![]() ![]() Both sightings were recorded at Spurn Point in Yorkshire. Back in the 1960s I observed two of its cousins, the winchat and stonechat. The species belongs to the chat family of birds, so-called because of their harsh and chattering calls (13 th century chateren – to twitter or make quick, shrill sounds). The trend is possibly tied to the bird extending its breeding range westward from Russia into Finland, and some of these birds choosing to winter in Western Europe rather than in Southeast Asia. At the end of 2013 there had been an accumulated total of 127 observations, and more have occurred since. The bluetail is still a vagrant today but the number of annual sightings has increased. Probably spotting the firecrest, as described in Chapter 3 of She Wore a Yellow Dress, was the closest I came to recording these small rare birds. ![]() This was not a species I expected to see during my early days of bird watching in 1960s even though back then it was a rare migrant to the UK. The event took place during November 2021 and was reported to me by my sister who lives a few miles away from where the female bird was caught on camera. Illinois also had a Bohemian Waxwing this week, in Stephenson.Īnd in British Columbia, the province’s 3rd Fieldfare (4) was seen in Kelowna.This rare fall and winter visitor to the UK and occasional vagrant in the western states of North America is featured by me to celebrate its first ever appearance in the county of Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. In Indiana, a Mountain Bluebird was seen in Newton, the state’s 8th. Ohio’s 3rd Slaty-backed Gull was found among a large gull flock in Cuyahoga, where both Common and Glaucous-winged Gulls have been seen in recent weeks. In Florida, a Bahama Mockingbird (4) and the state’s 3rd record of Mountain Plover were both seen in Brevard. Good numbers of Common Murres were seen this week off of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where there are only a handful of records for the state. Good for New York was a young Swainson’s Hawk in Richmond. In Maine, a Harris’s Sparrow was visiting a feeder in Androscoggin. Nova Scotia’s 8th record of Common Ringed Plover in Yarmouth is one of very few, if any, winter records on the continent. EDIT: Previous versions of this post stated this was a 1st record for Arizona.įrom New Hampshire comes the still unconfirmed but compelling report of a Garganey (4) in Cheshire, which would represent a 1st for that state and potentially a 3rd for Vermont if it crosses the dozen meters between where it was spotted and the state line. The mountain ash crops in the western half of the continent were reported as good to bumper, but that doesn’t always stop birds from traveling to new places. ![]() The influx of winter wanderers southward into the interior of the continent was not predicted to include many Bohemian Waxwings, but one was seen in Apache, Arizona. California continues to host a Red-flanked Bluetail (4) and a Little Stint (4), and the Common Shelduck (5) is still being seen and discussed in Pennsylvania. The ABA Area hosts an impressive set of rarities continuing into this week, with the highlight remaining the ABA Area’s 3rd record of Eurasian Blackbird (ABA Code 5) in Labrador. ![]()
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