from the newsletter - Fylde Bird Club

In on a potential Western Palearctic first

Most keen birders probably want to be involved in the finding or identification of a first for Britain. A first for the Western Palearctic, well that would be just greedy. Whilst staying on Fair Isle this autumn I was fortunate enough to be the second person to see such an unexpected rarity, and contributed in a small way to the identification process.

The first seven days of a stay from 8th to 22nd October had been reasonably productive, without really hitting the heights for which Fair Isle is so well known. I had found a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Richard’s Pipit and birds seen included a late Marsh Warbler, a couple of Bluethroats and a Common Rosefinch. The only BBRC rarity was a brief Dusky Warbler seen by an island resident that did not hang around to be admired. The Obs staff were beginning to pull their hair out as an array of good birds were appearing on Foula, just 30 or 40 miles or so to the north. That was all to change.

On the morning of Friday 15th October whilst staying at Fair Isle Bird Observatory I birded the southeast of the island and approached the Skadan crop near south light. Hywel Maggs, former FIBO Assistant Warden staying at the Obs, indicated he had just found a Little Bunting in the crop. Sure enough a bunting flew up and called, sounding like a Little Bunting.

Hywel left the area and I continued to try and get better views of the bird. With a bit of patience I was able to get close views of the bird moving away from me down a ride in the crop. Although my experience of Little Bunting is not extensive this bird did not look right in several respects. It had an obvious pale eye ring but it appeared as large as a Reed Bunting, the face pattern didn’t look right for Little and what I could see of the upperparts suggested an extensive buff wash which did not fit with Little either.

Later at the Obs I mentioned my thoughts on the fact this bird looked strange to Deryk Shaw, the Warden. He agreed that it was an unusual bird but that the underparts could be in fresh plumage hence the buff appearance of the chest feathers. Hywel left the island during the afternoon of the 15th, but before he left he also mentioned some concerns about the bird to Alan Bull (Assistant Warden) who mentioned it might be worth trapping the bird. At log on the 15th the bird went down as a Little Bunting.

On the 16th I went back for another look at the bird, either to convince myself it was a Little or get some more evidence that it was not one. When I got to the Skadan crop Rebecca Nason (Assistant Warden) pointed out the Little Bunting as she flushed it from the crop during her census. Again when she left I persisted with the bird, although it was generally difficult to get good views on the deck some close flight views confirmed that the bird was apparently too large for a Little. At lunch time much discussion centred around the ‘funny Little Bunting’ and trapping it became more favoured.

When I returned to the Skadan crop late afternoon the bird was nowhere to be seen. Hollie Shaw soon appeared in the van with the infamous red flag flying. I could hardly believe my ears when she said it was a Chestnut-eared Bunting at the Obs, a first for the Western Palearctic. I immediately asked if it was the Skadan bird, she confirmed it was. The bird had been trapped early afternoon but four experienced observers had been unable to identify it and it was taken to the Obs for more detailed scrutiny and accurate measurement to be taken.

The identification proved difficult, and was only finally clinched by reference to the September 2001 Birding World which included a picture of a first-year Chestnut-eared Bunting taken in China. The caption said that although it was not recorded in the Western Palearctic it was a long distant migrant and a bit of blind optimism never hurt anybody. This couldn’t have been more appropriate.

At the Obs all the island residents with an interest in birds had turned up to see the unexpected arrival, joining all the birders staying at the Obs and one or two staying elsewhere in the island. As the bird was measured in the ringing room and then shown to everyone outside it was hard to see how it could ever have gone down as a Little Bunting, the large size was clearly genuine and the underparts were far more colourful and Ortolan Bunting like than a Little Bunting could ever show.

I rang Chris Batty at an early stage to get news out on Rare Bird Alert pagers if the Obs staff hadn’t already done so. I was aware that there might be some question marks over the vagrancy potential of this Himalayan species, and did not how many people would make the trip. In the event there was quite a twitch on the Sunday, with about nine plane flights and a boatful of birders from Shetland arriving. Over the next few days at least three flights arrived from Blackpool, with Chris on one and Stuart Piner on another. Towards the end of the birds stay a number of birders arrived and then got stranded on the island, for up to three days in some cases.

Much has since been written about the vagrancy potential of this species, which was so left field that many people myself included had never heard of it. The path to BOURC acceptance and a place on the British List may not be a smooth one, and ultimately the record may end up in a holding category awaiting further evidence of a vagrancy pattern nearer the normal breeding and wintering ranges of the migratory subspecies (some subspecies are not long distance migrants). On the flip side of the paucity of extralimital records we are dealing with a first-winter bird in the middle of October on Fair Isle during a period of easterly winds. Some birds with markedly eastern distribution, including Yellow-browed Bunting and Black-faced Bunting, have turned up at the same place at the same time of year though Chestnut-eared Bunting is on paper less likely than these coming from even further away.

And the plot thickened. The day after I left the island, astonishingly Fair Isle turned up another first for the Western Palearctic in the form of a Rufous-tailed Robin, another bird with a distribution starting far, far east of Scotland. The possibility of a mass jailbreak on the Continent has not surprisingly been mooted, but on the other hand the Northern Isles have been alive with Northern Bullfinches uttering deeper calls than normal and thought to be of eastern origin.

Who knows what the official verdict will be. And in a very real sense, ‘who cares’ I think. We may never know the origins of the bunting, but to be on stage during the drama and involved in the initial puzzle and subsequent euphoria was very special. On recent form (Savannah Sparrow and Siberian Rubythroat in 2003 as well as this year’s star turns) Fair Isle looks like the place to be next October. Unfortunately being married with two daughters I will be back on family holidays, but if you do go I’ll be thinking of you and I really do wish you the outrageous good fortune that I was lucky enough to enjoy.

Stephen Dunstan October 2004

The return of the Great Knot

Following the unexpected events of 31st July 2004 the Great Knot had soon become nothing more than a fond memory. I had continued to watch Skippool Creek and Hambleton Marsh on a daily basis but it had never even crossed my mind that the Great Knot would ever put in another appearance.

On 12th August my second visit of the day to Skippool Creek produced a fine adult Ring-billed Gull roosting with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This bird remained for the rest of the afternoon and returned again the following day to the delight of many Fylde birders. Although representing the third site record of Ring-billed Gull (previously singles in October 1995 and January 1996) it was the first to be multi-observed.

Despite Ring-billed Gulls being reported in the Fylde almost annually since the first record in January 1986 the current bird was only the third twitchable record following a well-watched second-winter at Preston Dock from 28th January-13th April 1991 and an adult present intermittently at Marton Mere from 31st January-4th March 1992.

Torrential downpours had caused localised flooding and, in an attempt to emulate past events at Eagland Hill (where Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper fed side-by-side in September 2002), my early morning birding efforts had turned to these temporary habitats.

During a heavy downpour at 8am on 16th August a flood on Stalmine Moss produced two smart juvenile Spotted Redshanks and a first-summer Mediterranean Gull. Happy there was nothing more to be found here I decided to check the Wyre Estuary and return to Stalmine Moss later to see if anything extra had dropped in.

At 9:20am, as I scanned the Wyre Estuary from by Shard Bridge, I caught a glimpse of a distinctive long-winged wader disappearing behind a mud bank. I repositioned myself, and there, amongst Redshanks, was the Great Knot. Once again I immediately phoned out the incredible news. Those who had just missed the bird on 31st July could not believe their luck!

At 9:34am the bird took off and flew to Skippool Creek where it dropped into a channel and out of view. I raced around to the jetties and scanned but with no success. Birders were arriving all the time and I kept reassuring them that there was no doubt; the Great Knot was indeed back!

Knowing the best place from which to get a panoramic view I set off on my own to just beyond the yacht club and scanned, simultaneously phoning all those who had failed to connect with the bird a fortnight earlier. Just after 10am I again located the Great Knot as it flew over the mudflats before again dropping out of sight.

I was greeted with looks of bemusement and disbelief by the crowd as pagers bleeped with my every sighting yet I was still the only observer. By now the tide was racing in and it seemed inevitable that the Great Knot would have to give itself up soon. At 10:17am Stuart Piner calmly announced to the crowd that he had the Great Knot in his telescope; and it was the closest wader!

As the tide began to rise the bird joined the roosting Redshanks and other waders at the mouth of Skippool Creek and showed well to the gathering crowd before being lost at midday when a low-flying helicopter disturbed all the roosting waders.

The 17th saw the Great Knot put on its best performance being on show just upstream of Shard Bridge from just 9:10am until 12:05pm when the rising tide forced the bird off the mud. Equipped with a reasonable map Staffordshire birder Steve Nuttall set about locating the bird at a high tide roost and at 1pm unearthed the Great Knot amongst Lapwings and Golden Plover over a mile upstream of Shard Bridge on grazing marshes by Waterside Farm, Out Rawcliffe. Here it remained until 2:40pm when it flew off high to the west as the tide ebbed.

Along with many others, I searched the Wyre Estuary all day on 18th August but there was no sign of the Great Knot. However, it was reported again the following day, briefly by Shard Bridge around 11am before flying towards Skippool Creek. I was on site within minutes of the reported sighting and was greeted by an unconvincing description from birdwatchers who believed they had seen the bird. The previous day a Turnstone had caused a false alarm (!) and on searching the gathered waders at Skippool Creek at midday on 18th the same Turnstone was again present.

Chris Batty August 2004

The Great Knot at Skippool Creek - a new Fylde bird

At 7:30am on 3rd August 2003 I was roused from my slumbers by the electric sound of my mobile phone: 'Paul Slade mobile' flashed on the caller display and I knew I had blown it. I’d lived in Hambleton all my life and for twenty-four years of this my bedroom window had overlooked my local patch, the upper reaches of the Wyre Estuary. Paul lived nearby and had worked the Wyre Estuary hard for that long-awaited rare wader and now he'd found it: a superb adult White-rumped Sandpiper. As I pulled on my jeans and sped towards Shard Bridge I cursed myself. Why was I so lazy? I didn't deserve to find it: Paul was there every morning before work methodically checking through the Dunlin hoping for this moment. But I arrived, locked onto the bird and my relief poured out. At least I'd seen it even if I hadn't found it.

In 2004 I decided that I would make the effort and hoped I could reap a reward. Would the White-rumped Sandpiper return? The Wyre Estuary started the autumn well with a Yellow-legged Gull, three Mediterranean Gulls, three Little Egrets, two Spotted Redshanks and the Dunlin flock grew to over 3,000, joined by two dapper Curlew Sandpipers. With these birds came extra coverage. Rarely did I visit and not find the estuary being scoured by another local birder.

