« November 2002 | Main | January 2003 »
December 16, 2002
BOU's Checklist of Birds of Britain
This report covers the period October 2001 to September 2002 and is the thirteenth to follow publication of the most recent Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland (6th edition, March 1992). The 28th Report appeared in Ibis 144: 181-184. The Checklist (6th edition) is available from the BOU office and specialist bookshops, price £2 (UK) and £3 (overseas) (prices inc. pp)
Checklist of Birds of Britain
Work on a seventh edition of the BOU's Checklist of Birds of Britain continued during the year.
The BOU website: www.bou.org.uk
The BOU website includes the British List, press releases and lists of recent decisions and files in circulation. The website is for information purposes only and is not an official document or part of the permanent record. Announcements of changes to the British List do not come into effect until published in Ibis.
Changes in taxonomy
Since publication of our last report, our Taxonomic Sub-committee has outlined the approach that it adopts when considering species-level decisions (Helbig et al., 2002, Guidelines for assigning species rank, Ibis 144: 518-525). The Sub-committee has also published recommendations relating to the British List (Knox et al., 2002, Taxonomic recommendations for British Birds, Ibis 144: 707-710). These came into immediate effect with the publication of that paper and will not be repeated here.
Category definitions
The Categories of the British list were last revised in the 25th Report (Ibis 141: 175-180). Two minor changes are required. The introduction of Category C is reworded to read
"Species that although introduced now derive from the resulting self-sustaining populations."
The sub-categories remain unchanged. Category D has been redefined to allow dual categorisation of B and D. The new definition of Category D is
"Species that would otherwise appear in Category A except that there is reasonable
doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state."
Post Irish Firsts
A number of species included on the former joint British and Irish List were associated with first records which had occurred in Ireland. With the separation of British and Irish records in 1998 (Ibis 141: 175-180), it became necessary to determine the first record for Britain in each case. Ten of these first records have now been confirmed (see below).
Changes to the British List
The following changes have been made to the British List:
NOTE: the taxonomic changes published in Ibis 144: 707-710 are not repeated here.
Black Duck Anas rubripes
Male, Yantlet Creek, Stoke, Kent, 18-25 March 1967 (Brit. Birds 60: 482-483; 61: 335). This becomes the first British record.
Canvasback Aythya valisineria
Male, probably first-winter, Cliffe, Kent, 7 December 1996.
This is the first British record, preceding by some six weeks the previously accepted record at Welney, Norfolk, which may well have been the same individual.
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus Linnaeus
Add to Category A.
One at sea 20 miles (32 km) SSE of the Isles of Scilly, 7 June 2001. Sight record, photographed (Birdwatch 111: 50-51, Birding World 15: 352, Brit. Birds 95: 480).
Three races are recognised, P.a.indicus in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, P.a. aethereus on Ascension Island, St.Helena and Fernando Noronha and P.a. mesonauta in the eastern Pacific, the Caribbean, Iles de la Madeleine off Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands, the last locality being the species’ only breeding station within the Western Palearctic. The Committee felt that although subspecific identification could not be made with certainty from the photographs, P.a. mesonauta was probably the race involved.
Snowy Egret Egretta thula (Molina)
Add to Category A.
One (age uncertain), Balvicar, Seil Island, Argyll, 5 Nov 2001, and various West and Southwest Scottish coast localities into 2002. Sight record, photographed (Birding World 14: 460-464; Brit. Birds 95: 210, Brit. Birds 95:481-482).
This species appears to be unknown in captivity in Europe and with three records from Iceland and four from the Azores, vagrancy potential had already been established. Despite extensive correspondence with experts in the US, the age of this individual remains undetermined.
American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica
Adult, Fair Isle, Shetland, 14-15 September 1956 (Fair Isle Bird Observatory Report 1955/56: 25; Scot. Birds 1: 68; Dymond, 1991 The Birds of Fair Isle (privately published)). This becomes the first British record.
Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris Vieillot
Add to Category A.
