Teesmouth Bird Club

CLEVELAND'S NEXT NEW BIRD?

In the Spring 99' TBC newsletter (No.13) Richard Taylor wrote an article predicting Cleveland's next new bird and listed about 20 or so species as likely candidates. Of these he so far been correct with 5 species Desert Wheatear, Melodious Warbler, Lesser Yellowlegs, Cetti's Warbler and Long Billed Dowitcher.  Other species that have occurred since Spring 1999 that Richard did not predict are Short Billed Dowitcher, Pallid Swift, Red Flanked Bluetail, Caspian Gull and Wilson's Petrel.

10 years is a long time in birding and things have changed, some species we once thought were almost certain to occur have now gone on to be very rare visitors to Britain for e.g River Warbler and Sardinian warbler whilst others are on the increase like Red Flanked Bluetail and Blyth's Reed Warbler...

What I'm trying to do now is take a fresh look at what we could hope for in the near future taking into account the changes in vagrancy patterns that have occurred since Richard produced his list and in ten years time if I've been correct with 25% of my predictions I'll be a happy man!

Below is my top 10 predictions and the reasons why, some of these are so obvious they were also predicted by Richard and no doubt in ten years time we will still be waiting for them to occur...I've also listed a further 10 candidates.

FEA'S PETREL

One of RCT's predicted species. Each year see's several records of "presumed" Fea's Petrel and although most are from West facing headlands and mostly Irish the English east coast still continues to score this highly prized seabird. Norfolk, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland have all had several records each so Hartlepool with it's superb track record must one day hit the jackpot...or will they continue to cut across the Tees Bay and be just out of reach?

PALLID HARRIER

The last decade or so has seen a huge change of status for this species. Prior to 1993 there were only three British records but by the end of 2007 the British total stands at around 25! Birds have been seen in several east coast counties and one even over wintered in Norfolk. With several Yorkshire records and a recent claim from Durham, Cleveland could well be next. Seaton Common mid September would be my guess.

RED NECKED STINT

Although there has been a recent(ish) claim of this species in Cleveland I'm led to believe it's not been accepted on a National level so will not be added to the county list (if I'm wrong and I hope I am I can only apologise for including this species here). It's difficult to predict the next new wader for Cleveland and with only about 10 British records this is still a very rare bird indeed but with it's eastern origins and records from other east coast counties Cleveland with it's Superb Wader habitat and Watchers it's got to be a good bet. A nice Adult in August/September on Back Saltholme maybe?

GREATER SANDPLOVER

Again along with Red Necked Stint still a very rare bird in Britain but with several east coast records and it's eastern origin a good candidate.  Early Autumn or even a Winter record from Seaton Snook or Seal Sands?

LESSER SANDPLOVER

Obviously the rarer cousin of the above species but considering more Lesser's have occurred in the last decade than Greater's and Cleveland ability to produce the unexpected it would be quite typical for us to have one of these first...

WHISKERED TERN

It's hard to believe the North Tees Marshes have never been graced with a Whiskered Tern. Spring 2008 saw another influx of the species into Britain with records in Counties to the South, West and North of us! It must surely be only a matter of time, maybe next May on Back Saltholme.

BLYTH'S PIPIT

A difficult choice this one and maybe a bit of a wild card but you just never know...Still a very rare bird and very difficult to I.D but it is being found with increasing regularity as birders get to grips with it's identification (not long ago thought almost impossible) British Birds quoted 17 in 18 years and with a very wide scatter of records so Cleveland could well be next? It's anyone's guess where it'll be found and who will find it but I'd bet my house it won't be me!

LANCEOLATED WARBLER

Once thought to be impossible to find away from Fair Isle, the 1990's saw a spate of east coast records of this species. Recent years have seen a slight return to form but they still must occur. Maybe birders are focusing there efforts elsewhere? The problem is where to look? Any Grassy field, Ditch, Dry stone wall, open turf or Mist net could very well hold a Lancy ! I always have this bird in mind whilst birding South Gare every autumn...