On Saturday 31st July I set all the alarm clocks on my pager. I was working at 7:30am and I wanted to give the patch a check before then. I managed to drag myself out of bed and arrived at Shard Bridge at 6:20am. The tidal situation was far from ideal: an ebbing tide is best here and, as I expected, the number of Dunlin on show was well down on the previous day. A further scan revealed little of note so I got back into my car and drove to Skippool Creek. I decided against scanning from the traditional jetty but instead walked north beyond the yacht club and began to pan. Four Whimbrel and a Greenshank were expected but again the general lack of activity was a disappointment. I retraced my steps back to the yacht club and scanned the mouth of Skippool Creek then across towards Shard Bridge, slowly passing over a distant loose flock of Redshank on the tidal sands. I clocked 'the bird' as I panned through the flock but didn't stop panning. A Great Knot. I stopped, swung the scope back right and panned left again. A Great Knot. A GREAT KNOT! I struggled for my mobile phone, the Redshank flew, the Great Knot with them, heading towards Shard Bridge, displaying a whitish rump, its long wings beating deeply, in a peculiarly exaggerated manner. A GREAT KNOT! I grabbed my scope and phoned Dick (Filby) at Rare Bird Alert and garbled the frantic message as I ran back to my car. Nobody would believe me. A Great Knot, at Skippool Creek, watched for less than 10 seconds at more than 500 yards; I couldn't believe it - and I'd seen it. Rare Bird Alert’s Mega-Alert began to sound in my pocket.

I arrived back at the Shard Bridge and scanned nervously but there was no sign of the bird. I drove to the other side of the bridge and scanned upstream but again drew a blank. I was beginning to think the worst; no reputation could stand this. Then there it was, alone by the main channel on the far side of the bridge but it again took flight and disappeared off towards Skippool Creek and still no one else had seen it. At this point the enormity of the situation struck me; the third British Great Knot, on my local patch, on my own. I'd hoped for a rarity; I hadn't dreamt of this. I must be mistaken; I must have made a fundamental error, but what? A breeding plumaged male Ruff? No, it was a Great Knot!

I sped back over the bridge and scanned across to Skippool Creek and located it immediately, the only wader amongst the feeding Black-headed Gulls. Even at a half mile range there was no mistaking this once in a lifetime find. Stuart Piner arrived, jammed his eye to my scope and exclaimed, still in shock, like I, he could scarcely believe what he was watching. Longing for better views we sped to Skippool Creek and cautiously peered from by the jetty. The Great Knot was still there and only 250 yards away. Paul Slade arrived and grabbed his first look at the bird. He cursed my alarm clock, and my luck. It was the first morning he had taken a lie-in in weeks.

In its breeding plumage the bird was unmistakeable: pale grey head; black breast and mantle; black and orange scapulars; solid black spots on the white flanks and belly; black centred, pale fringed lesser, median, greater coverts and tertials. Considerably larger than a Knot the bird had a distinctive profile with a longer bill, in shape more like the bill of a Dunlin, and a long primary projection which gave the impression that the bird was in active primary moult (which it was not).

Although the light was poor Tony Disley, Paul Ellis, Stuart Piner and myself tried our best to grab record shots with our digital cameras and camcorders but my time was soon up and I had to leave for work. I phoned in my last update as I passed the assembling local birders. I knew the tide was racing in and that the previous day all the waders had left Skippool Creek at high water. Would the Great Knot take this as a cue to leave for good? Both the previous weeks Curlew Sandpipers had been one-day birds and I didn't hold out much hope for the Great Knot lingering.

No sooner had I arrived at work than I received a phone call from Andrew Holden; he and around twenty others had watched the Great Knot fly off high to the southwest, calling loudly, at 8:12am. High southwest was the exit route taken by last year’s White-rumped Sandpiper and it seemed clear to me that that would be the last we would see of this, the rarest bird ever to have been found on the Fylde.

Chris Batty July 2004

Previous records of Great Knot in Britain

adult, Scatness and Pool of Virkie, Shetland 15th September 1989
adult, Seal Sands, Greenabella Marsh and Bran Sands, Cleveland 13th October-5th November 1996

The Blue Fulmar at Starr Gate - the first Fylde record

During my lunch break from work at around midday I headed down to Starr Gate, as I usually do given it is a few hundred yards from my workplace. The wind was quite blustery onshore, northwesterly, and so I decided to seawatch rather than look for the ‘ever present’ Shorelarks and Snow Buntings. There has been 17 Little Gulls in 45 minutes in calmer conditions the previous day, so I was hopeful of similar or greater movements of this charismatic species.

I had been watching for maybe 10-15 minutes when it became clear that the anticipated Little Gull movement was not to materialise, though I found the flock of 14 Scaup close in and passing scoters diverting enough to keep plugging away.

My attention was drawn to a medium sized dark seabird arcing into the wind. In this brief view the shear flight of the bird led me to fail to judge whether it was going north or south, and the bird promptly disappeared out of view. I didn’t pick it up again immediately, and my heart sank a bit as it was clearly an interesting bird on a January seawatch whatever it would prove to be.