First-summer, Druridge Bay, Northumberland, 4-7 May 1998. Sight record, photographed and video recorded (Birding World 11: 181-191; Brit. Birds 95: 272-278
279-299, Brit. Birds 95: 494).
An unexpected record that not only added the species to the British List but contributed significantly to the identification of non-adult individuals of this species whose world population is believed to be only 50-270 birds (Tucker, G. M.
Heath, M. F. 1994. Birds in Europe: Their Conservation Status (BirdLife Conservation Series No 3)). Confirming the identification involved a considerable amount of work by the British Birds Rarities Committee, making ratification by the BOURC relatively straightforward.
Known, as a breeding species, only from a restricted area of south-western Siberia where nests were found during the early years of the 20th Century (Gretton et al. 2002. Brit. Birds 95: 334-344), in recent decades observations have been restricted to a small number of sites in south and east Europe east to Kazakhstan and a handful of individuals that wintered more regularly at a single locality in Morocco. Work continues to try to find the current breeding grounds in the hope of saving the Slender-billed Curlew from extinction. The ageing of the Druridge Bay bird as a first-summer proved that successful nesting occurred in 1997.
Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Correction to 28th Report (Ibis 144: 181-184): Black Tern Chlidonias niger surinamensis delete brackets from author Gmelin.
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus)
Add to Category A.
North Uist, Western Isles, 14-16 November 1999. Sight record. Video recorded (Birding World 12: 453).
The only previous record of this species in the British Isles was one on the Calf of Man on 31 October 1989 and found dead the following day. Records from the Isle of Man no longer form part of the British List.
Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythrophthalmus
Immature, Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 27 October 1932. Found dead, specimen now in Isles of Scilly Museum (Brit. Birds 27: 111-112; 48:7; Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 53: 77, 88; Penhallurick. 1978. The Birds of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly). This becomes the first British record.
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops superciliosus
Add subspecies persicus Pallas to Category A.
St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, 13 July 1921 (Bull. Br. Orn. Club 92: 57-59, Ibis 114: 446-447).
Following a review, this bird is confirmed as belonging to the race persicus, which breeds from Egypt to north and west India, wintering mainly in east tropical Africa.
Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus)
Add to Category A.
South Stack, Holy Island, Anglesey, 4-5 October 2001. Sight record (Birding World 14: 424-425, Brit. Birds 95: 505).
Gray Catbird breeds from southern Canada south throughout most of the USA, apart from the south-western states, and winters in the eastern USA south as far as Panama and the Caribbean. There had been five previous Western Palearctic occurrences including one on Jersey, Channel Islands (October-December 1975) and one on Cape Clear Island, Ireland (4 November 1986). The only other British record related to a bird that arrived in Portsmouth on board the QE II cruise liner on 21 October 1998. Although ship assistance does not disqualify species from being accepted onto the British List, this particular individual was not known to have left ship whilst in port and, more importantly, survived the Atlantic crossing with human assistance, ruling out admittance to Category A. Apparently unknown as a cage-bird outside the USA, acceptance of the Anglesey individual as a wild vagrant was supported by the arrival of a Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus there on the same day.
Common Nightingale Luscinia megarynchos
Correction to 28th Report (Ibis 144: 181-184): Common Nightingale Luscinia megarynchos hafizi delete brackets from author Severtzov.
Siberian Blue Robin Luscinia cyane (Pallas)
Add to Category A.
First-year or adult female, Minsmere, Suffolk, 23 October 2000. Sight record (Birding World 13: 412-414, Brit. Birds 95: 505).
The species breeds in southern Siberia from the Altai Mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk and in eastern Mongolia, northern China, Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Japan; it winters in mainland south-east Asia, the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra. One trapped on Sark, Channel Islands on 27 October 1975 and another, also trapped, in the Ebre Delta, Spain on 18 October 2000, just five days prior to the Minsmere record, are the only other Western Palearctic records.