BLYTH'S REED WARBLER

Probably one of the most if not The most overdue species not to have occurred in Cleveland! A few birds have been suspected and it must only be a matter of time before one is clinched in the field or more likely pulled out of a Ringers net! Hartlepool Bowling Green could be the spot. The British total now stands just short of 100 records and 2007 saw a huge arrival of about 20 birds scattered right down the east coast including birds in Durham and Yorkshire leaving local birder's in disbelief that we missed out.

ISABELLINE SHRIKE

With approx 80 British records and so many of these records from Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire we have been very unlucky not to have had an Izzy Shrike. Just like Richard Taylor stated 10 years ago Cleveland is as likely a spot as any for the next. I'll have a guess at Brotton Golf Course late October or early November .

My other Ten candidates in no particular order are...

SQUACCO HERON
COLLARED PRATINCOLE
LEAST SANDPIPER
PECHORA PIPIT
BLACK EARED WHEATEAR
BROWN SHRIKE
STEPPE SHRIKE
WESTERN BONELLI'S WARBLER
IBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF
YELLOW BREASTED BUNTING

So there we have it. Please feel free to question any of my choices, tell me I've gone mad and should give up Birding and please correct any mistakes I've made.

Anyone got any other choices? And if anyone finds any of the above please spread the news fast and try to make it on a weekend or if it has to be mid week please not Boulby or Cattersty gill!

Cheers Ian

I should also maybe have stated the Species Richard predicted that have still to occur within the County that i have left off my list for various reasons, these being Pied-billed Grebe, Swinhoe's Petrel, River Warbler and Sardinian warbler.

It's also interesting to note that of the five non predicted species that have occurred in Cleveland since Richard did his list he was the Finder or joint finder of three of them! Short billed Dowitcher, Caspian Gull and Wilson's Petrel...Quite an achievement!

Cheers Ian.

Hi,

I think I would have been tempted to add Audouin's Gull to the top 10. With a couple just down the coast in recent years I get the feeling this may soon turn up in one of the coastal gull roosts,

Regards,
Jamie

You're right Jamie i should have included Audouin's Gull, it was on a short list and thinking about it now it's probably a lot more likely to turn up before Collared Pratincole, Brown Shrike and Steppe Shrike! The first Audouin's Gull for Britain was only in 2003 and there has now been Five records in total including birds in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. I think i've been mentally scared by having to Twitch Four of them to add it to my British list! How typical would it be for one to turn up on the local patch now...

Cheers Ian.

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?!?!

Another good call there Richard and a species i must admit i totally over-looked! It's got to be a good bet with about 10 British records and a fairly wide spread of records from the Northern Isles right down to Portland. It's a bird i've alway's said i'd hope not to have to travel too far to see as it's only a matter of time before Spurn or Flamborough get one...but like you say why not Cleveland although it would be the first record on the Mainland north of Norfolk!

As for Black-eared Wheatear, yeah prob wishful thinking even Yorkshire hasn't had a Modern day record although three records have been rejected by BBRC! Also i must add it was also predicted by you (sort of) back in 99'...

Now Brown Shrike...Obviously a very rare bird but it's now been recorded in Britain and Ireland on about 5 occasions (Shetland x 2, Fair Isle, Scilly and Ireland). The Scilly bird was mis-identified by many as a Red-backed Shrike so how many others have slipped through? It's a dead cert for the east coast and if a Sunderland garden can get a Sibe Rubythroat Hummersea farm can get Brown shrike! In any case only a Madman would travel to Shetland for a Brown Shrike Where'd you see yours by the way?

So another good call, anyone got any more? Now i've mentioned Siberian Rubythroat it's not such a joke the Durham record could quite easily have been 40 miles(ish) further south...Now that would have looked good in the South Gare Bomb Hole!

I must state by the way not a lot of thought went into the last 10 candidates, although i do believe all are possible and it may have been better titled Other Species considered.

Cheers Ian.

If Richard is going for Spoon-billed Sand for the next new bird for Cleveland and Britain, then I'll go for Eastern Crowned Warbler.

Must be a chance with four records elsewhere in Europe so far !