After a few seconds the bird reappeared arcing just to the north of where I had first seen it. It was quite close, certainly within 200 metres, and the stiff winged action and obvious white ‘elbow’ marks on the wings immediately made me think of a Fulmar. However something was not quite right, though it didn’t click immediately, and I wondered if it could be something else.

The bird continued to arc extravagantly as it battled north against the wind, disappearing from view then reappearing as it gained height and appeared back out of the swell. The bird was clearly struggling to progress, as it would sometimes appear further south than where it had last been seen. Over the next couple of periods the bird was in view it was absolutely clear that the bird was a Fulmar, and the reason it looked strange was that the entire upperparts other than the patches at the base of the ‘hand’ were an apparently a fairly uniform blue grey. Realisation dawned that the bird was a dark morph Fulmar, the first I had ever encountered anywhere.

My knowledge of Fulmar morphs / clines was rather limited, and I wasn’t sure what else I could look for as the bird was essentially rather featureless on all I had seen so far. However after several sightings in which I only saw the bird’s upperparts it finally turned sufficiently for me to get a good view of its underparts. Whilst the head, throat, wings and tail were all basically blue grey and similar to the upperparts an oval area on the belly was whitish, blending diffusely into the surrounding grey.

It was clear at this point that the bird could only be a grey morph Fulmar, and I considered immediately ringing Chris Batty to get such a good local record out onto the birding pagers. However I decided to savour the moment, and watched the bird continuing to arc north until it disappeared out of view behind the northern side of my seawatching shelter. Then I rang Chris.

Description of bird

Size and shape – as 'light morph’ Fulmar, roughly Common Gull sized but with distinctive thick necked jizz.

Plumage – upperparts including head and neck entirely blue-grey except for white primary patches which basically looked like those on a ‘light morph’ bird. Underparts – throat, vent, tail and underwings all appeared entirely greyish, the belly was diffusely but clearly paler off white.

Flight action – as ‘light morph’ Fulmar, arcing into the wind on a combination of prolonged glides and rapid stiff wingbeats

This record is subject to acceptance by the Lancashire Bird Report Rarities Committee, if accepted it will become the first for the Fylde. There is one previous accepted Lancashire record off Heysham on 22nd February 2002. The winter of 2003/4 was a good one for reports of Blue Fulmars, with record day counts of over 140 off Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire (the traditional hotspot for records). There were two seen off Walney in early 2004, which if accepted will be the first records for Cumbria other than tideline corpses.

Stephen Dunstan January 2004

Fylde next?

A few years ago I spent a short while considering which species had not, to my knowledge, been recorded in the Fylde, and after musing over several candidate species I came to the conclusion that American Wigeon was by far the most glaring omission: surely the large passage and wintering Wigeon flocks must have been accompanied by an unseen American Wigeon? I like to target species in my birding and so, whenever possible, I would carefully search through any Wigeon flock I came across in the Fylde. To my own surprise in September 1999 I realised my belief that American Wigeon does occur when I found an adult male at Pilling Marsh. I went on to realise my belief that they occur with some regularity with a further adult male (or was it the same one?) at Barnaby's Sands in December 2002.

So what next? Well I wouldn't have predicted some of the latest additions to the Fylde list, Maurice’s Dusky Warbler at Fairhaven in October or the Great Reed Warbler that Len found at Marton Mere in May 2003. Below I have detailed my personal top-ten predicitons for future additions to the Fylde list:

Great White Egret
This was a new bird for Lancashire in October 2001 when one at Banks Marsh was actually visible from the Fylde (but was not known to have crossed the River Ribble). The first was quickly followed by a second at Martin Mere in January 2003, and then a third at Leighton Moss in July 2003. With a total of over 225 records spread over pretty much the whole of the British Isles, this alone would make this highly visible species seem likely to occur here. However, a closer look at the statistics reveal over half the records in Britain and Ireland have occurred in the last six years alone, doubtless due to the recent colonisation of the Netherlands and the west coast of France. Several recent records from Cheshire have been on the Dee Estuary, favouring the large salt marshes there. Similar habitat exists at Warton Marsh and I suggest this as the most likely location for our first record, probably in July or August. As it took some time between my having the original idea for this article and writing it I was expecting this species to have been found before I made print!

Balearic Shearwater
Since its recent split (from Yelkouan Shearwater) Balearic Shearwater has become a severely threatened species. In global terms this is the rarest and most endangered species on my predicted list: indeed it has been suggested that it seems to be heading towards extinction. As the name suggests, this species breeds solely on the Balearic Islands where there was considered to be fewer than 2,000 pairs in 2002 and with food shortage, predation by cats and oil spills to contend with, it is little wonder the species is struggling. However, it remains a regular visitor to British waters with Portland Bill, Dorset, the Devon and Cornish coasts and south Wales being favoured. It has been recorded in most coastal regions and in the Irish Sea is regularly encountered by seawatchers off Anglesey, Co.Down and Ayrshire. Closer to the Fylde it has been recorded off Seaforth, Formby Point, Heysham and Walney Island. Clearly seawatching anywhere between Starr Gate and Rossall Point would put you in pole position to record this species but the under-watched Blackpool piers probably offer the best chance during a mid-summer blow and consequent passage of Manx Shearwaters.

