Cleveland's next new bird?

[Keith Ryan]

A certain swift in Autumn, 2018 is surely worth a mention.

[Ian Foster]

Always worth a mention Keith but was Cleveland's second record (never thought i'd be writing that), so not quite relevant to this thread...I'm sure the official write up in the 2018 Bird report will be a good read though!

Has to be said that afternoon watching that Little Swift bombing around with a Pallid Swift will never be forgotten. More than one local birder has said it was the best bird and birding event they have ever experienced in Cleveland!


Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Good news regarding the Hooded Merganser of May 2018 - BBRC sent a Tweet out today confirming this bird has now been accepted! A tricky bird to connect with and missed by a fair few not reacting quick enough or thinking it would be put down as an escape...Best make it a rule to go see the bird first then worry about it's provenance.


Maybe White-headed Duck, Red-breasted Goose, Ross's Goose, Ruddy Shelduck and even White Pelican could/should make the grade?


Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Time Flies When You're Having Fun
​
So it's now been just over ten years since I started this thread (twenty years since Richard did his predictions) and what a decade it's been!​
​
The County List stood at 362 back in August 2008 and since then we have had a phenomenal 19 new species added including the recently discovered, not yet accepted Dark-eyed Junco record!

Lets have a quick recap...​
​​
363. Glaucous-winged Gull - 2008​
364. Whiskered Tern - 2009​
365. Black-throated Thrush - 2010​
366. White-throated Robin - 2011​
367. Sandhill Crane  - 2011​
368. Pallid Harrier - 2011​
369. Western Orphean Warbler - 2012​
370. Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler - 2012​
371. Siberian Stonechat - Upgraded to full species status (not sure how we stand with Sibe Chat still on the County list at the moment)!?!
372. Western Bonelli's Warbler - 2013​
373. Black-winged Pratincole - 2014​
374. Black Scoter - 2014​
375. Eastern Crowned Warbler - 2014​
376. Isabelline Wheatear - 2014​
377. Squacco Heron - 2015​
378. Siberian Accentor - 2016​
379. Dark-eyed Junco - 2017
380. Taiga Bean Goose - Upgraded to full species status from January 2018
381. Hooded Merganser - 2018

That is some list, including some incredible birds...we also had the 2014 Fea's type Petrel that was not accepted to species level and Fea's Petrel has now been removed from the British list.

So that leaves us just 19 species short of the magic 400!

Please correct me if I am wrong regarding any of the numbers.

How many did you see? I managed a cool 15 of them!

Could we have a decade like the last? It would take some beating but you just never know, we have still to record our first records of some regularly occurring species like Blyth's Reed Warbler, Isabelline Shrike of some sort or another and Iberian Chiffchaff. Could some of the current Cat.D species be upgraded? Will any future taxonomic splits help us out (White-fronted Geese maybe)?

In the next couple of weeks (ish) I will be taking a fresh look at what I predict could be our next 19 additions to the list...I recently very quickly wrote down a list of species I think are most likely to occur and it added up to exactly 19 species...

Cheers

Ian

[Ian Foster]

Well I thought I had better get on with this and post my all Brand New Predictions for the County! Spring is upon us and the next new bird could be just around the corner...



Pacific Diver

A relatively "new" species but starting to be found more regular in Britain and the Western Palearctic. The North East has records from both Yorkshire and Northumberland so I see no reason why Cleveland could not see the next. I'll go with a January bird in Hartlepool Harbour/Fish Quay, although an Inland water is not out of the question.


Black-browed Albatross

A Dream bird for any East Coast Sea-watcher but with a regular Adult summering in Germany, often taking a wander round the North Sea we could very well see this magnificent bird pass one of our sea-watching spots. This bird has visited Yorkshire and been seen passing both the Durham and Northumberland coast line. It surely must have flown through Cleveland waters on the morning of 29th June 2017 before being seen off Whitburn...


