Cleveland's next new bird?

[Ian Foster]

2020 What a year eh!?!

As if Calandra Lark, Siberian Stonechat, Masked Shrike and Stejneger's Stonechat wasn't enough! 2020 wasn't ready to go quietly and just as the Autumn was coming to a rather abrupt end local birders were given one more shock...

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Mid-Morning on November 4th. Nick Preston and Keith Cowton were birding South Gare as usual, when Nick heard a Whimbrel calling and found the bird on the Redcar Bay side of the Gare. Obviously a very late date for a Whimbrel they watched it with some interest and after approximately 15minutes or so (?) the bird was seen to fly off strongly towards Redcar and it was seen to have a dark rump!!!

News was quickly spread via Twitter but with the bird already having flown, it didn't quite create the "drop everything and run" panic it deserved! Those that could quickly spread out and searched all likely habitat but the trail soon went cold...

The following hours/days saw a plethora of "Whimbrel" reports, the most interesting came from North Gare, with a bird present for an hour or so before flying off towards South Gare just prior to Nick and Keith finding the Hudsonian!!!

Hudsonian Whimbrel is a Mega of a bird to find in Britain with only 11 previous records! None from the east coast but interestingly there were reports of possible Hudsonian Whimbrel from Spurn, Yorkshire in July and Eyemouth, Borders in September of this year...could one bird have spent the summer and autumn somewhere on the east coast?

Don't bother to check the list to see if I predicted it...I did not!

Once accepted this will become the 386th species for Cleveland.


Well, that looks like that's it for 2020, not a bad haul considering! Let's see what 2021 has instore for us all?


Happy New Year!

Ian.

[Gary Sharples]

Re: 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...

Discovered this in an old Birding World.

Birding World
Volume 3 Number 8

Bird News August 1990

Ruddy Shelduck
An influx included a female on Stronsay (Orkney) and five flying over Staines Reservoir (Surrey) on 5th, two at Cley (Norfolk) on 23rd-31st, one at Snittisham Pits (Norfolk) on 26th, two at Dungeness (Kent) on 24th and two at Rutland Water (Leics). It seems likely that most originated with the apparently established population breeding ferally in the Netherlands – so they are presumably tickable as 'Category C vagrants'!

Clearly the late summer arrival of Ruddy Shelducks has been happening for decades. Now they are present throughout the year too. Definitely, time to revisit their status 30+ years on from this article.

[Ian Foster]

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Time for an update!

Since my late autumn 2020 update (reply # 74), BBRC have been quite busy and made a few decisions resulting in last autumns Siberian Stonechat, Masked Shrike, Stejneger's Stonechat and Hudsonian Whimbrel all being officially accepted and therefore added to the Cleveland Count list! Very well done to all the observers involved with these sightings.

We are however still waiting on decisions been made on the Calandra Lark and Scopoli's Shearwater from last year...

The Scopoli's Shearwater, if you remember, at the time, I did not include in the species totals. Not knowing how this sort of sighting was going to be treated as it was identified to species level at a later date further north and only presumed to be the same bird based on a white patch of feathers on one wing! Quite an unusual set of circumstances... However, this bird has now been accepted as Britain's 3rd Scopoli's based on the photographs taken in Lothian last August and has also now been accepted from Whitburn, Co.Durham on 21st July 2020 and from two sites in Norfolk on 15th August, on its way back south! On the back of these acceptances the sighting from Cowbar on July 9th 2020 has now been submitted to BBRC, so could very well be accepted also. I therefore will now add this species to the species totals pending acceptance.

With the previously mentioned acceptances, the county list now officially stands at 385, with the pending Calandra Lark and Scopoli's Shearwater the list could very well be 387!


So, that's the update on last year's birds put to bed, do we have anything new to report?

I was going to update this thread at the end of June but come the 1st day of July something potentially quite phenomenal happened!!!


Soft Plumaged Petrel

Sometime mid-morning on 1st July 2021 a Pterodroma Petrel species was seen to pass Flamborough Head in Yorkshire heading north. News was released as a "Fea's type Petrel" as is the norm. Observers just up the coast at Bempton and Filey looking for the fabulous Black-browed Albatross (I do hope everyone interested has paid this bird a visit, still present as I write this nonsense. It is truly magnificent!) failed to pick up the bird...however at 12.01 it was seen to pass Long Nab, Burniston, Scarborough. This is the trigger point that gets Birders further north heading for the coast...

Now, everyone has their own reasons, but on that day very few made the decision to get to Cowbar...Luckily though, at 13.55 Mark Rowbottom had made the right decision and very skilfully picked up the "Fea's type Petrel" passing north, or north west if you like into Cleveland from Old Nab, Staithes! What must have only been a minute or so later another four (?) Birders, namely Bert Mitchell, John Money, Ian Kendall and Ian Boustead connected with the bird passing Cowbar.  Congratulations to all observers present in making the right decision to head to the cliff top!

As expected, the handful of observers waiting at Hartlepool missed out yet again (bloody wind turbines?)... Equally as expected the bird was then seen passing Whitburn, Co. Durham and various sites in Northumberland!