Red-rumped Swallow
In the British Isles this is an annual, frequent and increasing spring overshoot from continental Europe with over 400 records in total. The bias towards the south and east of England is frequently bucked with records as close to the Fylde as Barrow-in-Furness, Ainsdale and Liverpool. Although occasionally occurring late into the autumn, when small groups are not unknown, a late April or May record at Marton Mere seems the most likely date and location combination for this species. Following publication recorded at Marton Mere on 18th-19th April 2004.

Lesser Scaup
This was new to the Western Palearctic in 1986 and new to the British Isles in 1987 - a mega rarity? Lesser Scaup? No more, amassing over 60 records since the first in Staffordshire.
Following the sole Lancashire record at Carnforth in 1994/1995, Frodsham Marsh and Redes Mere, Cheshire, Pennington Flash, Greater Manchester and several north Cumbrian waters have hosted this North American species. Initially causing identification headaches, an improved understanding of the salient identification criteria has led to even females being located at several sites. Scanning through Tufted Duck and Pochard flocks seems the best tactic for those searching for Lesser Scaup, and this is not such a daunting prospect in the Fylde. Marton Mere and Fairhaven Lake must both be in with a chance but I'd plump for Thornton ICI Reservoir in April.

Ring-necked Duck
Like Lesser Scaup, a North American diving duck, Ring-necked Duck has proved to a regular visitor to Europe for many years. Indeed both north and east Lancashire have hosted several individuals, the closest to the Fylde being a brief male in May 1994 just over a mile from our boundary at Foxhouses Lake, Scorton. Although perhaps traditionally thought of as a winter vagrant, as with many North American ducks (and gulls), spring is often the best time to search for them as they seem to migrate north on the 'wrong' side of the Atlantic passing through the British Isles. As such I would envisage the first Fylde Ring-necked Duck to be found in April or May, and given the Scorton record, perhaps Myerscough Quarry might take the honour?

Red-breasted Goose
Intermittently since November 1995 a Red-breasted Goose (and latterly Red-breasted Geese) have been present amongst wintering Pink-footed Geese in Scotland and Norfolk and from September 2003 in Lancashire at Martin Mere. The origin of this bird has come into question: the species being common in captivity, the possibility of it being an escape cannot be discounted. However, whilst the breeding and wintering ranges of Red-breasted Geese and those of Pink-footed Geese are not proximal, if you accept the principle of vagrancy occurring within the Arctic circle and then subsequent abmigration with a 'foster' goose flock, there is no reason why a genuine vagrant Red-breasted Goose could not arrive here with Pink-footed Geese. Either way a Red-breasted Goose accompanying Pink-footed Geese here will be accepted by the British Birds Rarities Committee, unless it bears a ring. Eagland Hill in February is where I'd look for this one.

Black-headed Bunting
A rare bird anywhere in the British Isles but one with a strong bias in occurrence to north and west coasts, particularly Highland, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire. Historically accused of being nothing more than escaped cage birds, this delightful species now usually receives the respect it deserves. A strong case can been argued for genuine vagrancy by this species when the past occurrence dates are analysed revealing relatively small 'windows' of peak arrival in late May-June and September-early October, indicating spring overshoots and reverse migration respectively. The recent first for Lancashire and North Merseyside (in a Southport garden) was not made available for wide appreciation but hopefully the first Fylde record is not too far away. Any coastal or near-coastal garden feeding station in summer could pull in this species but if not how about the fields adjoining the seawall between Fluke Hall and Pilling Lane in early June?

Short-toed Lark
Although no longer an official British rarity, Short-toed Lark remains a prize find anywhere in the British Isles, with the Scilly Isles and Shetland Isles receiving the lion's chare of records. Closer to home, and of more relevance to this article, the species has been found on the North Wales coast and the Wirral on several occasions in spring and so should be within our reach. Fleetwood Golf Club would be the place I'd look during a warm spell in early May, but a dawn visit might be essential before the bird is flushed from tee to tee then away.

Dartford Warbler
A southern speciality normally associated with deepest Dorest and Hampshire, the Dartford Warbler is on the increase. This essentially sedentary species is gradually expanding its range northwards moving into new areas of suitable habitat. A winter record on the Wirral and a spring record on Walney Island hint at what could be. This species often associates closely with Stonechats and I'd imagine our first at Lytham St.Anne's Nature Reserve in under-watched winter.

Marsh Warbler
I felt I ought to include this British breeding species (if only just) in my predicted top ten as opposed to selecting from a selection of official British Birds rarities that could conceivably turn up. Why? Well, records from Heysham shows they reach the west coast and they do occur with some regularity all the way along the east coast in favourable weather conditions in late spring. A non-singing bird would be hard to locate and possibly even harder to prove so: excepting a trapped bird, we would have to hope for a singing male in late spring. There are various areas of seemingly suitable 'rough' habitat around Fleetwood that might hold a Marsh Warbler for a morning or so, but keeping close to the coast, I'd opt for the rough ground north of Rossall School and west of Broadway in early June.

Chris Batty November 2003

My Fylde Year 2002

In October 2001 I moved back to the Fylde having spent over five years away. To my knowledge no-one had ever attempted a 'Fylde Yearlist' and I was intrigued as to how many species one could see in a single year. During December 2001 I drew up a list of likely species I could expect to see and made an assessment of the likelihood of encountering each of these. Following this exercise I thought it realistically possible to reach a tally of about 188 during a year. So how did I fare?

