Cleveland's next new bird?

[Ian Foster]

Some great thoughts there Ian, and with the best part of the autumn to come then arguably the most likely time to add a species to the list is around now.
It is amazing some of the species thought likely in 99 that seem almost impossible now. Sardinian Warbler, River Warbler etc seemed like bankers then with birds turning up both north and south of us but now have taken a downturn in occurrrences.
I would add Sykes Warbler to that list, still rare I know but an increasing awareness of the subtleties of identifying this tricky hippo and our east coast location makes it a good bet in my mind.
Brown Shrike and Black-eared Wheatear are just wishful thinking by the way, no chance! You will have to go to the ends of the earth to see a Brown Shrike!
Amongst the waders I think anything is possible, as I said in 99,so I will go for Stilt Sand. JBD, Back Saltholme, ten minutes to dark.....
Years ago Chris Sharp used to arrange a sweep for the next addition to the list, £1 a go, winner takes all. Anyone fancy resurecting this? My last guesses were Great and Little Bustards and Snowy Owl! I hasten to add that this was because all of the bankers had gone.
One thing is for certain, there will be surprises that no one would predict. I bet Yellow-nosed Albatross was not widely predicted for Derbyshire or Lincolnshire! Someone once thanked me for finding the Short-billed Dowitcher as they had it on the sweep and made a killing and no one was betting on Long-billed at that time.
Cheers
Richard
ps How abouth the next being a new bird for Britain? Spoon-billed Sand anyone?!?!

What like Flamborough...not that far from the southern edge of Cleveland as the Shrike fly's

Cheers Ian.

[RCT]

Just to resurect this thread who the hell would have predicted a Pacific larid as the next new bird for Clevaland? Just goes to show....
Anyway I will restart the sweepstake if anyone is interested in doing so, £1 a go, winner takes all the money gathered up until the bird turns up. Your guess only counts on receipt of the money by me and the bird must be accepted by the relevant records committee (ie TBCRSC or BBRC), must be accepted onto category A and must be a full species according to BOURC. I will payout before acceptance if the record is without controversy but if there is any then it will await publication of the record, however it will go on the date the bird turns up, not date of acceptance. I will update peoples guesses here so that you can see what is taken. A decision on controversial issues will be made the next time we all meet up in McDonalds and my decision is final.
Any questions feel free to conact me.
Cheers
Richard
For the record my £1 goes on Iberian Chiffchaff.
ps you can guess more than 1 species if you want.

[Ian Foster]

A good idea to get the old sweep going again...My Pounds on Isabelline Shrike (if it aint already taken). A smart spring adult would do! I could be wrong but wasn't it Colin that alway's wins the sweep?

Cheers Ian.

[RCT]

I thought it was Sooty that always got Sweep 
Thats Isabelline Shrike now taken, wont go into races at this stage.
Cheers
Richard

[Jamie]

Hi,

stick me down for Audouin's Gull. I've still got a feeling we should get this in the near future. I'll pay up over the weekend assuming you dont get blown away....

Jamie

[RCT]

Sooner than might have been expected this particular sweep has been won by Chris Bell who predicted Whiskered Tern.
Well done to him and it can all start again if anyone is interested.

[Damian]

Looks like I was just a few miles out with Eastern Crowned Warbler !!!!


Damian

[Ian Foster]

A near miss Damian! Just shows what could actually turn up. Your prediction was remembered and talked about whilst we watched the Eastern Crowned Warbler on Friday 

Cheers Ian.

[Damian]

It's a shame I'm not as close with predicting lottery numbers !!!

[Ian Foster]

Hello Everyone,

Just thought i'd bring this thread up to date as since i first wrote this back in Aug 08' we have had (if i'm correct and please let me know if i'm mistaken) three new additions to the Cleveland list, including today's brilliant Black-throated Thrush!

Glaucous-winged Gull - Saltholme area 31-Dec-08 to 10-Jan-09 (Toby Collett)
Whiskered Tern - Saltholme Pools 26-Apr-09 (John Dunnett)
Black-throated Thrush - Hartlepool Headland 03-Apr-10 to ? (Chris Sharp)

Of these three Mega's i only predicted one of them, Whiskered Tern! I got the location correct but got the date wrong by a few days...Nobody could have predicted the G.W.Gull but what a bird it was and lastly today's rare Thrush, we had a very near miss recently with the Newholm, N.Yorks bird but this is still a very rare bird in the north east!

I think this takes the County list to 365 species.

Thanks go out to the finders of these birds and lets hope for a few more additions in the near future...

Cheers Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Hi Everyone,

With the recent update of the Cleveland Listers Life Lists (and surprised but happy to see i'm still in the top 20) I thought it was about time I did an update regarding new birds for Cleveland.

Since the last update on Black-throated Thrush day back in April 2010 another 5 new species for the county have been found...