These day's a "Fea's type Petrel" in the North Sea is not that unusual, Cleveland was even graced with one on 21st September 2014 passing Cowbar, an unforgettable experience for all concerned for various reasons...

One thing has changed though with passing sea birds...digital photography. As each year passes by, more and more birds, including sea birds are being photographed. In the not so far past, birds that were seen offshore were reported but very few were accepted due to the brief nature of the sighting. These day's birds are being photographed and more and more birds are now accepted. Who, twenty years ago would have believed a record of a White-chinned Petrel in Orkney, or a Giant Petrel species passing the Co.Durham (and presumably Cleveland) coastline?

Now back to the current bird, mid-evening of July 1st, photographs of the star bird started to appear on Twitter. Very soon, several birders started to have grave concerns over the identification of this Petrel. All the photographs taken from the first sighting in Yorkshire to the last in Northumberland appear to show characteristics consistent with Soft Plumaged Petrel, a new species for Britain and only the third for the Western Palearctic! Those birders that had seen the bird must have been totally mind blown as the story and identification unfolded...Phenomenal!

As it stands nobody has expressed any doubts about the identification, so it is expected to be accepted. An incredible record of a probably never to be repeated species!

Once accepted this will become the 388th species for Cleveland. (including the pending Calandra lark and Scopoli's Shearwater).


Other Stuff

Okay, I am not going to bore everyone with a Subalpine Warbler update as I have no idea what is going on with that species group...are they even identifiable in the hand?!?

One thing I do know though is that the BOURC are still in the process of reviewing the status of Ruddy Shelduck and have confirmed they are also reviewing records of Ross's Goose and White-headed Duck. Cleveland has of course recorded all three of these species in an apparent wild state, although Ruddy Shelduck is fully expected to be from the large feral population in the Netherlands of course...

If these species are added to the British list, or in the case of Ruddy Shelduck added to Cat C5 and the birds recorded in Cleveland are accepted we could see the Cleveland list increase by three species, so including the pending species detailed above the Cleveland County list could very well stand at a very respectable 391!

Anything else...

Marbled Teal

Nah...let's just not go there...

Autumn is just around the corner folks. No doubt we will be knee deep in Yellow-browed Warblers before we know it...with favourable weather, could this be the year we bag a BRW?


Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Calandra Lark Makes The List!

Anyone paying attention will have noticed that BBRC announced the acceptance of the Calandra Lark from May 2020 last week. Very well done to the finders, another species unlikely to be gripped back any time soon...

That only leaves us with the Scopoli's Shearwater outstanding from last year. With the 2020 BBRC report due to be published in just six weeks' time, maybe we will get some news soon?

Autumn is now upon us. let's hope for a Beast from the East!

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

I do very occasionally get a prediction right...

Brunnich's Guillemot

Saturday, 27th November saw Storm Arwen (The best named storm ever...fans of Lord Of The Rings will agree) hit the North Sea! Birding on the coast was interesting to say the least and was almost impossible, it was quite apparent Sunday 28th had great potential once the winds had eased.

Friday 26th had gave a hint of what might come when a Brunnich's Guillemot was found in Norfolk but sadly, true to form for this species, it soon died!

Sunday found all seven of Hartlepools most regular watchers in position early doors and were soon rewarded with a close in, fly by Brunnich's Guillemot! Very well done to Graeme Joynt for first calling the bird allowing Mr Dodsworth, Francis, Iceton, Regan, Sharp and Sidwell the chance to soak in the features as it passed by. Very well played all!

This was the first Brunnich's to be found in the North Sea that day and opened the floodgates to more reports from a multitude of sites ranging from North Yorkshire to all points north! Whitburn, Co.Durham scored an incredible three birds including two birds that were photographed! Maybe more birds passed Hartlepool that morning but attention had soon switched to looking for a White-billed Diver heading north from Flamborough...

Once accepted this will become the 389th species for Cleveland (Including pending Scopoli's Shearwater and Soft-plumaged Petrel). As ever please feel free to correct me on anything I have written (my typing is currently fueled by a tidy 6.6% IPA).

So, there we have it, yet another new bird for Cleveland seen on a Seawatch...


There is a saying within birding that there are two types of Birder. Those that do Gulls and those that don't. The same should now also be said of those that do and don't Seawatch. The last few years have seen records of Sooty Tern, Scopoli's Shearwater, Soft-plumaged Petrel and several "Fea's types" passing our short stretch of coast line, there has even been a possible sighting of an Albatross that was surely the regular North Sea Black Browed. The Sea is where it's at these days and as they say you have to be in it to win it! Those that put the effort in this year won big, very big!



Other Stuff

Again, very little has changed since my last update but the BOURC has very recently accepted Ross's Goose onto the British list. A bird from Lancashire first seen in December 1970 becomes the first record, taking a very chilled 51 years to be accepted! Hopefully the BBRC won't take so long to decide which of the other Ross's Geese are now acceptable and the Saltholme bird from October 2007 could very well be in with a chance.


