Sunday, October 20, 2024
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
Canvasback-Abberton Reservoir-Essex
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
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
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
Steppe Grey Shrike-Dunbar-Lothian
18th September 2024
Tennessee Warbler-Fair Isle-Shetland
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
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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)
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Friday, October 11, 2024
BOOTED IT FOR THE BOOTED EAGLE-BUT NO SIGN!
Leaving Shetland yesterday afternoon with news that the Booted Eagle was still in the area, Dan Pointon and I headed south, collecting Owen Parsons from Cheshire en route. We drove through the night and arrived at the site shortly before 08:00, securing a favourable vantage point from which to watch the area should the eagle remain present.
Despite waiting throughout the day, the eagle failed to reappear. Raptor interest was nevertheless steady, with numerous Common Buzzards recorded, along with a Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, and a Merlin. Offshore movement was also productive, with good numbers of large shearwaters passing; both Cory’s and Manx Shearwaters were noted off Pendeen before dusk.
This represented the third Booted Eagle occurrence in Cornwall this year, though none of the birds have lingered for long. The species has a controversial history in Britain and Ireland. A pale-morph immature that ranged widely between 1999 and 2000 is currently placed in Category D, reflecting reasonable doubt over its natural occurrence. This assessment was influenced by factors such as its timing of arrival, prolonged stay, plumage condition, and the long-standing—though largely unsubstantiated—suggestion that Booted Eagles are reluctant to cross large expanses of open water.
With no further sightings reported, we opted to stay overnight in Penzance in case the eagle returned the following day. By lunchtime, however, hopes had faded, and we redirected our efforts to the Lizard Peninsula, where we were rewarded with excellent views of a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling.
Further stops added to the day’s interest. At Helston, two Firecrests were located, while a Mediterranean Gull was present on the boating lake.
With still no news of the eagle, we began the long journey north, pausing at Dawlish Warren. Here we encountered a small group of Cirl Buntings—a male, a female, and two juveniles—feeding confidingly on the golf course, providing outstanding views of a species I had not seen for several years