The species is known to be relatively common in captivity but the circumstances of the Minsmere occurrence point towards this individual being a vagrant rather than of captive origin. The date and location were both consistent with natural occurrence as was the appearance of many other Siberian vagrants in Europe at the same time. These included no fewer than 28 Radde’s Warblers Phylloscopus schwarzi in the UK alone. Radde's Warbler shares a similar breeding range with Siberian Blue Robin.
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
Skokholm, Pembrokeshire, 14–19 October 1967. Trapped (Brit. Birds 61: 349). This becomes the first British record.
Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
Cley, Norfolk, 24 August 1976, and presumed same, Holme, Norfolk, 29 August - 5 September 1976 (Brit. Birds 70: 435; 71: 275-277). This becomes the first British record.
Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella certhiola
Immature, Fair Isle, Shetland, 8-9 October 1949 (Brit. Birds 70: 435; 71: 275-277). This becomes the first British record.
Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus
Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 10-13 October 1987 (Brit. Birds 81: 588; 84: 499, 572-574, plates 313-314; Twitching 1: 301-302). This becomes the first British record.
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, 4-10 October 1962, and another, 4-17 October 1962 (Brit. Birds 56: 406). These become the first British records.
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
Dengemarsh, Dungeness, Kent, 26 May 1960. Trapped (Brit. Birds 64: 367; 69: 452-453). becomes the first British record.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
Female, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, 6-11 October 1966. Trapped (Brit. Birds 60: 330; 61: 176-180). This becomes the first British record.
Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
Immature male, Unst, Shetland, 26 September 1890. Captured.
Following a review, this is accepted as the first British record. It was well documented at the time, but was dismissed as a likely escape from captivity. Subsequent records have revealed that the location, date and age all support natural vagrancy.
British List totals
With the addition of Red-billed Tropicbird, Snowy Egret, Slender-billed Curlew, Mourning Dove, Gray Catbird, Siberian Blue Robin, Western Olivaceous Warbler, Sykes's Warbler and Hooded Crow to Category A, the deletion of Houbara Bustard from Category A and the addition of Macqueen's Bustard to Category B, the British List is increased to 565. These totals take account of the taxonomic decisions published recently in Ibis 144: 707-710, but do not include Soft-plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis/P. madeira/P.feae as the birds were not identified to species level (Ibis 134: 380). Identification of Soft-plumaged Petrels to species level is currently under review.
Species in Category D (and Category E) do not form part of the British List.
Category Totals
A 542
B 14
C 9
Total 565
Three additional species are currently included in Category A of the Northern Ireland List (one of these is also in Category D of the British List).
The following have also been considered
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
The status of this species on the British List was given careful consideration and it was agreed to retain it in Category B on the basis of the 1892 influx. It was also agreed that no post-1950 records could be confirmed as referring to definitely wild birds and that some of these were best placed in Category D (Brit. Birds 95: 123-128). With the revisions of the species categories, Ruddy Shelduck is now placed in both Category B and Category D of the British List.
Wood Duck Aix sponsa
In the absence of any records with a strong likelihood of an individual having arrived naturally, this species is no longer under active consideration for admission to Category A.
Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
A record of a female Hooded Merganser at Oban Trumisgarry Loch, North Uist, Western Isles from 23 October to 1 November 2000 was considered by BOURC and placed in Category D. The location and timing of the occurrence suggested natural vagrancy as did the original claim that the bird was a first-winter. However, careful examination of the available evidence showed that the bird was of indeterminable age and this, together with other factors such as the rarity of the species in the eastern part of its North American range and the frequency with which it is kept in captivity in Europe, resulted in the Committee feeling that they could not accept the bird onto Category A.
Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus
In the absence of any records with a strong likelihood of an individual having arrived naturally, this species is no longer under active consideration for admission to Category C(5).
