BRITISH LIST SET FOR A MAJOR TAXONOMIC SHAKE-UP

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LATEST BRITISH MEGAS

20th October 2024

Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex

Common Nighthawk-St Mary's-Isles Of Scilly

Booted Eagle-Grumbla-Cornwall

19th October 2024

Black Faced Bunting-North Ronaldsay-Orkney

White-Winged Scoter-Stag Rocks-Northumberland

Blyth's Pipit-Bryher-Isles Of Scilly

18th October 2024

White-Winged Scoter-Wadbister Voe-Shetland

American Robin-North Ronaldsay-Orkney

Barolo-Type-Shearwater-Cape Cornwall-Cornwall

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 in the area, Dan Pointon and I headed south and picked up Owen Parsons from Cheshire on our way down. We drove through the night and arrived at the site just before 8:00 AM, managing to find a good vantage point to observe the bird if it was still around.

We waited all day, but there was no sign of the bird. We did see plenty of buzzards, along with a red kite, a marsh harrier, and a merlin. There were also good numbers of large shearwaters passing by, with Cory's and Manx shearwaters observed at Pendeen before dusk.

This was the third sighting in Cornwall this year, but none of the birds have stayed for long. The booted eagle has a controversial history in Britain and Ireland. A pale-morph immature bird that toured both regions from 1999 to 2000 is currently placed in Category D—a classification for species where there is reasonable doubt that they have occurred in Britain naturally. This is due to anomalies like the arrival date, duration of stay, and plumage condition, as well as the largely unfounded claim that the species is not prone to crossing large bodies of water.

We decided to stay in Penzance overnight and wait to see if the bird would return the next day. However, by lunchtime, we gave up and headed to the Lizard, where we were fortunate to get good views of a juvenile rose-colored starling.

Back down the road at Helston, two Firecrests were seen, and a Mediterranean gull was on the boating lake..

With no news yet on the Booted Eagle, we began our long journey back north and stopped at Dawlish Warren. There, we spotted a male, a female, and two juvenile Cirl Buntings. I hadn’t seen one of these birds in years, and we ended up getting great views of them as they fed on the golf course..

Dan and Owen photographing the Cirl's

As dusk fell upon us again, we headed home. No boots, but there will be another!