16/11/94 Lechdale, Gloucestershire

LESSER SCAUP 1 drake

 

Drake Lesser Scaup at Lechdale (JFC)

Having painfully dipped birds in Dumfries in 1990 and Dorset in 1992 another chance offered itself and along with Pete Neatherway I finally succeeded in seeing this drake that was only the eighth for Britain & Ireland... and then they became far more regular!



6/11/94 Landguard Point, Suffolk

BLYTH’S PIPIT 1 ex.
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler 1 ex.

Blyth's Pipit at Landguard (Alan Tate http://www.aabirdpix.com)



Blyth's Pipit at Landguard (Brian Small)

After a morning at Beachy the 'possible Blyth's Pipit' was still present at Landguard so I drove north and joined the small crowd watching it performing well on the Common. A few days later it was taken by a Kestrel. A few days later still rumours were rife the bird had been trapped and it was a proven Blyth's. At the time it was only the second Blyth's Pipit to be accepted in Britain after the Sussex bird in 1882. Retrospectively four more were accepted from the late 80's and early 90's one of which we had dipped on a day trip to St. Marys in October 1993.

 

Pallas's Warbler at Felixstowe (Alan Tate http://www.aabirdpix.com)



3/11/94 Ramsey Island, Dyfed, Wales

MYRTLE WARBLER 1 ex.

 

Myrtle Warbler on Ramsey Island (Alan Tate http://www.aabirdpix.com/)

 

Myrtle Warbler on Ramsey Island (D. Woodhead)

After an overnight drive with JK on arriving near the harbour we asked a young lady on her way home from a pub for directions and she kindly offered us a place to stay. Instead, keen on finding the harbour car park, we slept in the car and awoke to a windy dawn. There was much talk of the boat to Ramsey not running, but it did, even if a little hair-raising on an inflatable in the choppy seas! There were no trees on Ramsey so the Myrtle Warbler was hopping around on the ground alongside a small stream affording superb views. Getting back aboard the inflatable required a leap of faith off the small quay/cliff as the tide had gone out but somehow everyone avoided mishap! Three Irish records aside, it had been a long nine years since the duo on the Isles of Scilly but at last the wait for this Dendroica was over!

27/10/94 Worthing

Radde’s Warbler 1 ex.

21/10/94 Hayle, Cornwall

Ruddy Shelduck 6 ex.
Franklin’s Gull 1 ad. w/p ex.

Ruddy Shelducks on the Hayle (Steve Young)

The Autumn of 1994 produced a decent influx of Ruddy Shelduck with these being two of a flock of six seen on the Hayle. Despite birds associated with historical influxes of the species being afforded a place on the British list unfortunately the events of Autumn 1994 weren't enough to convince the BOURC of a wild origin for these birds.

20/10/94 Hayle & St. Agnes

Ruddy Shelduck 6 ex.

St. Agnes

YELLOW-BROWED BUNTING 1 ex.

Yellow-browed Bunting on St. Agnes (Rob Wilson)

Having heard ARK recount his finding of the Yellow-browed Bunting on Fair Isle in 1980 and RJF successfully twitching it from Scilly this mythical Far Eastern species was high on our most-wanted list. A sense of disappointment prevailed when the North Ronaldsay bird of 1992 didn't linger long enough to allow Steve Mawby's plans to fly onto the island to come to fruition. So, a chance of seeing the fourth for Britian on St. Agnes was too good to miss so we made the overnight trip on the day it was found, but we weren't alone, so had to endure a long queue before getting our chance to see it in a weedy field at the old bird observatory. Fortunately the bird performed admirably all day, and once the pressure was off, we obtained some superb views of it hopping around in the open on the ground at close range.

16/10/94 Seaforth Docks, Lancs & Rockcliffe Marsh, Cumbria

SONG SPARROW 1 ex.

Song Sparrow at Seaforth Docks (Alan Tate)

An organised twitch into the secure docks at Seaforth where everyone was kept well back from a scrap metal heap from where the bird popped out soon after dawn onto a nearby spoil heap. Views weren't close so Alan did extremely well to obtain the above image. Particularly sweet having resisted the temptation of the (successful) boat trip to Fair Isle in '89. 

Rockcliffe Marsh

GREATER YELLOWLEGS 1 ex.

First-winter Greater Yellowlegs at Rockcliffe Marsh (M. Cottam)

The chance of 'a double' hasn't presented itself very often so the chance of doubling-up Britain's seventh Song Sparrow with a Greater Yellowlegs both being found on the 15th October was very welcome.