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus
Sightings of a pale morph, all believed to refer to the same individual, were reported from various parts of Britain and Ireland, from Waterford in the south-west to Orkney in the north-east (including Co. Down and Antrim in Northern Ireland), between March 1999 and June 2000. The record was considered by BOURC in conjunction with the Irish Rare Birds Committee and the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers’ Association Records Committee. The three committees were of the opinion that none of the occurrences were acceptable for admission to Category A on the basis of a) the bird’s abnormally abraded plumage, b) the very early arrival date, c) the long sea crossing implied by its arrival in Ireland, d) the long stay within the British Isles contrasting with the short stay of most vagrant raptors and e) the fact that, although rare, the species is not unknown in captivity. The records were therefore placed in Category D.
Files under consideration
Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii
A review of all the records of this species is approaching completion.
White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina
The 1897 record from Colonsay, Argyllshire, is being reviewed along with the records of Bulwer's Petrel.
Cape Gannet Morus capensis
The 1831 record from Bass Rock, Lothian is still under review.
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
The racial identity of the 1864 Wiltshire record, reported to be Steppe Buzzard B. b. vulpinus, is being reviewed.
Macqueen’s Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii
Macqueen's Bustard is now on Category B of the British List. The only recent (post 1950) record (Suffolk, 1962) is being reviewed to determine whether the species should be admitted to Category A.
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
Difficulty is being experienced in confirming the ringing records from Sweden and Finland, said to relate to the subspecies L. f. fuscus, on the basis of which this race is currently on the British List.
Royal Tern Sterna maxima
A record from Kent in 1965 (a potential first for Britain) has been referred to the British Birds Rarities Committee for confirmation of its identity.
Little Tern Sterna albifrons
The file relating to an individual, claimed to belong to the race antillarum, which arrived in East Sussex in 1983 remains closed while the Committee attempts to obtain sound recordings of the grey-rumped West African race guineae in order to rule out the latter taxon.
Little Swift Apus affinis
A record from Denbighshire in 1973 has not been accepted as the first for Britain and consideration is now being given to one from Skewjack, Cornwall in 1981.
Blyth's Pipit Anthus godlewski
Consideration of a file on the bird that occurred on Fair Isle, Shetland in October 1988, as the first British record, is approaching completion.
Western Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais opaca
The British Birds Rarities Committee is currently reviewing claimed records of this taxon prior to making recommendations to BOURC.
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
The Committee is gathering information on the captive status (of all races) in Britain, Europe and the Far Eastern bird markets before its assessment of the individual seen on South Uist, Outer Hebrides, 3-4 November 2000.
Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps
The BOURC is awaiting BBRC’s review of recent records of this species. There has been a marked reduction in the incidence of this species in captivity in recent decades.
The Tadcaster Rarities
The BOURC has been reviewing three potential first records for British that all involved the same York taxidermist (Ross's Gull Rhodostethia rosea, Tadcaster 1847; Macqueen's Bustard, Lincs, 1847; Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis, Wetherby, 1848). Further investigation has shown that the same taxidermist was involved with a number of other records of extremely rare birds including yet another potential first (Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni, York, 1867). Some of these records are undoubtedly genuine, including the Macqueen's Bustard where his involvement was merely to correctly re-identify it. Investigations are continuing into the facts relating to the other records.
Changes to the Manx List
The following change to the Manx List has been passed on to BOURC by the Manx Ornithological Society
Rosy Starling Sturnus roseus
Add to Category A.
Juvenile, Peel, 10 October 1999.
Changes to the Northern Ireland List
The following change to the Northern Ireland List has been passed on to BOURC by the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers Association
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster
Add to Category A.
One Island Magee (Antrim) 1 May 2000.
The following has also been considered
Booted Eagle Hieraatus pennatus
See Booted Eagle account above under BOURC files also considered.
Acknowledgements
The Committee could not operate successfully without the considerable help it receives from many people. We particularly wish to thank Gwen Bonham, Ian Dawson, Steve Dudley, Mike Gee, Nick Green, Andreas Helbig, Tim Inskipp, Keith Naylor, Alan Knox, Phil Palmer, David Parkin, Dennis Paulson, Richard Porter, Peter Robinson, Mike Rogers, George Sangster and Grahame Walbridge for all their help, and apologise to any others we have omitted to mention by name.
