Rare Bird Alert weekly round-up: 25 - 31 July 2012

The week's highlights:
Greater Yellowlegs reappears yet again
Roller reappears yet again
Semipalmated Sandpiper in Lothian
Influx of White-winged Black Terns
A surfeit of Baillon’s Crakes

This week saw a return to more typical British summer weather. After the extremes of last week, only 25th saw such high temperatures whilst the nose of an Atlantic high pressure continued to extend across the country. By 26th, however, high pressure was building over the North Sea, bringing a shift in the wind to a northeasterly on exposed coasts and rolling much colder cloud and fog into eastern England. Elsewhere temperatures were soon down to a more normal twenty degrees or so with sunshine across much of the south though a trailing front from a low pressure off northwest Scotland brought rain across the north of the country. By 28th the wind was in the west for most, with moderate temperatures and a mixture of sunshine and showers but temperatures took a further dip on 30th in increasing winds.

Headline birds
As well as being a busy week for weather, this was a busier week for birds too, with a more definitively autumnal feel to proceedings and an excellent set of birds, the best of which were all in Scotland, particularly Orkney. As well as a Scottish and Orcadian flavour to the week, the other obvious theme was reappearing birds!
Hot on the heels of last week’s miraculously reappearing Western Bonelli’s Warbler on North Ronaldsay, Orkney and House Crow at Cobh, Cork, both resurfacing after long apparent absences, the long-staying but wandering Greater Yellowlegs reappeared at St. John’s Loch, Highland on 25th, continuing this site’s recent good run of birds which includes Black Kite, summer plumage Grey Phalarope and multiple Lesser Scaups.
Last seen at Loch of Mey, Highland on 28th May, it had previously been at Loch of Strathbeg, Aberdeenshire, Loch Fleet, Highland and before that at Hauxley/Druridge/East Chevington, Northumberland. Though this is this bird’s third appearance in Highland, it is only the second individual for the county, the last being as long ago as 19th May 1985, on the Isle of Skye. It was not seen on 26th but, guess what, it reappeared there on 27th. Is its next stop destined to be Orkney, just a short flight across the Pentland Firth?

Much more in the full online round-up
- Wandering Greater Yellowlegs map
- Videos of Roller, White-winged Black Tern and Long-billed Dowitcher
- Video of a very showy Brunnich's Guillemot from Netherlands
Plus lots of great photos, analysis, and predictions...
>>> Read rest of the round-up here <<<