January
Obviously the first few days of January brought me 'year-ticks' every time my binoculars were raised, but I tried to focus my efforts on those species which could potentially prove most difficult later in the year. The returning Ferruginous Duck at Fairhaven Lake presented no problems on 2nd but a brief Iceland Gull there frustrated my efforts. Smew initially gave me the run around with birds at both Marton Mere and the Lune Estuary disappearing on the 2nd but luckily the Mere bird showed again from the 3rd and was safely logged along with Bittern. My first visit of the year to Jameson Road, Fleetwood produced the goods on the 4th with the hoped for Glaucous Gull. The rest of January yielded few surprises, White-fronted Goose at Preesall on the 7th being the best of the rest. The month ended on 107.

February
Maybe it's just my imagination, but the Fylde seems to experience purple patches when rare birds turn up back to back. February 2002 was purple. Bob Danson, Jim Clift and Colin Bushell set the ball rolling by simultaneously finding a Snow Goose at Eagland Hill on 5th and Barry Dyson quickly followed with a family party of three Bean Geese at Pilling Lane on 6th. With unprecedented movements of Leach's Petrels being reported from Wales and the southwest throughout the 6th, a late afternoon seawatch resulted in a Leach's battling against the storm past Rossall Point coastguard tower. Persistence paid off at Jameson Road Landfill Site with an Iceland Gull there on the 7th beginning a run of white-winged gulls climaxing with the undoubted bird of the year, the Ivory Gull at Fairhaven on 14th - certainly not on my prediction list for the year. The month ended on 118.

March
A relatively quiet month began with Jack Snipe close to home at Hambleton Marsh on 3rd before spring sprung on the 21st when Stuart Piner's regular visits to Myerscough Quarry revealed a fine pair of Garganey. As the month drew to a close stunning Water Pipits were educational at Warton Bank as was a retrospectively confirmed Mealy Redpoll at Marton Mere. The month ended on 130.

April
For many years Bullfinch had eluded me in the Fylde, despite many visits to both Greyfriars and Ingol. I had made so many visits in fact that disappointment had become routine, but not so on the 14th when a delightful pair showed: at long last the wait was over! Bird of the spring appeared on the 21st when Stephen Dunstan found a superb Hoopoe at Lytham St.Anne's Nature Reserve. The joy of the Hoopoe was followed by great frustration when news broke just after dark of a Green-winged Teal at Preesall Flashes, just a five-minute drive from home. Dawn the next morning revealed no sign of the bird and a search of other likely sites proved fruitless. The month ended on 144.

May
May brought many summer migrants to my yearlist, Wood Warbler the definite highlight amongst them, one at St.Anne's on 3rd and another at Bourne Hill on 5th. In my opinion the origin of any White Stork in Britain can be questioned but, unless we 'give up' on the species, then individuals which show no real signs of previous captivity should be taken as such. It was with this view in mind that I raced towards Hardhorn on the 17th to see my first Fylde stork. Two exquisite Black Terns at Marton Mere later in the evening were equally well received. The month ended on 157.

June
Having failed to find a migrant Spotted Flycatcher in May or early June, and not being confident of encountering the species during the autumn, I was quick to act on news of a pair nesting at Danson Hill, Black Pole. These delightful birds showed extremely well on the 28th. Unfortunately I fear my need to twitch Spotted Flycatcher says more about the disastrous fortunes of the species than it does about my birding ability. The month ended on 158.

July
A reasonably strong mid-summer 'blow' yielded the predicted Manx Shearwaters on 1st but more time devoted to the cause could possibly have produced Storm Petrel, a species not to my knowledge recorded in the Fylde in 2002. I keenly followed the progress of the breeding Avocets at Marshside and kept scanning Granny's Bay in the hope that the birds may disperse across the Ribble from the drought-stricken RSPB reserve. This they did en-masse on 28th when Billy Aspin discovered eight birds feeding together behind BAe Systems at Warton. In common with recent years the Eagland Hill and Nateby area produced several singing Quails. After several unsuccessful visits I eventually located a singing bird at Eagland Hill on 29th which gave brief flight views over its chosen crop. The month ended on 165.

August
At least two summer plumage Curlew Sandpipers on the Ribble were a colourful treat from the 2nd, whilst nearby Maurice Jones had discovered the predicted Little Terns on St.Anne's beach. In common with Spotted Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtail is a summer migrant in trouble. Almost lost as a breeding bird in the Fylde, two juveniles at Bank End on 17th filled what may in future yearlists become a glaring gap. Marsh Harriers had been reported briefly on the Fylde during the spring but I had pencilled in this species for Warton Bank in August, and it didn't let me down. A juvenile quartering the salt marsh on the 29th made up for the frustration caused on several previous visits as I watched up to three Marsh Harriers quartering Banks Marsh, patiently waiting for them to cross the Ribble! The month ended on 169.