Damian

Eastern-crowned Warbler would do nicely, cause a bit of a stir. I think if I found something like that I would be incapable of phoning out the news, I would be found there days later!

On a different tack perhaps the next new bird for Cleveland might be courtesy of taxonomic reviews (Bean Geese, Brent Geese etc).
Cheers
Richard

On a different tack perhaps the next new bird for Cleveland might be courtesy of taxonomic reviews (Bean Geese, Brent Geese etc).
Cheers
Richard
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Or how about a Cat.D upgrade? White-headed Duck or Ross's Goose? Some would even give White Pelican the benefit of the doubt, all are being considered by the BOURC so who knows...

Cheers Ian.

Good call, WHD and Ross Goose deserve to be upgraded in my mind. Not the Pelican though, never. Nothing to do with the fact that I did not see it!

I do believe WHD and Ross's Goose are being seriously considered for a upgrade onto the british list, it's just a matter of which individual birds are going to be deemed acceptable. Other contentious species that have been recorded in cleveland include Ruddy Shelduck, Demoiselle Crane and Red-headed Bunting. Of these Red-headed Bunting stands no chance (too many captive birds at the time) although i'd shift for a late spring adult or October imm bird now. The Demoiselle Crane Records from Cowpen and elsewhere in Britain in 1967 have alway's held my intrigue and as for Ruddy Shelduck a lot of birders (inc King KEV) are still adamant the 1994 influx was of wild birds. Those four birds at Lovell Hill looked pretty wild to me .

King KEV of course is Keith E Vinicombe and not that muppet from up the road that's about to walk out on Newcastle...again 

Of similar interest to potential new birds for Cleveland are birds that haven't been recorded for years. I remember GJ used to produce lists of the rarest birds on the county list with the likes of Houbara Bustard, Ferruginous Duck and Little Bittern not having occurred since the 19th century.
Another Lesser Grey Shrike would be much appreciated ( only record in 1974). Great Snipe (2 records in 1976).The Long-toed Stint was a mere 26 years ago. A twitchable Olive-backed Pipit would draw alarge crowd. Surely a second Cattle Egret must be on the cards in the near future?

Good call Chris!!!
A mention that Great Snipe hadn't occurred in the county since 1976 just three days before the South Gare bird turned up.

Now where should I look for that Houbara.....


Martyn

Interesting, your next 10 (+10) species for Cleveland; however I think you are a bit light on waders. There are 23 species on British List yet to occur in Cleveland. Eskimo Curlew is rather unlikely, but some of the other 22 must be as likely, if not more so, than the megas we have had, namely Long-toed Stint, Great Knot and Short-billed Dowitcher.
For the amount of available habitat in Cleveland, this must be as good a county as Cornwall, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk for waders, and we have a few birders, mostly called John, that specialise in wader-watching. I also expect the RSPB Saltholme reserve to provide us with a new bird quite soon.
I would agree with Red-necked Stint, Greater Sandplover and Least Sandpiper (not sure about Lesser Sandplover and Pratincole), but I would include Sociable Plover, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs and Upland Sandpiper.
If the choice were mine, I would request Cream-coloured Courser; then again, lets go insane and predict Willet, Marbled Godwit or Black Turnstone!
PS I wholeheartedly support the idea of resurrecting the sweep for the next new bird for Cleveland, and have my £1 on Canvasback.

You could well be right there Martin with regards Waders, just today oddly enough whilst bored at work i wrote down a list of the 23 species of wader on the British list yet to occur in Cleveland and the very same thought went through my mind! Any of them are possible (as RCT stated back in 99') except Eskimo Curlew and Slender-billed Curlew of course...Killdeer was on a short list but i still think Lesser Sandplover is a good call and yes it will be found by "John".

It may also be of interest to some regarding Cleveland and Waders, 52 species are on the county list (i think) and with this years Terek Sandpiper and Great Snipe all bar one (Long-toed Stint) have made an appearance since 1993! Not a bad total 51 species in 15 years...Other than the Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Stone Curlew and Kentish Plover are the longest standing "Blockers".

So you reckon Canvasback? Not holding back some info from Scailing Dam are you? 

Cheers Ian.