Pied-billed Grebe

A bit of a long shot this one I think (but aren't they all). Pied-billed Grebe's are a rare bird. I could be wrong but records seem to be slowing down (other than a couple of regular birds in Argyll and Shetland). There has been records from Yorkshire and Northumberland in the past and more recently a bird in Manchester so maybe the next bird in Northern England might just pay us a visit. Scaling Dam or Crookfoot reservoir must be the most likely locations for one of these.


Lesser Sandplover

As with a lot of species records of Lesser Sandplover appear to have slowed down but I still think we could score one of these one day...Maybe someone will get lucky and find one roosting with Ringed Plover at Newburn, it would be a first for the North East as far as I am aware so maybe wishful thinking?


Greater Sandplover

Like it's lesser cousin records are slowing down but last year one paid a visit to East Yorkshire so you just never know...Once over I would have bet on Seal Sands but maybe Seaton Snook might be a better bet?


Stilt Sandpiper

With approx. 38 British Records that include several East Coast birds, Cleveland could very well be next in line for one of these Stunning Waders. Recent years have seen records from Northumberland, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. A Smart Adult on Saltholme West one August evening would do just fine.


Red-necked Stint

Another Wader that we could very well be next in line for. Still a very rare bird and we don't get a fraction of the numbers of Stints we used to but I still think the Tidal Pool could be graced by one of these one day.

Collared Pratincole

Again another long shot and I was very much in two minds weather to include this species on the list but we did get a Black-winged Pratincole so you just never know! Where would one appear is anyone guess, Cowpen, Brinefields and Seaton Common maybe? I'll go with Saltholme getting the double Pratincole whammy...


Brunnich's Guillemot

Once over this species would have seemed highly unlikely to make this list (and still is I hear everyone muttering) but recent records of live birds from Yorkshire and Fife as well as a very unpredictable bird in Dorset just shows we could be in with a chance. A moribund bird in Hartlepool Harbour following a October Northerly Gale maybe?


Brown Shrike

This once Mega rarity has in the last decade become almost annual in Britain. With over 20 now recorded including at least three from Yorkshire I honestly believe we will see this species in Cleveland before either of the "Isabelline" Shrikes. Most likely site? Who knows...Hartlepool, North Gare, South Gare, Hunt Cliff or Hunley Hall are all in the running...


Daurian Shrike

I'm not going to go on too much about these Isabelline Shrikes and I was very tempted not to include either species on this list. A good species ruined by DNA! At the moment only Adult Males are "apparently" acceptable and the chance of one of those is slim (but not impossible). I think Daurian could occur before Turkestan and maybe one day Adult Females will also be acceptable (not sure about juveniles as it seems DNA can't sort them out!). Or even better they get "lumped" again as one species. Still hard to believe we have never has a "Izzy" Shrike of any form...How about a Stunning adult male in early June on a fence between North Gare and the Zinc Works Road.


Iberian Chiffchaff

As I write (April 27th) this species must be The most likely addition to the county list? A lot of people reading this will have travelled to Portland for a bird back in 1999 when it was still classed as a Mega rarity. There has now been just short of 70 British records and the species has even successfully bred in South Wales! This is a species that can and does occur just about anywhere. I always think Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park would be just perfect for one of these.



Blyth's Reed Warbler

If it were Autumn I would be saying this is The most likey addition to the county list. Not that we are out of a chance in late spring of course...It really is frustrating that we have not recorded a Blyth's Reed Warbler. Most East Coast counties have multiple records...we have simply just missed out! It is now classed as a scarce migrant rather than a rarity and one even spent this winter in Manchester!!! Surely, surely this is the year we put this species to bed? I recon Chris Brown will Bag our first BRW.



Sykes's Warbler

A hard one this. Very rare and very good views or a trapped bird will be needed but Northumberland has recorded this species. I believe Yorkshire is surprisingly still awaiting it's first (correct me if I am wrong) so could a Cleveland bird on the South Side please all parties? I bet Damian wouldn't mind finding one of these in his nets up on Hunt Cliff...



Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler

One of those "New" species. Not yet recorded in the North East but records are increasing (could very well be annual) and it's only a matter of time before one is found. South Gare has a good record for Sub Alps so that's where id put my money.



Siberian Rubythroat

Once considered the Holy Grail of British Birding...There has now been about 15 records of this Mega Sibe and although I cannot see it ever going the way of Red-flanked Bluetail, I think records will continue to increase and a Twitchable East coast bird is long over due. Remember one of these visited a Co. Durham garden several years ago...The Outer Bowling Green at Hartlepool or South Gare's Bomb Hole will do just fine!



Collared Flycatcher

They don't come much better than a Male Collared Fly! Records are increasing I believe and birds have graced both Northumberland and Yorkshire (at least twice). Several sites could easily host one of these stunners (St. Mary's, Hartlepool, Locke Park...) but i'll go with Hunley Hall, late May...This May with any luck!


Stejnegers Stonechat

Recently split from Siberian Stonechat and only DNA'd birds are currently acceptable but with Cleveland's excellent track record of Sibe Chats (11 records?) It must be a good contender. It appears this may be a fairly regular vagrant to Britain in late autumn. South Gare must be a good bet and hopefully one will be seen to have a crap on a fence post!


Blyth's Pipit

Another bird i'm not 100% I should have included. Rare and quite difficult to I.D but they are out there and a well twitched bird was found in West Yorkshire a few year ago so you just never know. Old Cemetary at Hartlepool could easily host one of these as could several other sites. Even a wintering bird on Cowpen Marsh wouldn't be out of the question.


Other Species considered and all probably just as likely or unlikely as several that made my list...

White-winged Scoter
Little Crake
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Audouin's Gull (had this in my top 19 but dropped it last minute...)
Sooty Tern
Turkestan Shrike
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler
Lanceolated Warbler
Dartford Warbler
White's Thrush


So there we have it, nineteen species listed that would take the Cleveland list to the Magic 400!


Please let me know what your thoughts are and feel free to correct me on any of the above (I wrote most of this from memory except checking a few details in BBRC reports).


Cheers

Ian.

[Damian]

Think I'll pass on the Sykes Ian, they don't do much for me if I'm honest. Id take the rubythroat or Collared Fly though...

[Ian Foster]

Ha! Don't blame you Damian. Think I dealt you a bum deal there...

[Ian Foster]

Incredible to think that three of the species on my prediction list were present in Yorkshire yesterday...

[Ian Foster]

One down, Eighteen to go...

Sooty Tern

This story starts way back on 24th June when a Sooty Tern was seen to fly North past Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. Could this be the 2018 bird that was seen in Northumberland on two dates and spent a good fortnight or so up in north East Scotland, not forgetting it was also seen briefly of Whitburn?

No more sightings until 9th July when again what was presumably the same Sooty Tern was seen to pass Flamborough heading South...then things got interesting. It was soon seen to pass Scarborough heading North!

The bird was motoring along and Ian Kendall was quick thinking enough to position himself at Cowbar and was soon watching the Sooty Tern pass close in heading North (the mind boggles to think what this moment must have felt like)!!! I don't have any more detail and can't wait to read Ian's full account when published...

Panic now set in and a good 25 or so Birders headed to Hartlepool (remember that once great Sea-watching Hot-spot?)!

Time went by and hopes started to fade...then news came through...the Sooty Tern had passed Whitburn Obs heading North and was then subsequently seen at various points until it reached Seahouses, Northumberland! All hope was gone.

I purposely didn't update this thread in the vain hope we would all get a second chance had the bird returned south at any point but as the summer past and autumn came and (as I write nearly) went this Mega Tern wasn't seen again...Maybe next year?


Once accepted this will become the 382nd Species for Cleveland.


Other stuff

Siberian Stonechat

Most reading this will know the history of this "species" and the British list. We waited a very long time for Siberian Stonechat to be upgraded to species level and when it finally did, it was added to the Cleveland list. I think we have had eleven records so far?

All was well and good for a few year but now "Siberian Stonechat" has been split again into two species...Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) and Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)!

BBRC has recently stated they will (for now at least) only accept birds supported by DNA analysis! This has left the vast majority of British records of "Siberian Stonechat" all 408 of them as an either or and therefore not countable!