September
Having failed to rise early enough for visible migration at Rossall Point in the spring I was determined not to make the same mistake in the autumn and after a couple of mornings 'warming up' at Fairhaven Lake, Tree Pipits passed swiftly over on 9th. Bob Danson's many hours in the field Over Wyre paid off for everyone once again on 12th when he discovered an immaculate Lesser Yellowlegs on floods at Eagland Hill, which was remarkably joined by a Pectoral Sandpiper on 16th. Little Stints have good years and bad years in the Fylde, but 2002 was abysmal, two in Granny's Bay on 18th saving this species from becoming the most glaring omission from my year. Red-crested Pochards, like White Storks, are dismissed by many as nothing more then roaming escapes, but I do not believe all are such and I elected to count the individual present briefly at Fairhaven Lake on 19th. Stuart Piner struck the jackpot on the 25th with a Wryneck at Carr House Green Common. Excellent views that evening were much appreciated as the bird had gone by the morning. The month ended on 177.

October
The Fylde paralleled the national rarity scene during October with few rarities meaning slow progress. An Arctic Skua past Rossall Point on the 10th was a later addition than I would have liked but was much appreciated nonetheless. Ian Gardner's persistence around Fleetwood came to fruition on the 13th with a delightful Grey Phalarope on the pools at the back of Jameson Road Landfill Site. The month ended on 179.

November
Stephen Dunstan's early morning and lunchtime vigils at Starr Gate were producing dividends with regular Long-tailed Ducks and after a couple of failed visits I managed to catch up with this often tricky species on 13th. The Long-tailed Ducks seemed to prompt a flurry of activity with Snow Bunting at Fairhaven on 15th, Guillemot off Rossall and Hen Harrier at Warton Bank on 16th, Brent Goose past Rossall on 17th and finally a Little Auk whirring north past Starr Gate on 19th. The final action of the month was, once again following in Stephen Dunstan's footsteps, on 23rd with a pair of Velvet Scoters off Starr Gate - a much appreciated Fylde tick. The month ended on 186.

December
After my bumper November, December was in the main a let down. The only yeartick was an American Wigeon at Barnaby's Sands on 9th, only the second Fylde record. So after 12 months had I recorded as many species in the Fylde in the year as I had anticipated possible? Well 187 was just one short of my theoretical prediction of 188. I presume that I set a record by default, as to my knowledge no one else has ever tried before!

To my knowledge a further 28 species were reported in the Fylde during the year, with my most notable omissions being Purple Sandpiper, Long-eared Owl, Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Marsh Tit, Raven and Lapland Bunting.

Given the relatively small size of the Fylde and the correspondingly limited avifauna, undertaking a yearlist isn't particularly taxing in terms of time or money - the longest possible journey being Glasson to St.Annes! So why not have a go at a Fylde yearlist, my 'record' is a record waiting to be beaten.

I should particularly like to thank all the Fylde birders who promptly released news of their sightings during 2002, be to it to myself, the pagers, birdlines or websites: in particular Bob Danson, Barry Dyson, Stephen Dunstan, Paul Ellis, Ian Gardner, Pete Marsh, Maurice Jones, Stuart Piner, Paul Slade and Frank Walsh. Without up-to-the-minute information the chance of catching up with many of the scarcer species diminishes considerably.

Fylde Year 2002 species list of 187 following BOU taxonomy
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Bewick's Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
Bean Goose Anser fabalis rossicus
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
Eurasian White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons albifrons
Greylag Goose Anser anser anser
Lesser Snow Goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens
Atlantic Canada Goose Branta canadensis canadensis
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis
Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla bernicla
Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Wigeon Anas penelope
American Wigeon Anas americana
Gadwall Anas strepera
Teal Anas crecca
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos
Pintail Anas acuta acuta
Garganey Anas querquedula
Shoveler Anas clypeata
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina
Pochard Aythya ferina
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Scaup Aythya marila
Eider Somateria mollissima mollissima
Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis
Common Scoter Melanitta nigra nigra
Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca
Goldeneye Bucephala clangula clangula
Smew Mergellus albellus
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
Goosander Mergus merganser merganser
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis jamaicensis
Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa rufa
Grey Partridge Perdix perdix perdix
Quail Coturnix coturnix coturnix
Pheasant Phasianus colchicus colchicus
Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis ruficollis
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus cristatus
Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis glacialis
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus
Leach's Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa
Gannet Morus bassanus
Atlantic Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo carbo
Common Bittern Botaurus stellaris
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea cinerea
White Stork Ciconia ciconia ciconia
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus aeruginosus
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus cyaneus
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus nisus
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo buteo
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus
Merlin Falco columbarius aesalon
Peregrine Falco peregrinus peregrinus
Water Rail Rallus aquaticus aquaticus
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus chloropus
Coot Fulica atra atra
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus
Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius curonicus
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula
Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Greenland Knot Calidris canutus islandica
Sanderling Calidris alba
Little Stint Calidris minuta
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Northern Dunlin Calidris alpina alpina
Ruff Philomachus pugnax
Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus
Snipe Gallinago gallinago gallinago
Woodcock Scolopax rusticola
Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa islandica
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica lapponica
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus phaeopus
Curlew Numenius arquata arquata
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Redshank Tringa totanus totanus
Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Turnstone Arenaria interpres interpres
Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius
Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus
Great Skua Catharacta skua
Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus
Little Gull Larus minutus
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Common Gull Larus canus canus
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus graellsii
Herring Gull Larus argentatus argenteus
Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides glaucoides
Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla tridactyla
Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis sandvicensis
Common Tern Sterna hirundo hirundo
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
Little Tern Sterna albifrons albifrons
Black Tern Chlidonias niger niger
Southern Guillemot Uria aalge albionis
Razorbill Alca torda islandica
Little Auk Alle alle alle
Feral Pigeon Columba livia
Stock Dove Columba oenas oenas
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus palumbus
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto decaocto
Cuckoo Cuculus canorus canorus
Barn Owl Tyto alba alba
Little Owl Athene noctua vidalii
Tawny Owl Strix aluco sylvatica
Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus flammeus
Swift Apus apus apus
Kingfisher Alcedo atthis ispida
Hoopoe Upupa epops epops
Wryneck Jynx torquilla
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus major anglicus
Skylark Alauda arvensis arvensis
Sand Martin Riparia riparia riparia
Swallow Hirundo rustica rustica
House Martin Delichon urbica urbica
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis trivialis
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis pratensis
Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus petrosus
Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta spinoletta
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava flavissima
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea cinerea
Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii
Dipper Cinclus cinclus gularis
Wren Troglodytes troglodytes indigenus
Dunnock Prunella modularis occidentalis
Robin Erithacus rubecula melophilus
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
Stonechat Saxicola torquata hibernans
Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe
Blackbird Turdus merula merula
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos clarkei
Redwing Turdus iliacus iliacus
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus viscivorus
Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia naevia
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus scirpaceus
Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca curruca
Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis communis
Garden Warbler Sylvia borin borin
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla atricapilla
Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita collybita
Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus
Goldcrest Regulus regulus regulus
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata striata
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus rosaceus
Coal Tit Parus ater britannicus
Blue Tit Parus caeruleus obscurus
Great Tit Parus major newtoni
Nuthatch Sitta europaea caesia
Treecreeper Certhia familiaris britannica
Jay Garrulus glandarius rufitergum
Magpie Pica pica pica
Jackdaw Corvus monedula spermologus
Rook Corvus frugilegus frugilegus
Carrion Crow Corvus corone corone
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris
House Sparrow Passer domesticus domesticus
Tree Sparrow Passer montanus montanus
British Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs gengleri
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris chloris
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis britannica
Siskin Carduelis spinus
Linnet Carduelis cannabina cannabina
British Twite Carduelis flavirostris pipilans
Mealy Redpoll Carduelis flammea flammea
Lesser Redpoll Carduelis cabaret
British Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula pileata
Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis
Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella citrinella
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus schoeniclus
Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra

Additional distinct forms recorded
Continental Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
Todd's Canada Goose Branta canadensis interior
Cackling Canada Goose Branta canadensis minima
Continental Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa limosa
Continental Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus intermedius
Scandinavian Herring Gull Larus argentatus argentatus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus argentatus michahellis
White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba

Chris Batty January 2003

Tundra Bean Goose Pilling Lane

Leach's Petrel Rossall Point

Garganey Myerscough Quarry

Hoopoe Lytham St.Anne's Nature Reserve

White Stork Hardhorn

Avocets Freckleton

Curlew Sandpiper Fairhaven

Lesser Yellowlegs Eagland Hill

Pectoral Sandpiper Eagland Hill

Red-crested Pochard Fairhaven Lake

Wryneck Carr House Green Common

Grey Phalarope Jameson Road Landfill Site

American Wigeon Barnaby's Sands

On 26th August 2001 I was birding at Freckleton Naze, where I had a reasonable day with 144 Ruff on the Naze Pool and the two long staying Spoonbills near the river confluence. Viewing the Ribble upriver from the elevated viewpoint at Naze Point I saw a large white heron type bird some way upriver.

Looking at the mystery bird through binoculars it seemed pretty certain that it was too large for a Little Egret, given that it appeared a similar size to nearby Grey Herons. However it was not possible to draw any further conclusions without better views, so I set up my scope with something of a sense of anticipation. With the zoom on my scope set on maximum (60x) it quickly became apparent that the bird was unfortunately not a Great White Egret, but actually a leucistic Grey Heron. There were two obvious reasons why this was the case:-

i) the bird had a very faint but still obvious trace of a dark stripe on the crown
ii) the bird was structurally no different to the three Grey Herons feeding in same area

I was quickly to realise a third reason why Great White Egret could be ruled out - the bird was not actually white! The two Spoonbills took to the wing and coincidentally landed in the area where the leucistic heron was feeding. Compared to the Spoonbills the heron clearly had ‘dirty’ white plumage, apparently bluish white, particularly in the areas which would be darkest on a normal Grey Heron including the wings. I informed Maurice Jones just in case he received reports of a Great White Egret in the Freckleton area.

The next time I visited the Naze on the 28th August a couple of visiting birders confidently reported a Great White Egret on the river. As you will probably have guessed, it transpired that this was the leucistic Grey Heron.

It is interesting that a bird, which was clearly not pure white, appeared pure white at medium/ long range. Personally I think if this bird had been seen in flight at medium range it might have been very easy to claim it as a Great White Egret and at long range on the ground it was also very plausible. And Great White Egret is a species, which is described in two of my field guides as unmistakable!

There are of course many such pitfalls out there. Earlier this year I had a presumed hybrid Tufted Duck x Pintail on the River Irwell in Salford. A presumed small form Canada Goose with Pink-footed Geese in the Fylde early this spring, turned out to be a hybrid Canada Goose x Barnacle Goose. As if identification isn’t difficult enough sometimes..

Stephen Dunstan