As another year comes to a close, thought's shift to what is to come next. Could 2022 really be the year that the mythical beast that is Blyth's Reed Warbler finally falls? We'll see...

Happy New Year to everyone.

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

At Last, a bird to write about that most of us actually got to see!

Greater Sand Plover

On the evening of Thursday 25th August 2022 Paul Hinley struck Birding Gold. When checking the waders at Redcar he found Britain's 19th but more importantly Cleveland's first ever Greater Sand Plover! A legend of a find, I bet he didn't expect to be adding that to his Redcar and Cleveland year list!!!

What a Bird! What an absolute brilliant bird...You can only imagine what went through his mind when he clapped eyes on that?!? A stunning summer plumaged adult male showing incredibly well on the sea front.

Luckily there was a good hour of daylight left when the news was out and after a brief scare when the bird was flushed by a microlight, all local birders that made a dash for it enjoyed great views as the evening light dwindled away (rumour has it Jamie Duffie saw two Sand Plovers as he got a lift straight from the Pub six pints down)...Fortunately for those that did not make it the first night, and following a sleepless night (well it was for me at least...) the bird was still present the following morning giving crippling views by the Bandstand and was eventually visited by a huge number of birders from all over the country for the next week!

The very same bird had previously been seen at St Combs, Aberdeenshire on the 20th and 21st August, so did a very similar movement to that of the 1999 Short-billed Dowitcher! During its stay at Redcar, it often moved further along the beach and also graced the South Gare recording area on several occasions.

Last seen the following Thursday when it was reported to have been flushed by a plane and (up to now at least) hasn't been seen since...

What an absolute pleasure it was to watch this bird, it made a change to connect with a county first following a seemingly endless list of "finder only" birds, this being the first Twitchable "first" for nearly two years!

So, Cleveland has finally recorded a Sand Plover. A real top-class bird and as waders go, it's right up there with the very best of the Rares joining the likes of Long-toed Stint, Great Knot, Short-billed Dowitcher and Hudsonian Whimbrel...Cleveland has now recorded 57 species of wader and looking at my list of predictions, I still think we are in with a very good chance of adding Lesser Sand Plover (coincidentally one of these was found in Kent on our Greater Sand Plover's final day), Stilt Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint and Collared Pratincole...in reality almost any species of wader on the British list could well make it onto the county list.  It was also very pleasing to have Greater Sand Plover on my prediction list!

Once accepted this will become the 390th species for Cleveland (including the still pending Scopoli's Shearwater, Soft-plumaged Petrel and Brunnich's Guillemot). Please correct me if I am wrong.

Other Stuff

Not a great deal to report on to be honest. The BBRC and to a lesser extent BOURC have gone more than a little quiet recently so we are still waiting on the outcome of the Scopoli's Shearwater, Soft-plumaged Petrel and Brunnich's Guillemot records as previously mentioned.

The "Little Shearwater" review didn't get off the ground as quickly as expected so all of Cleveland's records are now officially back "in circulation". Also, the reviews of White-headed Duck and Ruddy Shelduck have not been finalised/published as of yet, nor has the list of acceptable Ross's Goose...

One thing of interest though, on the latest BBRC work in progress file, a record of a Brunnich's Guillemot from South Gare on the same day as the Hartlepool bird was listed as in circulation, from what I gather this bird is believed to be different from the Hartlepool bird based on plumage and was also seen a little earlier, so if accepted this will become the first for the county leaving the Hartlepool bird as the second. With the BBRC report for 2021 due out in just over a month, it could very well make for interesting reading...


Right, I think I have waffled on enough, Autumn is yet again upon us so time for a new prediction. Normally I would hope for the enigma that is Blyth's Reed Warbler but forget that, I am going with Eastern Yellow Wagtail, a species that for some reason I missed off the last prediction list but with roughly 30 British records, mostly recorded in the last decade I think this "new" species could very well be found in Cleveland this year. That patch of beach on Hartlepool Headland where the Bluetail was a few year back is my bet.

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

A Little Bit Of History Repeating...

Collared Pratincole

On Wednesday 12th October a Pratincole was seen and photographed at Cresswell, Northumberland. It was seen for only 20 seconds or so! Fortunately, there looks to be just enough detail in the photographs to identify the bird as a Collared. So, what has this got to do with Cleveland? Well, nothing at this stage other than if you cast your mind back eight years when we got our first Pratincole, the famous short staying Black-winged Pratincole, that bird had also been seen at Hauxley, Northumberland just the day before...could history be about to repeat itself? It certainly crossed the minds of several birders I spoke to the next day...

Thursday 13th October there was a larger number of birders and photographers at Saltholme than normal due to the continued presence of Cleveland's 4th Lesser Yellowlegs. At 14.55 a Tweet went out by @WildFozzy, "COLLARED PRATINCOLE self found. Back Saltholme from Hide". This was more than enough to trigger mass panic and the race was on to get to Saltholme! Frantic phone calls were made and within ten to fifteen minutes or so the Saltholme Pools hide was starting to get busy.