None of the Cleveland records have now been accepted to species level, so in my opinion should be removed from the County list! Maybe not a popular view...

Until this has been decided and announced by the Teesmouth Bird Club Records Sub-Committee I will leave Siberian Stonechat on the list and included in the total number for the county.

A putative Stejneger's Stonechat was seen at Whitburn in Co. Durham just this week gone (a lot reading this will probably have seen this bird) so maybe we won't have to wait to long before we can add one, if not both of the Eastern Stonechats to the Cleveland List? Just remember to have a sample pot at hand for any "droppings" left behind...DNA, it's the modern way!

As ever please feel free to comment and correct me regarding anything at all...as usual this was written very quickly whilst drinking a 5.9% IPA!

So Autumn 2019...not quite a classic (unless you're called Ian Kendall)...do we still have time for that Star bird? Remember what happened last November? It might not be quite over just yet...

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Siberian Stonechat...Off the list!

Anyone who has been paying attention and read the latest minutes of the TBC Records Sub-committee January 2020 meeting will now know that Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) has been removed from the Cleveland List! This is of course due to the BOU following IOC taxonomy who have split Siberian Stonechat from Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri). BBRC now only accept DNA supported records as the field identification is for now at least regarded as unsafe...

Regarding British Birds Rarities (of which Siberian Stonechat is), it is of course TBCRSC policy to abide by their decision. So it is only right that this species should be removed from the list as none of the 11 Cleveland records have been accepted to species level supported by DNA!

As I have said previously, Splits don't always result in Ticks!

With this deletion the County list now stands at 381 (including pending Dark-eyed Junco and Sooty tern). Please correct me if I am wrong.

All 11 previous records of what I now refer to as "Eastern Stonechat" are listed below.

Hartlepool Headland - 26th October 1960
Hartlepool Headland - 13th to 15th May 1985
Seaton Carew Cemetery - 9th to 13th October 1991
South Gare - 23rd to 24th October 1993
Hunt Cliff - 16th to 17th October 1999
Boulby - 26th September 2001
South Gare - 20th October 2004
South Gare - 24th October to 2nd November 2004
Hummersea - 29th September 2007
Seaton Common - 3rd to 4th December 2011
Hunt Cliff - 13th to 15th October 2016

Having a quick look at these records, it's quite obvious late September to late October is the prime time to find one of these beauties and the same would apply to Stejneger's Stonechat too!

Hopefully it won't be too long before we get another chance with Siberian Stonechat and this species should now be added to my list of predicted species for the County list. In fact it's got to be one of the most expected has it not?

So what do we have to look forward to in these troubled uncertain times. Will Covid-19 (not Corvid as I call it every single day...) write spring 2020 off the calendar? Will we ever be allowed out of the house ever again? Maybe buying one of those new houses just North of Old Cemetery wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all!?! It just goes to show we should never take anything for granted ever again...

Well if we all stick to the guidelines maybe we will get through this as quickly as we can. God help us all if it carries on through the Summer and into Autumn... Lets all take our permitted walks daily and maybe one of us will get lucky with Cleveland's first Iberian Chiffchaff! A species that can turn up just about anywhere...

Oh and remember if a County Mega does turn up any time soon...anywhere is within walking distance if you set off early enough...(only joking of course...)!

Stay safe everyone and lets hope we all get together soon for the next Big one!

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

BBRC Announcements

If you follow The BBRC on Twitter you will have noticed that both the Dark-eyed Junco from Guisborough June 2017 and the Sooty Tern from Cowbar July 2019 have now been accepted (as expected) officially.

Well done to both of the finders of these Mega Rarities, both birds only seen by the sole finders!

If this Covid 19 Lockdown continues could someone else be lucky with a Garden Mega find?

So with these two birds accepted is there any other potential new birds for Cleveland on the Pending list?

Well a whole load of Ross's Geese have now been removed from the BBRC's Wip file! The previous file had various records down as Cat E, so some people believe that they have all been put down as escapes. With no official announcement we will just have to wait and see...

