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December 2008
December heralds the start of three months of cold weather birding. Species are thin on the ground, frost and snow are thick. The month's best bird has just as much chance of turning up at a garden feeding station as it does of making landfall at some more famous bird site. ..and if you get the menu right you might just be entertaining a Baltimore Oriole !
But cold as it is, venture beyond the sitting-room and you could pick up some interesting bits and pieces. Goosey-goosey gander it may be, but patience might well be rewarded with a Lesser White-front among the commoner White-fronted Geese; a Red-breasted Goose or an out of range Bean Goose (but one which one is it - Tundra or Taiga ?). And don't forget to work those Canada's and Brent's - who knows what rare forms are lurking amongst the pack - and who will be brave enough to claim a Puget Sound Brent ?
Feeding Eurasian Wigeon flocks might hold an American Wigeon; parties of tucked up Eurasian Teal might hold a Green-winged Teal and you can count them both ! And don't discount a fly-by Rough-legged Buzzard or even a White-tailed Eagle.
But if a day on the marshes isn't enough punishment then head for the beach and sift through the divers and guillemots - someone will turn up a White-billed Diver or a Brunnich's Guillemot this month - it might just be you ! And don't forget to check every passing scoter. More likely you'll spot a Grey Phalorope, a flurry of Snow Buntings or a posse of Shore Larks.
Now might also be the time to rediscover your nearest sewage works. Blackcaps and various races of Chiffchaff can brighten up a dull December day whilst, if every wintering snipe was given more than a cursory glance, we might all have something to celebrate before Christmas.
Other great 'December' birds to interrupt that stressful pre-christmas family shopping trip might be an over-wintering Paddyfield Warbler, another American Robin or even a Little Bustard (or three).
Merry Christmas !
December 2007: Highlight of the month was undoubtedly the, surprisingly short-staying, Great Blue Heron on the Isles of Scilly. A one-day first for Britain, only the Scilly locals had enough time to catch this bird, leaving many a twitcher with an empty wallet the next day. A third Desert Wheatear, near Crewe joined the long-staying Norfolk and Yorkshire birds, whilst a putative Thayer’s Gull (or perhaps Kumlien’s) in Oxfordshire many never be identified. A fly-over Blyth’s Pipit in Cornwall completed a good year for this species, whilst a morning-only Sociable Plover in Kent is presumably lurking elsewhere amongst a Lapwing flock. Two Bonaparte’s Gulls in Scotland alongside two King Eiders and a Spotted Sandpiper offered something for Scottish birders, whilst Welsh birders could also enjoy a long-staying Spotted Sandpiper near Glamorgan. Right at the end of the year two Hume’s Leaf Warblers were found in Cornwall and Sussex. Although the unprecedented numbers of Cattle Egret, arriving in the South-west of England throughout the month was of more significance.
December 2006: the sensational news of a caught (and ringed) Glaucous-winged Gull in Gloucestershire mid-month, another first for Britain, was to eclipse Scotland's Ivory Gull and Ross's Gull. Birders will be hoping this gull is quickly relocated! Elsewhere a second Falcated Duck was found in Kent, the Suffolk Marbled Duck relocated to Essex as did the Lincolnshire Black-eared Kite to Norfolk.More typical was a white Gyrfalcon on Shetland. Less typical was a Red-throated Pipit staying on into 2007 in Ireland.
December 2005: November's Brunnich's Guillemot settled into Lerwick Harbour for the month and hence many a birder made the pilgrimage. London birder's celebrated at the year-end with the arrival of a Sociable Plover at the new RSPB reserve in Rainham only to find themselves watching as many as five Penduline Tits a fortnight later. A three-day Buff-bellied Pipit in Lincolnshire was another great nearctic find. By the end of the month two Hume's Leaf Warblers had settled into Norfolk and Yorkshire and a flighty Dark-throated Thrush was giving birders the run around in Somerset.
December 2004: A Killdeer was a Christmas Day treat for birders on the Outer Hebrides. A white -phase Gyrfalcon touring the islands was more typical. In Nottinghamshire an adult Sora entertained birders and even hung around long enough for quick off the mark 2005 listers. Early in the month a popular Arctic Redpoll arrived in Norfolk along with a King Eider at the same site a week later. Penduline Tits turned up in Kent and London whilst an immature White-tailed Eagle from Boxing Day kept Norfolk in the headlines. Various long-staying nearctic ducks were settled into their winter quarters.
December 2003: So the predictor finally got it right ! And not just once but twice....Oxfordshire birders were the toast of the country when they found a Baltimore Oriole in a suburban garden, whilst a fungal forey in Cornwall turned up the winter's second American Robin at Godrevy and, staying through to 2004, was the first to be twitchable on the mainland for many a year. With a Rufous Turtle Dove in Highland and many of November's long stayers settling down, there was hardly time for any Christmas shopping.
December 2002 produced perhaps the best bird of the year with Britain's sixth ever record, after a gap of twenty-seven years, of Rufous Turtle Dove in Orkney and twitchable at that ! And if that wasn't enough a wintering Pallid Harrier in Norfolk and an inland Blyth's Pipit in Nottinghamshire kept 2002 year listers active to the very end. With a white Gyr Falcon commuting between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, a Snowy Owl lingering in Ireland, an Ivory Gull in Swansea and a couple of Forster's Terns in and around County Kerry and Cornwall....all was set fair for a white christmas.
December 2001 provided opportunities for catching up with earlier arriving rarities with November's Snowy Egret being relocated, Glamorgan's Redhead and Suffolk's Baikal Teal lingering and the Sussex Sociable Plover re-appearing. New birds included a couple of Ivory Gulls in Scotland, including a rare adult. Geese 'forms' kept birders busy. A White-headed Duck turned up in Oxfordshire for a couple of days...uhmm.
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