Out of breath birders arrived to the news that the bird having last been seen on a muddy spit, was now lost in the long grass and since it was last seen "everything had been up a couple of times"...The finder was adamant that the best chance to see it, was if it flew back in as it had done three times previous and he wasn't wrong! At approx. 15.25 the shout went up as the bird was seen to fly in from the direction of Saltholme West, viewing was difficult as it headed straight for the back, western edge of Back Saltholme, looking into the sun and was steadily heading away, it looked to bank back round, it was hoped it was going to head back towards the hide, but it soon turned again and rapidly headed off south.

Those in the hide could not believe what was happening as it did the exact same thing the Black-winged Pratincole of 2014 did, it headed straight off south and disappeared as a dot over Middlesbrough.

A great find by "WildFozzy", he saw the bird well including seeing the Chestnut Red underwing and also managed to get a few photo's. Clearly this was the same bird seen the previous day in Northumberland and also a Pratincole species, "most probably Collared" was seen in Lincolnshire the following day and at a 2nd site in Lincolnshire on 18th. On the 20th what is strongly believed to be the same bird was found once more, at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire! A bird on the move...

Once accepted this will become the 391st species for Cleveland (including the still pending Scopoli's Shearwater and Soft-plumaged Petrel). Please correct me if I am wrong.

Another new wader for Cleveland, the 58th species recorded in our small county, just 50 days since the Greater Sand Plover was found! Nice to knock another predicted species off the list (subject to acceptance of course), and I even predicted the location! I really would like to know though, why Pratincole's appear to not like Saltholme?!? The Black-winged Pratincole was only present for about 35 minutes and the Collared was only on site for maybe an hour or so, with only approx 27 minutes from the news getting out to its departure!

If we are ever graced with another Pratincole, my only advice is to get there as fast as you possibly can!


In Other News

Brunnich's Guillemot Makes the Grade!

With the recent publication of the British Birds, Report on Rare Birds in Great Britain 2021 we have finally found out that the Hartlepool Brunnich's Guillemot of 2021 has been accepted. So has the bird seen passing South Gare prior to the Hartlepool sighting!

Congratulations to Graeme Joynt and Nick Preston, the finders of this bird! I say "this bird" as BBRC have accepted them as one and the same, even though they were described as being in a different plumage stage at the time!?!

Three birds were also accepted from Whitburn, Co.Durham that day, these are also linked to the Cleveland sightings, as it is presumed that the Cleveland bird is one of the three Whitburn birds and also seen at several sites in Northumberland! A game changer maybe with this difficult to clinch species? The Cleveland bird/birds are the very first non-photographed flyby Brunnich's to be accepted by BBRC! This gives some hope to those that missed out on this great opportunity...

Other Stuff

The BBRC report for 2021 gave a few clues to what is happening regarding birds seen in Cleveland.

Firstly, the identification of the 2021 Soft-plumaged petrel has been accepted by BBRC and is now in the hands of the BOURC. We still don't know of course if the sighting from Cowbar has been accepted. You would like to think the full details will not take too long to be announced, if the identification is agreed to be sound, then the provenance is a no brainer...

Little Shearwater - The review is said to be "near completion". An eagerly awaited review, that could potentially see the removal of a species from the county list? It will certainly make for a very interesting read once published and could be a timely reminder that modern day taxonomic change does not always result in more "Ticks". That said we don't know what the criteria is for a "Little Shearwater" to be accepted so there is still hope yet!

Scopoli's Shearwater - The report from Cowbar in 2020 has still not been accepted, nor deemed not proven (rejected is the commonly used term). It's gone suspiciously quiet regarding this sighting and the original sighting from Yorkshire. Make of that what you will...

Ross's Goose - A full review of all records is now underway. The criteria set for acceptance looks to be "For a bird to be considered as apparently wild, it should arrive at an appropriate time of year in the company of other Arctic-breeding geese, have a full set of wing feathers, be unringed, and depart with other geese in the spring". Also, the BOURC decided "that being an adult is not a bar to acceptance for newly discovered individuals", Well, having read that, our bird from October 2007 should fit the bill no problem. Another eagerly awaited decision.

Think that about covers things for now?

Can we expect anything new in the near future? Autumn is sadly soon to be coming to a close, we still have time for a surprise or two though. November often delivers a biggie...maybe a Blyth's Pipit on the Power Station Field? Too dull? Ok, lets go for an Alpine Accentor at Seaton Snook!

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

A Spring Update

BBRC Has Spoken...On April 6th the BBRC published an up-to-date Work In Progress file ( https://www.bbrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/WEB-WIP-6-4-23.xlsx ). A much-anticipated update. It certainly made for interesting reading regarding the Cleveland list, with potentially four new additions included within the file!

Scopoli's Shearwater - Accepted

Finally, a decision has been made on the Scopoli's Shearwater seen passing Cowbar on 9th July 2020. Only the third British record. Unusual circumstances maybe, but an incredible record nonetheless! One species we won't be getting back any time soon I would wager...