White-throated Robin, Hartlepool June 2011 (C.Brown, T.Francis, M.Gee)
Sandhill Crane, Hartlepool Sept 2011 (R.Taylor and Co.)
Pallid harrier, Dorman's Pool, Oct 2011 (I.Forrest)
Orphean warbler, Hartlepool, May 2012 (C.Brown, T.Francis, G.Joynt) - BBRC accepted via Twitter
Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Hartlepool, Sept 2012 (T.Francis, R.Taylor, C.Bell, C.Dodsworth) - BBRC accepted via Twitter

Of these I only predicted Pallid Harrier! 2011 saw a major influx of this species into Britain with at least 29 birds accepted by BBRC! If we didn't get one in 2011 we were never going to get one and what a superb bird it was too!

Of the rest...

Who the hell could have predicted a White-throated Robin would spend 5 day's on the Headland? A true Mega of Mega's, this bird and the twitch that followed has now gone into British Birding Folklore.

The Sandhill Crane of Sept 11' tracked down the east coast from Northumberland (previously spending time in Aberdeenshire). Finding itself on the County list, a fair few Cleveland listers caught up with it as it passed slowly south but many more missed out (including me)! Another Un-predictable bird and not expected to occur again any time soon...

Just under a year since the White-throated Robin, Hartlepool came up trumps yet again with another drop everything and run Mega. This time an Orphean Warbler. Another incredibly rare bird and the first to be twitchable since 1981(?). This bird spent all day in the Bowling Green area but departed over night. Again nobody could have predicted this bird.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, a dream bird for any East Coast birder! Once thought to be nigh on impossible away from Fair isle (just like Lancey). The Jewish Cemy, Hartlepool (where else) was the chosen spot for this, the latest addition to the county list. Seen by only four lucky observers before disappearing into the mass of scrub never to be seen again. Three P.G.Tips were found on the east coast that day including another bird just up the road at Whitburn! Co.Durham including the Hartlepool bird has now racked up 4 records since the first in 2010 so with a bit of hard work (take the Fair Isle approach and walk the ditches and fields even though they appear birdless) and luck this is one species that may just give Cleveland birders a second chance!

So five years down the line and of the eight additions to the list I only predicted two of them! Just shows what a fantastic run of new rare birds we've been lucky to see (or not as the case may be) not to mention 2nd records of Long-billed Dowitcher and Bridled Tern...etc

Another species has been added to the County list in the form of Siberian Stonechat (split by the BOU in 2012). The first record of this former sub-species was way back in 1960. This along with the yet to be published new additions brings the county list total to 371 species. Please correct me if i'm wrong!

Autumn is upon us yet again and would anyone outside of Cleveland bat an eyelid at us getting a Blyth's Reed Warbler and Isabelline shrike this year?

P.s Almost forgot! Two-barred Crossbill...an influx of this species has occurred recently into Britain and unlike previous influxes they are not all on Shetland/Orkney. Five birds have been found at one site in South Yorkshire today, this must be the most likely new addition to the county list right now?

Cheers and Good luck

Ian.

[RCT]

Glad you have restarted this thread.
Doesn't seem to have generated as much interest as Curlew Sands on the Tidal Pool. Perhaps if one was a bit leggier and lacked a white rump.........
Still my top guess, and as the first flush of Transatlantic waders is just arriving, maybe soon.
Cant really look too far beyond Two-barred Crossbill at the moment due to one of the biggest influxes ever. If every bird club member spent the bank holiday weekend in larch woodland playing Two-barred Crossbill calls we'd be in!!!!
Personally I would prefer some terrifying skulking thing from way, way east on a misty October morning. Last years Pale Legged Leaf Warbler in Dorset pushed back the range of vagrants we can expect on our shores, and why not Cleveland? Still time for a hatrick from Browny!
And on the subject of second records, we must be due another Aquatic Warbler. SE wind this weekend.....

[RCT]

Obviously having a white rump is no bar to it being a Stilt Sand!

[Ian Foster]

With only a couple of weeks of the year to go I thought it would be a good time for an update.

Autumn 2013 looked like it was going to pass us by without any major Rare Bird action then Hartlepool kicked off in great style with a run of quality birds headed by another new bird for the county.

Western Bonelli's warbler

Found by Steve Clifton and Rich Stephenson on 13th October and luckily stayed in the Borough Hall/Croft area of the Headland till the 29th (?). It's long stay giving everyone the chance to add this species to their County lists.

A very rare bird in the North East (also new for Co.Durham) and very seldom as twitchable as this bird was. Watched by hundreds of visitors over it's long stay and very well documented with photo's, video and also heard to call frequently.

Predicted in my 2nd list of 10 candidates I'm glad to say!

Some of you reading this will of course remember this isn't the first time "Bonelli's" Warbler has graced the county list!

A bird trapped at Wilton Woods on 20th August 1972 was accepted as such by BBRC (British Birds Vol 66, page349). Two decades later and following a review by BBRC this bird was considered inadequately documented (British Birds Vol 86, page 521) and was removed from the county list in the 1992 Cleveland Bird Report.

Once accepted by the relevant committee's Western Bonelli's Warbler will bring the county list to 372 species (again please correct me if I'm wrong).

With 2013 about to come to an end the chance of another new bird this year seems slim but how about another Ivory Gull to end the year in style...

Cheers Ian.

[Damian]

Hi Ian,
I don't suppose it matters now but the bird at Wilton was not trapped.

Cheers
Damian