, Essex, and Tresilian, Polgigga, Trevose Head and Marazion, Cornwall.
Of course, in addition to this pick of the bunch, there were several long-stayers hanging in there, including the Frampton (Lincolnshire) Long-billed Dowitcher, the Lodmoor (Dorset) Lesser Yellowlegs (attaining ever more summery plumage), Pied-billed Grebes in the usual spots and Pacific Divers where they always are. Plus Coues’s Arctic Redpolls and the odd Penduline Tit here and there.