How was this year (2017) for British rarities? (1 Viewer)

birdmeister · Dec 13, 2017

Hello all,

A bit of a dumb question here. I've been birding for at least 10 years, but only started following European and British rarities this year. It was fascinating for me to see how many N. American birds reach the opposite shores of the Atlantic (especially compared to European birds reaching N. America).

I'm curious to know how this year compares to others in terms of quality and quantity of rarities, specifically in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, etc...

I would think the Red-winged Blackbird, American Redstart, and Siberian Blue Robin would be obvious highlights (the latter not very "twitchable"), among many others.

In terms of Western Palearctic rarities, am I correct in assuming this was an exceptional year for the Azores?

Thanks very much, and good birding as always.

Nutcracker · Dec 13, 2017

birdmeister said:
It was fascinating for me to see how many N. American birds reach the opposite shores of the Atlantic (especially compared to European birds reaching N. America).

Inevitable, with predominant winds blowing from west to east

birdmeister said:
In terms of Western Palearctic rarities, am I correct in assuming this was an exceptional year for the Azores?

Too early to say - the Azores have only been 'discovered' as a birding destination in the last few years, so there's no real idea yet what 'an exceptional year' constitutes.

Farnboro John · Dec 13, 2017

I'm going to hazard a guess that it was a bit low overall, with the autumn pretty much failing to deliver.

John

Stephen Dunstan · Dec 13, 2017

Nutcracker said:
]
Too early to say - the Azores have only been 'discovered' as a birding destination in the last few years, so there's no real idea yet what 'an exceptional year' constitutes.

I would think it was clear that the weather this autumn was very good for the Azores, and that 2017 will stand the test of time as a good year. You don't need to do lots of historical analysis to know that the long run of easterlies in the autumn last year would make it a great autumn on the east coast of the UK.

Mike Crawley · Dec 14, 2017

Farnboro John said:
I'm going to hazard a guess that it was a bit low overall, with the autumn pretty much failing to deliver.

John

As a very quick "knee jerk" response it seemed OK - I saw Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-breasted Bunting and Siberian Thrush on Shetland. That was followed up by Cliff Swallow, Cedar Waxwing and an Orphean Warbler sp. on Scilly. Three superb weeks of birding.
I guess with a sensible look at the records the autumn might not have been as exciting as it seemed during those three weeks

Mark Lew1s · Dec 14, 2017

To be honest, it felt like hard work on the east coast much of the time...

Paul Chapman · Dec 14, 2017

Mike C said:
As a very quick "knee jerk" response it seemed OK - I saw Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-breasted Bunting and Siberian Thrush on Shetland. That was followed up by Cliff Swallow, Cedar Waxwing and an Orphean Warbler sp. on Scilly. Three superb weeks of birding.
I guess with a sensible look at the records the autumn might not have been as exciting as it seemed during those three weeks

You saw an Eastern Orphean Warbler on the Scillies. The tail pattern was difficult to decipher at first - I certainly got the original photos wrong - but when finally nailed, it matched the undertail coverts and the overall specific identification. So unless it is subsequently decided that both tail pattern and undertail coverts are insufficient for safe identification, it is a nailed on first for Britain.

All the best

Farnboro John · Dec 14, 2017

The Elegant Tern (Maz tick) was the only real spring rarity I went for (and that was 10 June, a bit late!), plus I missed the Amur Falcon which I expected to get easily. I had a Yellow Warbler after work in August, then it all went a bit quiet: even on Shetland the best was a PG Tips (tick for Maz and photo-tick for me) and two mentally showy Parrot Crossbills. Last year post-Shetland I had 2 Spurn trips and 2 Norfolk ones with hatfuls of rares and sub-rares - this year nothing.

Obviously the slightly more manic/better heeled have picked up a few bits and bobs but overall I'd class it a poor year: not much of a supporting cast. I reckon the total list for the year in the British Isles will be down on recent years.

John

dantheman · Dec 14, 2017

c300 species recorded in Cornwall (provisionally) makes this probably a record year for the county as a whole. Perception is it's been a good year, but a fair number have been hard to catch up with/untwitchable. A few goodies in there eg Amur Falcon and that in-off Baillon's?

Fair to say Scillies has had a better than average year (of late)?, Shetland a little below average/expectations?

Mike Crawley · Dec 14, 2017

Paul Chapman said:
You saw an Eastern Orphean Warbler on the Scillies. —- it is a nailed on first for Britain.

All the best

Sorry, I didn’t mean to give the impression I didn’t know what I’d seen.
It was more an expression of an extreme rarity, regardless of the actual species.
It was fabulous, either way, and very instructive

ttfn

kb57 · Dec 20, 2017

birdmeister said:
Hello all,

I've been birding for at least 10 years, but only started following European and British rarities this year. It was fascinating for me to see how many N. American birds reach the opposite shores of the Atlantic (especially compared to European birds reaching N. America).

Over on this side of the pond, I've only just realised (after reading 'Lost Among the Birds') what a big deal the Aleutian Islands are for North American birders, with their capacity to attract Asian vagrants.

As Nutcracker said, it's a bit of a one-way street for trans-Atlantic vagrancy due to prevailing winds, the species you get seem to be those whose ranges extend to the far north of Europe like fieldfare and brambling.

I'm a 'returning' birder who used to birdwatch in my youth - one of the highlights of those years was an adult female Wilson's phalarope on a local pond - my first American vagrant.

birdmeister · Dec 23, 2017

Thanks for everyone's responses. It seems like it was a variable year for the UK (good in some spots, not so in others), but not especially good.

How was this year (2017) for British rarities? (1 Viewer)

More options

birdmeister

Well-known member

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

Farnboro John

Well-known member

Stephen Dunstan

Registered User

Mike Crawley

Emeritus President at Burnage Rugby Club

Mark Lew1s

My real name is Mark Lewis

Paul Chapman

Well-known member

Farnboro John

Well-known member

dantheman

Bah humbug

Mike Crawley

Emeritus President at Burnage Rugby Club

kb57

Well-known member

birdmeister

Well-known member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread