LATEST BRITISH MEGAS

17th October 2024

American Robin-North Ronaldsay-Orkney

Blyth's Pipit-Bryher-Isles Of Scilly

16th October 2024

American Robin-North Ronaldsay-Orkney

Blyth's Pipit-Bryher-Isles Of Scilly

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

15th October 2024

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

Blyth's Pipit-Bryher-Isles Of Scilly

Brünnich's guillemot-Fair Isle-Shetland

14th October 2024

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

Blyth's Pipit-Bryher-Isles Of Scilly

13th October 2024

Wilson's Snipe-St Mary's-Isles Of Scilly

Siberian Rubythroat-North Ronaldsay-Orkney

White-Winged Scoter-Gosford Bay-Lothian

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

12th October 2024

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

11th October 2024

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

Booted Eagle-St Just-Cornwall

10th October 2024

South Polar Skua-At Sea-Isles Of Scilly

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

Booted Eagle-Nanquidno Valley-Cornwall

Wilson's Snipe-St Mary's-Isles Of Scilly

7th October 2024

Asian Desert Warbler-Winterton Dunes-Norfolk

6th October 2024

Asian Desert Warbler-Winterton Dunes-Norfolk

4th October 2024

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

3rd October 2024

Eastern Crowned Warbler-Sandness-Mainland-Shetland

Two-Barred Warbler-Saltwick Nab-North Yorkshire

2nd October 2024

Two-Barred Warbler-Saltwick Nab-North Yorkshire

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliifs-East Yorkshire

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

1st October 2024

Forster's Tern-Holes Bay-Dorset

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliifs-East Yorkshire

30th September 2024

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliifs-East Yorkshire

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

Forster's Tern-Upton,Poole-Dorset

29th September 2024

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliifs-East Yorkshire

28th September 2024

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliifs-East Yorkshire

27th September 2024

Pale-Legged Leaf Warbler-RSPB Bempton Cliffs-East Yorkshire

Brown Booby-Fife Ness-Fife

26th September 2024

Hudsonian Godwit-Hale-Cheshire

25th September 2024

Barole Type Shearwater-Mousehole-Cornwall

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler-Tynemouth-Northumberland

 

24th Septmber 2024

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler-Maywick Burn-Shetland

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler-Tynemouth-Northumberland

22nd September 2024

Eastern Olivaceous warbler-Flamborough Head-East Yorkshire-Flew towards Old Fall steps 10:00am and not seen again by 11:00am

21st September 2024

Eastern Olivaceous warbler-Flamborough Head-East Yorkshire

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler-Tynemouth-Northumberland

19th September 2024

Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland

(C)Phil Woollen

Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian

18th September 2024

Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland

(C)Phil Woollen

Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian

17th September 2024

Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland

Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian

Brown Booby-North Foreland-Kent

16th September 2024

Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland

Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian

15th September 2024

Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland

Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

Maderian Shearwater-At Sea-Isles Of Scilly-At least two from Challenger 1 expedition to continental shelf (at least one on 10th and one on 13th)

Barolo Shearwater-At Sea-Isles Of Scilly-Four from Challenger 1 expedition to continental shelf (one on 10th, two on 11th and one on 12th)

BOOTED IT FOR THE BOOTED BUT NO SIGN!

After leaving Shetland yesterday afternoon with news that the Booted Eagle was still about,myself and Dan Pointon headed south and picked Owen Parsons up from Cheshire on are way down.We drove through the night and arrived on site just before 8.00am and managed to find a good vantage point for the bird if was still around.

We waited all day but there was no sign of the bird.Plenty of Buzzards were seen along with a Red Kite,Marsh Harrier and a Merlin.There were also good numbers of large Shearwaters passing with Cory's and Manx being seen at Pendeen before dusk.

This was the third record from Cornwall this year but none of them have hung around.The Booted Eagle has a controversial history in Britain and Ireland, with a pale-morph immature that toured Britain and Ireland in 1999-2000 currently placed into Category D – a holding category for species where there is a reasonable doubt that birds have occurred in Britain in a natural state – owing to anomalies such as the arrival date, duration of stay and state of plumage, as well as the largely unfounded accusation that the species isn't prone to crossing large bodies of water.

We decided to stay over in Penzance overnight and hang around tomorrow just in case the bird made another appearance but by lunch time we gave up and headed to the Lizard where we got good views of an juvenile Rose Coloured Starling.

Back down the road at Helston two Firecrests were seen and a Mediteranean Gull on the boating lake.

With still no news on the Booted Eagle we started the long journey back north and called in at Dawlish Warren where we connected with a male,female and two juvenile Cirl Buntings.I hadn't seen one of these for years and we ended up getting great views of them feeding on the golf course.

Dan and Owen photographing the Cirl's

As dusk was upon us again we headed home,No Booted but THEY'LL BE ANOTHER!😎

SHETLAND 2024 DAY 7

Waking up this morning a pale-morph juvenile Booted Eagle over Nanquidno in Cornwall had been seen yesterday.

Botted Eagle (Jim Waterman)

After dark morphs over Cape Cornwall on 20th May and Nanquidno on 2nd September both would fail to be seen again. Myself and Dan Pointon were up for the leaving Shetland today if the bird was seen again so we carried on with our day.

A Cattle Egret was seen during the morning with two Purple sandpipers which all showed well.

Cattle Egret

News then broke late morning that the Botted Eagle had been relocated by some local birders showing on-and-off in the vicinity of Land's End until a final sighting at 1.45 pm.We booked our flights for a late afternoon departure back onto the mainland,we had to give it a go even though there was no sighting after 1.45pm.We headed back to are accommodation to pack and then just as we were leaving news broke that a White Winged Scoter had been found north of Lerwick.A quick drive north and we soon on the bird that was showing with a group of Eider.

White Winged Scoter

After good views of the bird we headed for the airport and we off after another great weeks birding on Shetland!