Soft-plumaged Petrel - Identification accepted by BBRC

Another Monster Rare Seabird! The identification of the bird seen passing Cowbar (That place again...) from 1st July 2021 has now been accepted by BBRC. Of course, as it's potentially the first ever sighting of this species in Britain, this bird is now in the hands of the BOURC to make the decision whether to add this species to the British list or not, but let's face it, it is going to make the grade! As with the Scopoli's Shearwater, I would think this was a once in a lifetime sighting!

Collared Pratincole - Accepted

The ever so brief Collared Pratincole from Saltholme on 13th October 2022 has now been officially accepted. The third Pratincole to be seen in Cleveland. However, this Collared and the two sightings of Black-winged in 2014 and 2015 were seen by relatively few observers, so a repeat of either species is eagerly anticipated...




Very well done to all the finders of these birds. The stories of the findings of all three and the aftermath will become the stuff of legend...until a second one of either appears. Very much likely I would say in the case of the Collared Pratincole.

So, that's three down but a fourth was mentioned...

Oriental Turtle Dove?

On 19th November 2022 (Not 15th October as is dated on the BBRC WIP file!?!), a report of a Turtle Dove seen at South Gare filtered through...A "still" from a video taken of the bird was shared on twitter by the finder (Twitter name SCANNERMAN @bobhogrunner). Several of us, hearing the report made a beeline for the Gare. The date alone, a very late date for a Turtle Dove set off the alarm bells as Oriental might be more "expected" this late in the autumn, also the photo appeared to show a dark, chunky looking "Turtle Dove"! We all (and when I say all, I mean maybe five or six of us) arrived to the news that the bird was seen on the wires near the old life boat station but had soon flown off in the direction of the Cabin Rocks/Quarry. A thorough search failed to re-locate the bird and it was presumed it had flown right through and left the area. There were no further sightings of this bird.

The images supplied, although not pin sharp, were sufficient to cast some doubt on the true identification of this bird and as it has been forwarded to the BBRC, the initial observer presumably agrees with the doubt over the identification? Another decision we will await with interest.

With the addition of Scopoli's Shearwater and Collared Pratincole the Cleveland list now officially stands at 390, with the BOURC pending Soft-plumaged Petrel the list could very well be a respectable 391!

Other Stuff

The findings of what seems like the forever ongoing reviews of "Little Shearwater" and Ross's Goose have yet to be finalized/published. The recent BBRC WIP file and an article on the acceptance of Ross's Goose to the British list published in British Birds journal failed to give any clues to the outcome regarding the Cleveland records of both species.

With the count down to the magic 400 now underway, what could be next? My money's on Iberian Chiffchaff...Not exciting enough? Well, how about a Rock Thrush on Cabin Rocks, South Gare? The stuff of dreams...

As always, please feel free to comment or correct!

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

A Quick Summer Update

Spring 2023 was quite a cracker with some fabulous birds being found in Cleveland but sadly nothing new for the list, however there has been some news to relay...

Just three months since the last update the BBRC has recently published another Wip file! https://www.bbrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Web-WIP-4-Jul-23.xls    No birds on the file we don't already know about but a couple of decisions have been made.

Greater Sand Plover - Accepted

As expected, and to be honest on my last update I had forgot this bird hadn't actually been officially accepted!

Oriental Turtle Dove - Not Proven

Sadly, this bird was deemed as "Not Proven" and that's fair enough I suppose...still think this may be a case of the one that got away, just a shame it didn't hang about...

So that's just about everything accepted or not. We are just waiting on the BOURC to officially add Soft-plumaged Petrel to the British List and the results of the long-awaited Little Shearwater and Ross's Goose reviews of course...

Autumn is just about here now and with Birders attention recently drifting towards flying insects and err flowers...maybe we could do with something to give us all a lift? A possible Red-necked Stint was reported from Northumberland just a few days ago. One of those would do just fine!

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Booby Mayhem!

Where to begin with this one...

Brown Booby

Sunday 3rd September a Brown Booby was found off Flamborough Head in Yorkshire but soon disappeared. An incredible record. Next day it was seen again at Filey Brigg before being relocated at close by Humanby Gap. All good for anyone wanting to add this Mega rare seabird to their British or Yorkshire list.

On its third day the bird was still present in Yorkshire, but by midday had gone missing...Now this is where it starts to get a lot more interesting, at 16.20 a report came through that the Brown Booby had been seen off Sandsend and Whitby, just a short eight miles or so from the Cleveland County boundary! A few of us made for the coast in the vain hope the bird would continue north but hopes were soon dashed as the Booby was seen to pass back south past Filey Brigg and ended up again at Humanby Gap.

Next morning however the Booby was again heading north and was seen to pass Long Nab, Burniston, Scarborough! As I have mentioned before, this is the trigger point for birders further north to get in position...

Martyn Sidwell and Nick Preston were quick enough to get themselves to Cowbar (where else) and were very soon rewarded with very close views of the Brown Booby circling with Gulls off Cowbar Nab before continuing off north very close inshore at 08.45! A very well deserved find for two birders who are out in the field pretty much daily, putting the effort in! You really do make your own luck in this game!

