20 Birdwatch•October 2017 http://www.birdguides.com/birdwatch
BIRD NEWS WESTERN PALEARCTIC
T
he month proved rather
quiet across the region,
with a host of lingering
vagrants making most of the
headlines.
The stand-out record was
the adult Brown Booby that
was sensationally tracked
through The Netherlands and
Germany – not along the North
Sea coast, which would have
been impressive enough, but
incredibly as it ew north-east
far inland. The bird was rst
seen early morning as it ewnorth-east along the River Lek at
Lopik, just south-west of Utrecht.
This put many on red alert but,
disappointingly for Dutch listers,
the bird kept going and was next
logged just over the German border
near Tinholt a couple of hours later.
It was motoring north-east, and it
came as no great surprise to hear
it was reported for a third time in
the afternoon on lakes by the River
Weser just to the south of Bremen.
It wasn’t seen again but, assuming
it continued, it would probably
have reached the Baltic coast bynightfall. Another Brown Booby was
on Madeira on 10th.
Second on the list of
impressive new nds was the
Egyptian Nightjar at the Chorokhi
Delta near Batumi, Georgia, on
26-27th. This was, unsurprisingly,
a national rst and was
remarkably present in the same
area that hosted a Black-crownedJUAN CARLOS ALBEROSÉBASTIEN PROVOSTSudden appearances
shatter the calm
Josh Jones reviews a month
where most major birds
were long-stayers, but
where the odd jaw-dropping
surprise was still possible.The most astonishing sight during
the month in the region was this
adult Brown Booby seen fl ying well
inland at Tinholt, Lower Saxony,
Germany, on 20th.The fourth Red-necked Stint
for France was this adult
(central bird, with Dunlin)
in near-pristine breeding
plumage at Dragey-Ronthon,
Manche, on 6-7th.THOMAS KUPPELWestern Palearctic: August 2017
FIRST FOR BIRD NEWSFIRST FOR BIRD NEWSFirst for bird newsFirst for bird newsSparrow-lark in October 2015.
The Atlantic Islands were
productive, with Swinhoe’s Storm
Petrels recorded at sea off Madeira
on 11th and at the Bank of Fortune
off Graciosa, Azores, on 29th and
31st (the species seems almost
guaranteed in the latter area).
Terceira, Azores, was the place
to be, with the now long-staying
Grey-tailed Tattler still being seen
at Cabo da Praia all month and the
Snowy Egret relocated at Ponta das
Contendas from 10th, where there
was also a Bridled Tern on 17th. ASpain’s second Kelp Gull
took the form of this striking
adult at Isla Cristina, Huelva,
Andalucia, on 8th.JEFFREY HUISENGA1710 p20-21 western palearctic FIN.indd 20 21/09/2017 15:36: