Som en lille appetitvækker på OK følger her en lille update fra England omhandlende de sidste to uger. Opdateringen kommer fra BirdGuides. Selvom vejrudsigten ikke er optimal for weekenden, viser nedenstående, at der ikke er grund til at miste modet.
Review of the week 26th October - 1st November 2001
A male Siberian Rubythroat was picked up dead on Shetland on the 25th. If accepted, it will be only the third British record. This species is surely on the 'most wanted' list of the majority of birders and the previous record in Dorset in 1997 was present for just one October afternoon, successfully eluding the majority of the birding fraternerty.
The Isles of Scilly yielded Chimney Swift and Cliff Swallow during the week, whilst a Bobolink in East Yorkshire for the afternoon of the 27th was another rarity. A Roller was seen at Skokholm on the 26th and an Isabelline Shrike was foundn in Gloucestershire. A first-winter Whiskered Tern in Buckinghamshire, and later Bedford-shire, on the 30th and 31st was a late find and a Yellow-breasted Buntingwas seen at Bressay on the 26th. A Harlequin Duck was reported on a seawatch in Argyll and the Snowy Owl remained in the Felixstowe Docks all week. Pallid Swift was seen at Dungeness on the 31st.
Review of the Week 19th-26th October 2001
The second Black-faced Bunting. of the autumn was located on Fair Isle on the 21st and 22nd. Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler was on Fair Isle on the 19th, with a Booted Warbler on Tresco on the same day. An Arctic Warbler was in Nanquidno Valley from the 20th and a Yellow-breasted Bunting on North Ronaldsay on the 21st. A Hume's Warbler was seen in Northumberland , whilst a Lesser Grey Shrike was on Orkney on the 22nd. Associated arrivals included Dusky Warblers, Olive-backed Pipits and Radde's Warblers. Small numbers of Pallas's Warblers were also seen. A Bonaparte's Gull in Lancashire on the 25th, 2 Forster's Terns were in Orkney on the 24th and a Cliff Swallow was on the Isles of Scilly on the 26th.
Pallid Swifts were seen both in Norfolk and the north-east, providing a repeat performance of events two years ago. Associated with the massive incursion of thrushes were small numbers of Waxwings.
Event of the week for many was perhaps the arrival of a Snowy Owl at Felixstowe Docks. The oiled plumage of the bird and the location pointed to a ship for its origin. Initially unexciting news, it soon transpired that this was, perhaps, one of 50 birds that had boarded a ship off Quebec and other similarly oiled birds were taken into care in The Netherlands and Belgium. Of course, ship-assisted birds are now countable as long as they have not been fed on their journey, thus this particular bird is 'tickable' should you want it to be. No doubt this will test the scruples of many life-lists, especially for those who had yearned to see their 'first' in a bleak, windswept wilderness.
English version