Regarding the BBRC Wip file, the latest version has the 2011 Red-breasted Goose as back in circulation! Some observers have always believed this bird to be acceptable, others not! If you remember this bird was first found on the coast below Hunt Cliff on 30th September. It quickly moved inland to Scaling Dam Res where it stayed put until 1st November and was last seen on the sea off Cowbar on 9th November. It them moved down into Yorkshire (Inland of Scarborough I think) and eventually teamed up with some Barnacle Geese and moved North West to the Solway!

The bird was not accepted as wild by BBRC from Cleveland and Yorkshire but was accepted as wild from the Solway! This is how I remember the story went but am willing to be proved wrong...

So could this bird now be accepted as wild after all or will BBRC look at it another way and put the Solway record into Cat E as it was from Cleveland and Yorkshire?

I personally believe Wildfowl should be given the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty. If they show no obvious signs of captivity then they should be accepted. A very difficult group of species to judge of course with so many held in collections throughout the UK and Europe. Every birder will have their own opinion on these birds but one thing we should all agree on is a level of consistency...

Lets watch this space and see how this develops...

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

One down Eighteen to go...again.


The last two days of May were quite frustrating for local birders. With the Covid 19 Lockdown restrictions relaxed to some extent, birding was back on the agenda! Could Spring 2020 be saved?

Saturday 30th started with a search for a possible Upland Sandpiper at Saltholme that was seen all to briefly the night before. Sunday 31st felt like May was going to slip away rather uneventful, then at 12.45 came some Jaw Dropping news...

Calandra Lark

Sometime just after 12 noon, Graeme Joynt and Tom Francis had a Calandra Lark fly right past them whilst sat at Greatham Creek! The bird was lost to view heading North and a search failed to relocate, so presumably it went straight through...

Just reward for two of Cleveland's most persistent, hard working and ever present in the field Birders! It just goes to prove if you put the hours in the rewards will come...

For the rest of us, well we were just left a little shell shocked! It really was over before it began. Calandra Lark does not have a habit of hanging about and this one stuck to the rule book! We all wish it had landed and so do the finders. To quote British Birds from the 2011 Rarity Report "This species is notorious for short stays and fly-over records, and has a predilection for islands." Says it all really...

With only about 20 British records this is still a major rarity and the mainland has not had one Twitchable bird to date! The very few that have stayed for any length of time have all being on Islands and you still had to be quick off the mark to connect with one!

So did Calandra feature on my list of predictions? Don't be daft...

Once accepted this will become the 382nd species for Cleveland.


Other Stuff

Subalpine Warbler

It has recently been announced that the I.O.C are to finally split Subalpine Warbler into two distinct species, Eastern and Western. I wont go into to much detail now but Cleveland has had at least two confirmed records of Eastern Subalpine Warbler but Western may not have occurred at all? A review may be in order but as "Subalpine Warbler" was dropped as a BB rarity in 2006 a whole load of records were not assessed and a review by BB would be a huge undertaking and they don't even have access to all the records. They have subsequently been assessing Eastern birds and more recently Western as well but the whole situation is a bit of a mess! At least we are not going to lose a species from the Cleveland total as like what happened with Siberian Stonechat!

Blyth's Reed Warbler

There is a very wide spread and larger than normal arrival of this species happening right now in Britain (and Europe I believe) with singing birds turning up in many east coast counties. With birds north, south and even west of us, never before has there been a better time to add this species to the county list...Get out into the field and get looking, you might get lucky and you might just bump into a Rose-coloured Starling too...


Cheers

Ian.

[Gary Sharples]

Outstanding prediction by Ian Foster in April 2019:

"Stejnegers Stonechat
Recently split from Siberian Stonechat and only DNA'd birds are currently acceptable but with Cleveland's excellent track record of Sibe Chats (11 records?) It must be a good contender. It appears this may be a fairly regular vagrant to Britain in late autumn. South Gare must be a good bet and hopefully one will be seen to have a crap on a fence post!"

Hopefully, will be confirmed with DNA. Well done to all involved in finding, photographing and collecting faecal samples. Would be great to have both Eastern Stonechats on the list within a few weeks.

