Analysis: Western Palearctic
A stunning raptor and blockbuster vagrant stole the limelight in the Azores, while Turkey enjoyed a red letter day, as Sam Viles reports.
A stunning raptor and blockbuster vagrant stole the limelight in the Azores, while Turkey enjoyed a red letter day, as Sam Viles reports.
In the Azores, a Swallow-tailed Kite at Urzelina, São Jorge, from 13-25th, must surely be one of the most attractive Nearctic vagrants ever recorded in the region. A fourth for the Western Palearctic, it is the third record for the archipelago, with others in March 2005 and August-September 2008. At least two Double-crested Cormorants remained in the Azores, too – at Mosteiros, São Miguel, and Madalena, Pico – and a Belted Kingfisher lingered on Pico.
A red-letter day at Milleyha, Turkey, on 26th, saw the appearance of no fewer than three national megas at the site. The Mediterranean coastal hotspot hosted the country’s first Dunn’s Lark alongside a Greater Hoopoe-lark – a national second – and a Spotted Sandgrouse – a national third. Meanwhile, a Lesser Sand Plover at Samandag on 6th was followed by an American Golden Plover at Kızılırmak Delta on 8th, both Turkish seconds, and a Hooded Wheatear was at Çenger.
What will undoubtedly go down as one of the most outrageous vagrants of the year, a Yellowcrowned Night Heron was photographed at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on 12 January. The first African record, there have just been eight previous sightings in the region and none further east than mainland Portugal. Meanwhile, the first confirmed Hume’s Whitethroat for the WP was trapped, ringed and DNA sampled at Lauttasaari, Finland; it was present between 8 November and 8 December 2020, putting it firmly on the radar of western European birders.
Poland’s first Black-throated Accentor at Miaczyn on 25-26th was widely admired; the Calandra Lark at Bzianka on 20-21st was the country’s first since 1878. One each of Baikal Teal, Oriental Turtle Dove and Black Scoter were elsewhere in the Baltic nation.
Both Stejneger’s and Black Scoters were off Snapparp, Sweden, on 8th, with a Richardson’s Cackling Goose at Aarlahti, Finland, on 17th. Switzerland remarkably hosted a Rüppell’s Vulture, with a wintering Oriental Turtle Dove at Sulgen. Another – Italy’s fourth – was at Porcia, while Romania’s first Armenian Gull – an adult – was at Mamaia on 25th. Iceland’s Darkeyed Junco was still at Helluvatn, as was Keflavík’s White-winged Scoter.
In Germany, a Little Bustard was at Thür; others were at Dornbirn and Suetschach, Austria. Germany’s other winter delights remained in situ – Spotted Sandpiper, Pygmy Cormorant and White-headed Duck – while the Dusky Thrush lasted at Stollberg until 1st. Denmark’s Sandhill Crane reappeared at Høstemark
Skov, Dokkedal, from 27th, while a smart drake Steller’s Eider was off Hirsholm on 15-16th. The Stejneger’s Scoter was still off Rørvig, too.
At least three Lesser Flamingos have returned to their only regional breeding site at Laguna de Fuente de
Piedra, Spain. In the Canaries, the Belted Kingfisher was at Arrecife, Lanzarote, until 5th, with a Hudsonian Whimbrel and American Herring Gull on Tenerife. Gibraltar’s Myrtle Warbler was last reported on 2nd, while Madeira’s first-ever Pallid Harrier – a ghostly male – was on Porto Santo on 28th.
A drake Baikal Teal was at Oye-Plage, France, on 8-9th, the Pied-billed Grebe was again at Rocheservière and a Lesser Flamingo was in the Camargue. On Jersey, a Green-winged Teal at St Ouen’s Pond from 31st is just the second Channel
Islands record, while Guernsey’s Bonaparte’s Gull was last noted on 4th.
In Belgium, a female Baikal
Teal was at Wechelderzande, while the Oriental Turtle Dove belatedly photographed at Heist-aan-Zee on 14th proved a popular customer when it was relocated; unfortunately the Whitethroated Sparrow in a garden at Ooltgensplaat, The Netherlands, during January wasn’t quite so accommodating. A Ross’s Gull toured the Dutch coast on 25-26th.
Israel’s second-ever European Shag, an immature of the Mediterranean subspecies desmarestii, was at Ashkelon on 22-23rd. The Three-banded Plover remained at Ein Bdolach fishponds, with the Wilson’s Phalarope still at Kfar Ruppin, too. Kuwait’s second Pectoral Sandpiper was at Jahra Pools. ■