White-winged Scoter, off Dunbarnie Links, Largo Bay (Mike Watson)
THIS HADN’T HAPPENED FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS! The last time I saw three new birds for the UK in one day was on 12 October 1985 - the Scilly autumn that was - both cuckoos and a grosbeak. OK that line-up will take some beating but today’s treble was still pretty exciting even though it was set up nicely in advance and wasn’t a spur of the moment one-day-only event, with all three quite long-staying, two megas and one much softer one.
Mark Varley and I met at Diedert’s place in Dunsop Bridge at 1am. Bowland has a clear night sky compared to the bright lights of the Ribble Valley! One Barn Owl on the way too. Then it was down to the serious business of getting to Scotland. Dunsop is almost exactly at the geographical centre of the UK but twitching from here is made more difficult by the winding road over the Trough of Bowland to the northbound M6. Despite the early start it’s always easier on the outbound isn’t it? Especially if you had a few hours sleep. There was a surprising number of trucks on the move in the middle of the night though.
We made quick progress to Lower Largo, by which time it was already ‘birding light’ and we could see the gathering of scoters 2km away to the east off Dunbarnie Links. Diedert got a text from Dan at 1am that there had been a sighting of the Stejneger’s Scoter at 8pm by John Nadin the previous evening. This hadn’t made it to the national news networks yesterday and we had been a bit nervous that there was no update since 7am the previous day. It felt further than 2km, Mark carrying two tripods and the 500. Fortunately one of the American White-winged Scoters was one of the closest birds off the pill boxes on the links in lovely early morning light. We were able to study it very nicely - the pink bill making it easy to pick out but the first thing that struck me wasn’t the bill colour, it was the large white Nike tick under its eye and the big-headed look. OK this wasn’t really the lifer that made us move today but it was good to catch up with one in the UK at long last. I’d been saving it. We could see some other interesting things about it, like how you can see daylight through the large nostril when it is side-on and that the nostril and bill bulge change shape as it breathes. What an awesome-looking creature! After much scanning of the widely-spread scoter flock, about 500 in all, we saw the second drake white-winger and were able to switch scopes quickly, seeing both within a couple of seconds.
Spot the white-winger! (MIke Watson)
We continued scanning the many Common and Velvet Scoters but there was nothing rarer among them than a breeding plumage Red-necked Grebe, some Red-throated Loons, Razorbills, Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers. We walked a little further along the links to keep the sun behind us but then Diedert got a message that the Stejneger’s was showing so it was back along to where the other birders had now gathered. Mike Hunter did a great job of picking it out. Surely we didn’t overlook it unless it had been sleeping or diving? It was instantly distinctive, with a long evenly sloping forehead like an eider and a much bigger nostril bulge. The light was much harsher now and all the birds appeared virtually black-and-white but nevertheless there it was, two down, one to go.
Stejneger’s Scoter - just check that head profile, even when only a handful of pixels! (Mike Watson)
Diedert Koppenol, thanks for doing the driving pal
Mark Varley and scoter watchers (Mike Watson)
Still the best scoter illustration, Ian Lewington’s awesome plate in Martin Garner’s ‘Birding Frontiers’
There was another lifer for both Diedert and Mark within just over an hour’s drive away, Ring-billed Gull in pretty Glen Turret. Was it still there as it hadn’t been reported for a few days. The answer was yes, probably. After three cuckoos, Grey Wagtail and Red Grouse this became a definite yes. In fact it had a mate, a Common Gull, in tow. The views were pretty awesome! A couple of ravens and a Peregrine were overhead. We hadn’t realised the significance of the glen we were in either, home to Scotland’s oldest whisky distillery no less. We had a good look there too!
Ring-billed and Common Gulls, there’s something happening here (Mike Watson)
There was still the small matter of a drake Hooded Merganser at Whinfell Tarn in Cumbria! We could stay awake long enough to get there on the way home to Lancashire. It was in the company of two Tufted Ducks at the peculiar little private lake. Unringed, right side of the country, good arrival date for reorientating American ducks etc. So there it was, three-in-a-day! Just don’t stay too long please.