Gary

P.S. The earlier predictions had lots of shrike possibilities in there but not the Masked. An amazing couple of weeks!

[Ian Foster]

Cheers Gary,

I also wrote this in March 2020! 

"Hopefully it won't be too long before we get another chance with Siberian Stonechat and this species should now be added to my list of predicted species for the County list. In fact it's got to be one of the most expected has it not?"

A full update will be forthcoming in a few weeks, we should have the results of the Stejneger's Poo by then. Lets hope it comes good!

Who knows what might happen in the meantime...

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Autumn 2020 update, as promised...Where to begin?

Thursday, 24th September 2020 I suppose...



Siberian Stonechat

Early afternoon, news filtered through that South Gare stalwart Nick Preston had found an "Eastern Stonechat" in the famous Elders!

This being Cleveland's first "Eastern" Stonechat since the recent split and its subsequent removal from the county list (much of what I have previously written about) it was going to be a popular bird and very quickly the counties keenest listers were on-site watching this great looking bird!

It very quickly became apparent we were watching a classic looking "Maurus" type and therefore a presumed Siberian Stonechat! The bird showed very well for the rest of the day and was enjoyed by many.

The following couple of days were extremely windy and it was no surprise that the Stonechat was nowhere to be seen, likewise when the wind calmed down somewhat, it was no surprise that Nick again re-found the bird in the Sueda area of the Gare.

On hearing this news, I immediately made a beeline for the Gare with the sole purpose of trying to collect a faecal sample for DNA analysis. A dropping was collected on Thursday but there was a small element of doubt as to whether it was from the Stonechat itself...

Joined by Martyn Sidwell we closely watched the bird feeding and we quickly established its favoured feeding area, a sheltered patch on the edge of the Sueda with an overhanging Bramble branch...It was soon seen to have a Poo (What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon...the joys of modern birding eh!?!) and Martyn made a run for it (I had not seen him move this fast since the day he thought Verrills Chippy was closing early...) and was successful in finding a fresh dropping right below its favoured perch! Bingo!

A 2nd sample was soon after collected from the top of a dead Thistle head, our work here was done!

The samples were duly sent off to Aberdeen University for analysis and we could do no more than hope the droppings contain some DNA. A couple of weeks went by and the results were in...

DNA had confirmed Nick Preston had found Cleveland's first confirmed record of Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus, as was suspected from the start! A very much deserved county first for Nick having put so much time and effort into finding so many rare birds at the Gare over the years!

I do believe this to be the first "Sibe Chat" to be found in Britain this year so should be accepted as the 18th national record.

Once accepted this will become the 383rd species for Cleveland.


So now Siberian Stonechat has regained its rightful place on the county list what would be next...well we didn't have to wait too long to find out!




Masked Shrike


Late September and early October was looking pretty classic for east coast birders!

More easterly winds and rain, a load of rain, overnight and into Saturday 3rd October had given birders high expectations...The only problem was, the rain might be so heavy no birds might be found!?! We needn't have worried...

Co. Durham birder (yes a cross county boundry poacher!) Stephen Addinall chose the scrub opposite Spion Kop Cemetery, Hartlepool as his starting point and at approximately 09.00 had found a Grey looking Shrike at the far Northern end! News was released as a Woodchat Shrike and local birders were soon on site. To be fair to Stephen he had only seen the bird briefly and did express some doubts about the bird to the first birders that joined him in trying to relocate it. He really wanted to see this bird again...

Sadly, other than a brief sighting when the Shrike flew south deeper into the scrub (Jungle more like...), the bird appeared to have gone missing...

Luckily Geoff Iceton, a cemetery scrub regular, continued to search and after a couple of hours he was fortunate in re-finding the bird! Now with more eyes looking and suspicions of the date and easterly winds, alarm bells began to ring! In fact they were going berserk! Along with Tom Francis, they confirmed Stephen was correct to doubt his initial identification, he had in fact just found Britain's fourth and more importantly Cleveland and Co. Durham's first ever Masked Shrike!!!