Committee Membership
Since publication of the last report, Tony Marr has retired from his position as Chairman and from the Committee itself. During his time as Chairman, Tony Marr made a great deal of progress towards making the BOURC more accessible in the eyes of the birdwatching public. The Committee and the BOU are grateful to him for all his hard work. Eric Meek replaces Tony as Chairman of the Committee and the arising vacancy has been taken by Dr Martin Collinson. Martin is a member of the Taxonomic Sub-committee and is well known for his ability to make taxonomic matters more understandable through his contributions to popular ornithological journals and magazines.
The following served on the Committee during the period covered by this report (with expected year of retirement):
Eric Meek (Chairman) (2006)
Tony Marr (Chairman, retired)
Tim Melling (Secretary) (2003)
Martin Collinson (2009)
Paul Harvey (2003)
Andrew Harrop (2007)
Ian Lewington (2005)
Bob McGowan (2008)
Tony Prater (2006)
Roger Wilkinson (2004)
Colin Bradshaw (BBRC representative)
British Ornithologists Union Records Committee
The Natural History Museum
Akeman Street
Tring
Hertfordshire HP23 6AP
UK
Email: bourc.sec@bou.org.uk
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2002
A joint Press Release from BOU and BBRC
11 December 2002
Snowy Egret - Several localities in west and southwest Scotland
5 November 2001 17 September 2002
Added to Category A of the British List
The British Ornithologists Union Records Committee (BOURC) has added Snowy Egret Egretta thula to Category A of the British List following the acceptance of a bird first seen at Balvicar, Argyll Bute, Scotland on 5 November 2001 (sight record, photographed).
The bird frequented several sites in west and southwest Scotland. It spent more than two months on the Isle of Arran (15 Jan to 28 March 2002) and was last seen on 17 September 2002 at Caerlaverock (Dumfries Galloway). A report from Stranraer on 29 September remains unconfirmed. The bird may still be in Britain as it went missing from 1 June (after revisiting its original locality of Balvicar) before being located at Caerlaverock on 6 September (Birding World 14: 460-464; Brit. Birds 95: 210, Brit. Birds 95:481-482).
This first for Britain is highly unusual in two respects; first the extraordinary length of its stay, and second, the number of localities at which it was recorded visiting three different counties (Argyll Bute, Ayrshire, Dumfries Galloway).
Snowy Egret breeds along the south and east coasts of North America and discontinuously into the interior. Northernmost and interior populations are migratory and move southwards but coastal birds are more sedentary. Regular migratory species are more likely to appear outside their normal range and this species had already been recorded seven times within the Western Palaearctic - three times in or near Iceland and four times in the Azores.
Snowy Egret is not known in captivity in Britain or Europe.
This addition brings the British List to 565 species
(Category A = 541; Category B = 14; Category C = 9).
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2002
Prestige Update
(Pontevedra, Spain - December 10, 2002)
Jay Holcomb, Director of International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) and the IFAW ER Team Leader, said, "This is what we have been waiting for since the first birds arrived. It is at last some good news in what has been a wildlife tragedy. Holcomb and members of IBRRC's specially trained oil spill response team has been in Spain since November 16th. They are currently caring for over 300 live birds, with more arriving daily.
"It has been difficult to find a location where the birds could be released because the whole coast in this part of Spain is getting oil washed ashore. In consultation with all the Spanish experts we have chosen this area of Portugal because it already has good colonies of birds and it is not too far for us to transport them."
About 40 birds will be loaded onto a truck at the center at 8am for a five-hour journey to Portugal where they will be released at Bahia de Setubal. It is necessary to take the birds so far away because the oil has affected the entire coastline of Galicia in northwest Spain.
The birds being released are razorbills, guillemots, puffins, loons, scoters and gulls, which are the first at the center to be successfully rehabilitated.