Others further up the coast were now on standby and expectations were high...however as time slipped by, those at Marske and Redcar started to realise it had surely passed them by and at 09.51 this was confirmed. The Brown Booby was seen to pass Hartlepool Headland and had been seen by about 10 observers. Well done to Graeme Joynt (who was first to pick it up heading north) and Co. for intercepting this Monster rare seabird on the move!

Those that missed this bird were left questioning the choices they made this morning and as further reports came through of the bird being tracked up the East coast past Co. Durham and onto Northumberland, it appeared this was a massive miss that will take some getting back and some getting over...

Now for the greatest re-location of any bird in Cleveland Birding History!

Sorry for going on a bit but this is a story worth telling...early afternoon, things started to get a bit complicated. All of the reports of the Booby north of Hartlepool were reported to be unconfirmed? To quote Birdguides "some observers have expressed doubt about sightings north of Hartlepool Headland". Ok so some observers have some doubts, well this happens a lot in birding, we're a funny bunch. A report then came through from Souter Lighthouse, Whitburn, Co.Durham at 12.49 that the bird had passed by at 12.15...quite odd as it had already been reported further north than this. Almost simultaneously a report came through that the Booby had been seen on the water off Paddy's Hole, South Gare before flying off towards Seaton Snook!!! What the hell was going on?!?

This was all very confusing and let's be honest, it all sounded too good to be true! Could the Brown Booby be actually in the river mouth off South Gare? Again a few of us not taking any risks made a dash for South Gare and Seaton Snook. Incredibly after maybe 20 minutes, there we all were, in a state of utter euphoria watching an Adult Brown Booby flying around the river mouth! We were all absolutely mind blown by the experience and there were a lot of very happy and quite astonished Birders on both sides of the river that afternoon. A day to remember!

We all have to thank Alan Wheeldon and Tim Burton for the re-find of this bird and putting the news out. They have made Birding History!

The Brown Booby has now settled in on Teesmouth and was still present today and is showing incredibly well on the old Pilot Pier as I write! If you are reading this and have not been to see it, well do yourself a favour and please get yourself to South Gare! This is a mind-boggling bird to see with such ease!

Blimey, what a bird! Only first seen in Britain in 2019 and now with maybe 12 records, we are sure to see more sightings from around our coast lines...Red-footed Booby has now also been seen twice in Britain including a bird still present in Isle Of Scilly waters that was also joined by a Brown Booby on one of its days. Anyone want to predict when one of those will make it up the east coast? Strange things are happening at sea!

Once accepted, this will become the 392nd species for Cleveland (including the still to be BOURC accepted Soft-plumaged Petrel).

Really sorry for dragging this update out, but this bird and the circumstances around the finding are the stuff of legend!

As usual, please feel free to comment and correct anything I have written.



Other Stuff

White-headed Duck

Just yesterday the BOURC announced the results of the long-awaited review of this species. Sadly, for anyone wanting to add this species to their British and Cleveland list, they have decided to retain the species in Category D (D for Doomed?)...Not a particular popular decision with a lot of birders, that have long believed this species deserved a place on the British List.

The BOURC have stated the species is "a likely vagrant" and "British records were likely a mixture of wild and escaped captive birds". Yet they couldn't decided on which individual should be treated as the 1st wild bird, so it's been left in limbo until another review is to be undertaken, if ever...seems a very strange decision as other species that are widely held in captivity have gained acceptance to the list including the likes of Hooded Merganser, Baikal Teal and Ross's Goose to name just a few.

https://bou.org.uk/british-list/changes-to-the-british-list-15-sept-2023/

So sadly, that appears to be the last chance for our White-headed Duck. A great bird all the same!

Ok, so that's all for now. Here we are in mid-September already! Could the next couple of month see another addition to the Cleveland List? Let's hope so... I'll go with Brown Shrike on Seaton Common, first week of October, found whilst looking for the fabled BRW... 


Cheers

Ian

[Ian Foster]

So maybe 2017 wasn't so bad after all!?!

Back on 31st December 2017 I stated that year was the 1st blank year for new birds for Cleveland for a long, long time (I never actually went back and checked when that was in fact...)

Well it appears I was incorrect!

Dark Eyed Junco

On 9th January this year a Lady called Nicky Johnson posted 3 photo's of a Dark-eyed Junco she had taken in her garden in Yorkshire "a couple of years ago" on Twitter.

Instantly Yorkshire birder Mark Thomas asked for the location and she responded "it was in Guisborough"!!!

This record suddenly became a lot more interesting...

Further details have been forthcoming and it is now known the Junco was present in her garden in the Hunters Hill area of Guisborough for several hours on one date only in June 2017!

As one local birder (MRKA) is a near neighbour of Nicky Johnson we now also know the Bird Table the Junco visited is viewable from the road (OUCH)...