An outstanding discovery! I won't go into too much more detail other than the Shrike stayed put for a couple of days and was twitched by the masses!

The finders account is a great read and can be found on the Rare Bird Alert website https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/RealData/Articles.asp

A real Top Drawer find, totally unpredictable and surely to be remembered in years to come as one of the greatest birds ever to grace Cleveland and another exceptional bird for the Borough of Hartlepool...

Typical Cleveland, we get a Masked Shrike before the much more expected Isabelline or Brown...

Once accepted this will become the 384th species for Cleveland.


Well, two county firsts in just ten days and still a huge chunk of the Autumn to come...could we be on for a Hat Trick?




Mid October and yet again the wind had turned East!

Co. Durham scored BIG again, this time with Britain's fourth Taiga Flycatcher!!! Every East coast birder that could be out, was out in the field and South Gare in particular was on fire! With Short-toed Lark, Dusky Warbler, Great Grey Shrike and a Firecrest all present on Friday 16th, Saturday on the Gare was going to be busy...

Stejneger's Stonechat

Late morning, Saturday 17th October whilst chatting to Mike McGrory about what we had seen, he casually mentioned to Martyn Sidwell and myself that a few birders had seen a "pale" Stonechat near the Shrike Bushes...

We wasted no time in heading straight there and we were also joined by Colin Dodsworth. We arrived to find a small group looking over the reedbed but not looking particularly interested in anything and I was actually surprised to hear a Stonechat was actually present!

Within a minute the Stonechat appeared, and we were instantly struck by its pale appearance and face on showed a faint supercilium...it then flew and showed off its extensive pale, un-streaked rump and Martyn even noticed the dark underwing!

We now knew we were watching something good and due to the colour of the rump and darkish mantle, we spread the word of a probable Stejneger's stonechat!

For the second time in three weeks birders were making a dash to the Gare for a rare Stonechat! Luckily the bird performed for all to see and although not as confiding as the recent Siberian Stonechat it did show well at times and with some perseverance Jason Birch and myself managed to collect a couple of faecal samples! Not to be outdone of course Martyn Sidwell (The S**t Master General) also collected a sample the following day, so we were again in with a good chance of some DNA confirmation!

Once again, the samples were forwarded to Aberdeen University and after a couple of nervous weeks the results came back..."I come bearing good news. The Stonechat sample worked a treat and the results we got back show the bird to be a Stejneger's as was hoped". What a result!

Never have I been so relieved to have got an identification of a bird correct! The sample could so easily have not contained any DNA and it would have left this bird in limbo, but as it now stands it will sail onto the Cleveland list!

An incredible "Eastern Stonechat" Double Whammy for South Gare and for once I predicted it!!!

With only eight British records prior to 2020, Stejneger's Stonechat is a very rare bird indeed but as a relatively "new" species more records are sure to come. This Autumn has seen another five "Eastern" Stonechats thought to be this species and several more either/or's...

Once accepted this will become the 385th species for Cleveland.


What a whirlwind of a few weeks for local birders and what a great feeling to secure both Siberian and Stejneger's Stonechats to the county list! I can now stop having to write about them every time I update this thread...

As ever, please feel free to correct me on anything at all and please contribute anything you like regarding new birds to Cleveland...




Other Stuff


Scopoli's Shearwater?

Bit of an odd one this. From the 9th to 11th August a "Cory's" type Shearwater was present in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in fact two birds were present for a day or so...One of the birds was quickly flagged up as a potential Scopoli's Shearwater (only the third British record if accepted) and was seen by more than a fair few observers on its last day! So, what has this got to do with Cleveland? Well this particular bird was quite distinctive in having extensive white markings on its right wing due to feather loss. This is where it gets interesting...On 9th July a "Cory's" Shearwater was tracked heading north up the east coast passing various sites in Yorkshire and was picked up by regular "South side" sea-watchers Ian Boustead and Mark Rowbottom as it passed Cowbar. News was promptly put out as a Cory's Shearwater and Ian also very importantly reported it as having "Distinct pale patch on right upper wing"! This "Cory's" is now widely thought to be the very same bird as seen in the Firth of Forth.

