Rare Bird Alert: Ten unusual visiting birds spotted across the UK this week - and where they were last seen
‘Cackling’ geese and a bird which impales its prey are among those recently seen on our shores 🦅
- Many bird species migrate to warmer climes ahead of the winter months, including to the UK
- While many are regulars, some are much rarer visitors
- There have been dozens of sightings of birds from as far away as North America, China, and the Persian Gulf here in the last week alone
Across the world, the coming winter will see birds of all shapes and sizes undertake gruelling migrations en masse.
Many are fleeing the rapidly-freezing north, where not only will temperatures plummet, but favoured food sources will dry up. Among them are a wide variety of species that regularly overwinter throughout the UK, making this time of year a particularly exciting one for birdwatchers and nature lovers alike.
While many of these will be beloved annual visitors, sometimes less common ones – like the Bohemian waxwing, for example – will really cause a flap. Then there are the truly unusual birds that end up on our shores, sometimes hundreds if not thousands of miles from where they are usually found.
Rare Bird Alert is a website which posts daily summaries of the rarest species spotted across our seas and skies. With November now well underway and countless migrations already underway, we’ve taken a look at some of the most fascinating sightings logged across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout the past week.
Here were 10 of our favourites:
Rare bird sightings across the UK this week – and where they were seen
1. Black-faced buntings
These tiny songbirds are an incredibly rare sight in Europe at all. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) describes them as an “extremely rare” visitor from eastern Asia, where they breed in wet scrub close to watercourses. There have been a very small number of British records ever.
But no less than four have been seen in England and Scotland as of Thursday (November 6), with two even caught and tagged. They were spotted in Nanjizal Valley, Cornwall; Portland Bill, Dorset; and two on Fair Isle, Shetland.
2. Dusky warblers
Looking a little like a chiffchaff with a slightly more muted hue, dusky warblers are a “regular but scarce” visitor from north-eastern Asia, BTO says.
These have also been seen at five different locations throughout the week – in Filey Brigg, North Yorkshire; Stiffkey, Norfolk; Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk; Sandwick, Shetland; and Tresco, Scilly.
3. Killdeer
Described by Rare Bird Alert as a “mega highlight”, a Killdeer has been sighted on Skokholm, an island in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The BTO says these look like larger versions of the ringed plover, and a few of these North American natives typically visit the British Isles every year. These birds famously nest in fields, and to stop cows and horses trampling its nest, it fluffs itself up with its tail over its head – and runs at them.
4. Bonaparte's gull
These unusual seabirds are the only gull known to nest in trees. They’re also a rare visitor from North America, although there are usually a few sightings each year.
This week, Bonaparte's gulls have been sighted on Papa Westray, Orkney; and in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
5. Richardson's cackling goose
These delightfully-named waterfowl look like miniature versions of their cousin, the Canada goose. The BTO describes it as an “extremely rare” visitor from North America, one which was only recognized by taxonomists quite recently.
“A handful of individuals are thought to reach Britain & Ireland annually as vagrants, wintering among barnacle geese in northwest Scotland and western Ireland,” it continued, which lines up with some of the sightings over the course of the week. Cackling geese have been spotted in Argyll, Scotland; and in Cumbria, in England’s north west.
6. Lesser scaup
Don’t let their name deceive you, these dainty piebald ducks are an even less common lookalike to the rare greater scaup. A few are thought to make their way over here each winter from North America.
They appear to have chosen quite the array of holiday spots across the country for the coming cold season, being seen in Northamptonshire and Cornwall this week – as well as Somerset; Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland; and County Antrim in Northern Ireland last week.
7. Western oriental turtle doves
Cousins to our own turtle doves, which remain in serious conservation trouble, the BTO says oriental turtle doves breed across much of Asia – but are an extremely rare visitor to Britain.
This Wednesday (November 5), however, a pair has been recorded on the Shetland Isles.
8. Pallid swift
Very hard to tell apart from the common swift, these rare visitors usually only wander between the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, to Africa’s Sahel region – and possibly Pakistan.
This week, however, a few have been seen in Foreness Point, Kent; Portland Bill, Dorset; and Dundalk, in Ireland’s County Louth.
9. Steppe grey shrike
The steppe grey shrike is a rare subspecies of the great grey shrike, which the BTO says visits UK heathlands in small numbers each winter. Its scientific name, Lanius, means ‘butcher’, and it is infamous for its habit of creating larders, typically a thorn bush where prey like small birds or rodents are impaled.
Earlier in the week one was spotted in Cornwall, Rare Bird Alert reports.
10. Pallid harrier
These birds of prey resemble paler hen harriers, with which they can actually interbreed, the BTO says. They are considered a very rare visitor from eastern Europe.
One has been sighted regularly flying over Glamorgan, Wales, over the past couple of weeks. It was most recently seen on Thursday.
Want to find out more about some slightly more common – but no less spectacular – birds to look out for across the UK this month? Check out our list online here.