So there we have it a new bird for Cleveland identified retrospectively from photo's. It was bound to happen one day and again we have the use of Twitter to thank. Without the ease of digital photography and social media this fantastic record could very easily have been left undiscovered on the finders memory card!

Dark-eyed Junco is an exceptionally rare bird in Britain with just 46 records to the end of 2017 (including this bird). A large number of records coming from Gardens, in fact the comment for this species in the last BBRC report starts with "If you wanted to find a rarity at your garden feeder, Dark-eyed Junco might be high on your wish list".

It's interesting to note 4 birds are already accepted for Spring 2017 with birds seen in Borders, Hampshire, Meirionnydd (where?) and Pembrokeshire.

Once accepted and I personally can't think of any reason it won't be, this will become the 380th bird for Cleveland.

The Hooded Merganser of May 2018 (again when/if accepted) will take the Cleveland total to 381.


One thing to be learnt from this record is if you ever get told by anyone they have a funny bird in their garden it might be just worth a quick visit...


Well that's enough of the past, let's look to the future...2019 surely has to be the year we get Iberian Chiffchaff (spring) and Blyth's Reed Warbler (autumn) hasn't it?

Cheers

Ian

Who would have thought back in 2019 when I wrote this we would get a 2nd chance to add this species to our county lists! Incredible...

[Ian Foster]

Soft-plumaged Petrel added to the Cleveland list!

The BOURC have finally made a decision on the record of Soft-plumaged Petrel tracked up the North East coast on 1st July 2021. Adding the species to the British list. The bird has been accepted from Old Nab heading into Cleveland and Cowbar, so is now also officially added to the Cleveland list. Congratulations to the five observers that connected with this bird in our small recording area.

The Cleveland list now stands at 392 species with only the decision on the October 2007 Ross's Goose awaited. We should hopefully have an answer on this bird soon, with the publication of the 2023 BBRC report due this October (Edit - Publication now delayed until December 2024). The review of Ruddy Shelduck seems to have stalled so lets put that to the back of our minds for now.

Well, only another seven or eight species needed to reach the magic 400 for Cleveland, or maybe not?

The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) have recently announced the lumping of Lesser Redpoll, Common (Mealy) Redpoll and Arctic Redpoll into one species "Redpoll". The BOU follow their taxonomy so in due course, and once it's officially announced we will lose two species from the Cleveland list! It's also rumoured that Hooded Crow and Hudsonian Whimbrel could go the same way! The recent trend for splitting has now been turned on it's head and it looks like we could be in for another period of taxonomic uncertainty! What else could we lose? Green-winged Teal maybe? Interesting times ahead...a case of one step forward and two steps back maybe?

What's Next?

Here we are at the start of another autumn. What could be in store for us in the next few months? Could the LBJ that is BRW finally fall? I'm sure I say this every autumn (and spring), how about another new Wader for the list? Hudsonian Godwit has just been recorded in Cheshire, we get our fair share of Godwits so maybe we will be next in line for this wandering bird, presuming it's the same individual that has been seen in Fife and Shetland in recent years? How about a Western Sandpiper or Greater Yellowlegs, both species have been recorded in the Netherlands in the last few days. We could aim even bigger and hope the recent Dutch Red-wattled Plover gets relocated on Cowpen Marsh!

Either way, hope to see you all at the next BIG one.

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Some you win...some you lose...

Ross's Goose added to the Cleveland List

Following the BOURC decision to add Ross's Goose to the British List in 2022, it seems like it's taken an age for the results of the BBRC review of all British records to be finalised and made public. The BBRC report for 2023 has just been published in British Birds and a full list of all 18 accepted records have now been listed.

The bird found at Saltholme on 5th October 2007 by Martin Blick has now been accepted as the nineth British record. This bird had previously been seen in Northumberland from 20th to 30th September before dropping in on us for a tantalising few hours on 5th October before being re-found in Norfolk the very next day, where it stayed until 9th January 2008 before moving to Lancashire (possibly via Yorkshire) on 31st January and last seen there on 4th May, presumably then heading off with the Pink-footed Geese it associated with to Iceland?

For those that made the effort to see this bird, it has always felt that it had good credentials. A view also shared by the BBRC. There were a fair few winners who made the right decision that day, but some Birders didn't make a move and will now be eagerly awaiting another record. I have always said it's best to just go and see a bird and worry about it's origins later, especially when a County first is at stake!

This bird has now taken the official Cleveland list to 391 species (see below for an explanation). Please correct me if I am wrong!

Losers

Well, in my last update I talked about the proposed lumping of the three Redpoll species to just Redpoll. Although this decision has not officially been published by BOURC as far as I am aware, although a report is due soon I believe, it appears to be universally accepted that this is the case so I have amended the County total to reflect this and also fall in line with other threads regarding the Cleveland list/statistics.

I am now also hearing rumours that Siberian and Amur (the Stonechat formally known as Stejneger's) Stonechat is to be lumped. I for one will not be too happy with this decision, one because I don't feel the science/ DNA supports such a theory but also because I have spent way too much time thinking, twitching and writing about this species pair over the years for them not to be classed as separate species! Also what about the amount of time Martyn Sidwell has spent over the years searching for Stonechat Sh**e!!! Was it all in vain...time will tell!

Other Stuff

For once I don't think we are waiting for a decision on anything other than the long awaited and now possibly forgotten Ruddy Shelduck review?

We could very well be in for a period of taxonomic uncertainty. So I suggest we all get out in the field as much as possible and try to dig out a County First. The superb Grey-headed Lapwing that graced Northumberland and elsewhere from May 2023 has just made a very surprising return, presuming it's the same bird that is. Maybe, just maybe it might move south and give us all a great end to 2024 or set 2025 off to a flying start...

Cheers

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Blankety Blank, Blankety Blank, Blankety Blank!

Time for a quick update, although sadly not a great deal to update on!

With the year end looming ever closer, it looks like 2025 is going to be a blank year for additions to the county list. Prior to last year, also a blank for additions, the last blank was way back in 2006, so we have had a great run...

So what is there to update on regarding potential additions to the list?

Western Subalpine Warbler

Some of you may recall there is a old record of a female "Subalpine Warbler" trapped at Lovell Hill, Wilton way back on 28th May 1978. The written description details the tail pattern and it was also heard to call. These point towards the bird possibly being a Western Subalpine Warbler. It was known that photographs were taken, but until recently these had not been found. The photo's have now been unearthed and have been forwarded to the Teesmouth Bird Club Records Committee. Surprisingly the photo's actually depict a male bird and also back up the evidence that it could very well be a Western!

The record has now been resubmitted to BBRC as a Western Subalpine Warbler. However the BBRC are due to carry out a full review of all past "Subalpine Warblers" and considering there are currently c800 records in the either/or category it could sadly be a very, very long time before a decision is forthcoming. We will just have to wait and see. For that reason, I am not going to add it as a pending species on the list.

Anything else?

The BOURC has just published it's 58th report  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.70009 . As previously mentioned up thread, the lumping of Teal/Green-winged Teal, Carrion Crow/Hooded Crow and Siberian Stonechat/ Amur Stonechat has now been officially announced, that is three species off the Cleveland list! The total as it now stands is 388 species. Hopefully this will be the end of the "lumping" for a while, I have not heard any rumours of anything else we are to lose for now at least...

Ruddy Shelduck (Oh God, here he goes again...)

In the above attached BOURC report, under the Files Under Consideration heading, Ruddy Shelduck is listed as "Eligibility for Category C5.2 is being considered". Maybe the chance of Ruddy Shelduck being added to the county list is not yet dead and buried?

So, that's it for now, 2025 has been quite a slow year for birding locally, in my opinion. Lets hope 2026 gets us back on track to the magic 400!

Merry Xmas Everybody (It's Christmas!!!)

See you at the next Big one!

Ian.

[Ian Foster]

Too Little, too late...

Little Crake - Coatham Marsh 13-04-2026

I ended my last post with "See you at the Big one"...Well unfortunately the next "Big" one was a "Little" one and more unfortunately by the time the news became public the chance of a big gathering had long, long gone.

On the morning of Monday 20th April Gordon Douglas (gdougydouglas.bsky.social) posted on BlueSky "Brian Douglas saw this bird at Coatham Marsh on 13/04/2026. We believe it is a Little Crake. Confirmation or identification would be appreciated". The text was accompanied by a heavily cropped, yet excellent photo of an Adult female Little Crake! Unfortunately with the news being a week old, the news of this bird generated little interest and although a few us searched the more likely looking area's of Coatham Marsh that afternoon and the following days, there was no sign or sound of the bird. More information did come forth and it was established that six photo's were taken of the bird on "Long Lake" but again a search sadly resulted in a no show...

Little Crake is a very rare bird in Britain with just 108 records to the end of 2025. However the stats give a misleading impression of how rare this species is with  only 49 of these records having occurred since 1950. The vast majority of records are from southern Britain and to give an idea of how rare this species is in the North East, there has only been one modern day record for Yorkshire, a one day bird in 2019 and no records for either Co.Durham or Northumberland!

I have often thought we might get a record of Little Crake and it was in my list of "Other Species considered", but considering how rare this species is and how difficult they can be to observe, I feel there are far more species more likely to be found...this makes the record even more astonishing and has left some of us pondering what could have been and how great it would have been to be fortunate enough to stumble upon such a bird!

An incredible record of a very rare and hard to connect with species! Very well done to the observer... Once accepted (presuming more detail will be forthcoming for a submission to the BBRC) this will become the 389th species for Cleveland. Please correct me if I am wrong!

So there we have it, the first new bird for Cleveland since the 2023 Brown Booby. I feel Spring 2026 has been a little on the slow side so far...Have we already had and missed Bird Of The Year? Anyone want to predict what will be next? Iberian Chiffchaff maybe? As I write Co. Durham's second is still present at Hardwick Hall Country Park just a mere 10 miles from the Cleveland boundary! Surely we are going to land one some time soon...

Cheers

Ian.