Having no idea how the BBRC will treat a record like this, not sure if this kind of scenario has happened before in birding and also due to some debate as to whether the bird will be accepted as a Scopoli's due to difficulties with the finer points of its identification, I will for now leave this bird out of the totals for the county, but surely this must have been the same bird? If it does get accepted from Scotland will it be also accepted from Yorkshire and Cleveland? I have not a clue, however IF it does get accepted, I do know it will become one of Cleveland's most difficult (as in impossible birds to "grip back"...) A fine reward for all those hours the observers have put in, sometimes sat staring at empty sea's over the years...


Red-breasted Goose

I mentioned in a previous post that the Red-breasted Goose from 2011 was back in circulation with BBRC, well on the last BBRC work in progress file, it was unceremoniously dumped back into Cat E (for Escape...). It was not published as such in the latest BBRC report, in fact it wasn't mentioned at all, so I would guess its game over for this particular bird unless you saw it whilst it became "Wild" in south west Scotland later in its stay!


Ruddy Shelduck

Recent years has seen a growing frustration within the birding community of the treatment Ruddy Shelduck has been handed in regard the now almost expected summer upturn in numbers, especially on the east coast and Cleveland in particular. A pattern does appear to be forming of birds "over shooting" the moulting grounds in the Netherlands and reaching the UK. These birds are of course highly suspected to be from feral breeding populations and therefore could be countable as Cat C5 birds over here (Vagrant naturalized species – species from established naturalized populations abroad, e.g. possibly some Ruddy Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea). Quite ironic they use Ruddy Shelduck as an example...Some recent discussion can be found here https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=379234. On the back of this, a file has been forwarded to the BOURC and it's been said it will be looked at and the outcome should be known in 2022 when the BOURC is to publish a review of CAT C species...



BBRC Report - Some reading this will recently have received the BBRC report for 2019 published in British Birds magazine, for those that don't subscribe (well worth thinking about by the way...) or may not have read it too closely, there were a few hints within that could eventually affect the Cleveland list...

Little Shearwater

For a very long time now BBRC have had all records of "Little Shearwater" marked as back in circulation and under review due to taxonomic changes and difficulties with identification. Well, the latest report states "the long-delayed review of the complex formerly known as Little Shearwater will at last be under way by the time you read this"...

It will be interesting to see how this plays out! Could it be yet another species group that is deemed no longer identifiable in the field like the Zino's/Fea's/Desertas Petrel group? We'll probably have to wait a long time for the results to be published so for now, let's just enjoy having Little Shearwater on the county list and dream of seeing one...

Ross's Goose

Long thought to be overdue it's acceptance onto the British list, well it looks like a decision could be not too far off! Referring to files passed over to BOURC the BBRC report states "we are in the process of handing over a file of Ross's Goose Anser rossii records to BOURC with a view to finally getting that species admitted to Category A of the British list"! Positive words indeed...Cleveland has had one record of a potentially wild Ross's Goose, a bird seen to arrive with a skein of Pink-footed Geese on Back Saltholme on 5th October 2007. It didn't hang around too long and was seen to fly off south after a few hours or so...missed by quite a few county listers! Could our bird be getting added to the county list soon? Let's wait and see...

Subalpine Warblers (Oh God, not again I hear you say...)

I won't go into too much detail (as I have none) but BBRC have said "Coming soon will be a wholesale review of all Subalpine Warbler records in an attempt to apply uniform criteria to all past records and allocate as many as possible to species level". Well good luck to the team that get landed with that lot! With something in excess of 860 "Subalpine Warbler" records to go through that is going to be a massive task to undertake...


Just before I go...

I would like to dedicate this update to our friend and fellow county lister Keith Ryan who sadly passed away today. Keith and I often talked about rare birds in Cleveland and he understood more than any other the absolute Joy that it was to see a new bird for the county. Not just for the bird itself but also for the occasion and the pleasure that it brings to our community!

R.I.P Keith.