They are being released by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW www.ifaw.org) with the help of the local environment authority Xunta. The birds have been cared for at the main wildlife rehabilitation center for the crisis, which is being run in Pontevedra by IFAW's Emergency Relief Team.
Since the start of the crisis three weeks ago hundreds of birds have arrived at the center covered in oil and suffering from hypothermia and dehydration. The IFAW ER Team first stabilizes the birds with fluids and food fed by tube, and once they are strong enough they are washed and dried, before being put into recovery pools to regain their waterproofing. The center is currently caring for 334 birds.
The IFAW ER Team in Pontevedra has vets and wildlife rehabilitation experts from eight countries around the world and about 50 local volunteers.
Daily reports from the field are located IFAW's website at
More information about IBRRC and response team bios can be found at
www.ibrrc.org
Karen Benzel
PR/Media Relations
International Bird Rescue Research Center
831-622-7588 phone
www.ibrrc.org
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2002
The No Airport at Cliffe RSPB boat trip
The weather on the morning of Dec 7th was unpromising, with heavily overcast skies and a cool northerly wind. However, 150 people braved the elements and boarded the passenger boat Pocahontas for an RSPB chartered cruise along the Thames past the site of the ludicrous Cliffe Airport proposal. The cruise was arranged to give an audience of young people a different perspective on the issue and a chance to view some of the birds wintering on the Thames. Representatives from a range of youth oriented organisations including Medway Youth Parliament, Scouts, Guides, RSPB Wildlife Explorers and youngsters from the local community were accompanied by local birdwatchers, members of the Kent Ornithological Society, RSPB wardens and staff (including Director of Conservation Mark Avery) Bob Marshall Andrews MP, local Councillors and popular TV celebrity Chris Simmons who is currently starring in the TV series The Bill.
Things got off to a promising start, with Red Throated Diver, Little Gull and, most surprisingly a male Goosander recorded while press photocalls were going on and the boat had not yet cast off. Leaving Gravesend, birds were soon in evidence on the narrow mudflats on the edge of the town, where several hundred waders included Black Tailed Godwits, and a fine Yellow Legged Gull sat on a buoy. Proceeding past Shorne Marshes and Higham Bight RSPB reserves, expected waders and wildfowl were picked up, but 3 Red Breasted Mergansers close to the boat were nice, a Kittiwake was unfortunately lightly oiled. Rounding Lower Hope Point the first of at least 5 Red Throated Divers was spotted close to the boat, there are quite a lot in the area at the moment, again some are oiled. A Little Egret was on the seawall at Cliffe and an auk which flew past surprisingly turned out to be a Razorbill, which also received a surprise when a Peregrine Falcon appeared from nowhere in pursuit of it. The Peregrine was then in turn chased by 3 Great Black Backs and so the auk was saved!
With the tide on the turn, the extensive mudflats of Blyth Sands were being rapidly covered, and streams of waders that included Dunlin and Grey Plover began to fly across the bows of the boat towards Essex, illustrating clearly how these birds use both sides of the Thames in their feeding and roosting cycle. A second auk which flew close to the boat turned out to be the much commoner Guillemot. Passing the western extremity of the proposed airport, and proceeding towards Egypt Bay, the audience viewed the prominent landmark of Northward Hill woodland (home to the largest Heronry in the UK) Clearly visible beyond the seawall, the scale of the threatened destruction was most graphic as one imagined levelling it to the ground. As the boat cruised slowly around the Egypt Bay area- as far as it was licensed to go- there were almost continuous sightings of Red Throated Divers and, best of all, a flock of 10 Little Gulls headed slowly east, and close to us, the dull skies highlighting the black underwings of the adults.
Lunch was then served below deck as the boat headed back towards Gravesend, giving us all an interesting close view of the built up Essex shoreline contrasting very starkly with the vast open spaces that make peninsula so precious. We all felt that this had been an excellent trip, and for the birdwatchers aboard ship an excellent morning's birding too.
Alan Parker RSPB senior warden.
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)