BIRD NEWS ANALYSIS: RARITIES
DAVID AITKENA
fter a run of four records
in the early part of the
century, it has been
a nine-year wait for another
American Yellow Warbler; the
discovery of one at Mizen Head,
Co Cork, early on 21st (see
page 9) followed the remnants
of Hurricane Gert across the
Atlantic. Neighbouring Three
Castles Head hosted one of the
last birds in 2008, with that
individual favouring gardens just
a couple of miles away.
This constituted the earliest-
ever autumn record of anyEarly Yanks bode
well for autumn
Rarities: August 2017
12 Birdwatch•October 2017 http://www.birdguides.com/birdwatch
BRIAN RAFFERTYA smattering of über-rare
American species
provided promise
for this season,
writes Sam Viles.Nearctic passerine in Britain and
Ireland, but hot on its heels was
another at Portland, Dorset, later
that same day (see page 10)- the rst-ever English record,
and the rst for Britain since
- Breaking too late in the
day for anybody north of Oxford
to do much about it, it fed well
that evening and presumably
left overnight. With Nearctic
passerines often lingering for a
few days to recuperate before
moving on, its morning absence
disappointed the throngs present
in the fog at dawn on 23rd. The
Seabirds dominate
In what was a fairly slow August
by previous standards, it was
seabirds that dominated the
headlines. No fewer than nine
Fea’s-type Petrels were seen,
with a balanced spread of ve
off Ireland and four off England’s
Cornish coast. Birds were off
Porthgwarra on 2nd, Mousehole
on 3rd and photographed from a
Falmouth pelagic on 20th, with
presumably the same bird off
Chynhalls Point later that day.
In Ireland, reports came from
Galley Head, Co Cork, on 2nd,Co Cork bird was still in situ,
however, but was seen to y
north-east that afternoon, with
no further sign thereafter.
After an unprecedented period
of non-stop ‘Sibe’ action in the
latter half of last year, a repeat
of the autumn of 2008 would
go down well. That year saw
Britain and Ireland play host to
a number of rare visitors from
across the Atlantic, including
Little Blue Heron, American
Redstart, Northern Waterthrush,
Scarlet Tanager, Alder Flycatcher
and Philadelphia Vireo.The local Black-headed
Gulls clearly objected to the
presence of summer’s roving
Caspian Tern at St Aidan’s
RSPB, West Yorkshire, on 2nd.SÉAMUS FEENEYThis Hudsonian Whimbrel
in Easkey, Co Sligo, caused
excitement from 3 September,
and remained available to Irish
birders until 9th.FIRST FOR BIRD NEWSFIRST FOR BIRD NEWSFirst for bird newsFirst for bird newsA Wilson’s Phalarope enjoys
the company of two feral
Greylags at Alston Reservoirs,
Lancashire, on 9 September.1710 p12-14 rarities FIN.indd 12 21/09/2017 15:29: