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The twelfth and final part of the Looking Back series. March may not be generally considered a prime month for rarities, but scanning through the species involved below, this includes some of the rarest and most wanted species on the Lincolnshire list, some surprising and very popular rarities and yet another species which has dramatically changed its status from extreme rarity to breeding resident in just over a couple of decades. On with the review……..
2006 – SORA
Perhaps one of the most unexpected additions to the County list was when a Sora was discovered at Gibraltar Point on the somewhat unusual date of 5th March 2006. It frequented ditches on the freshwater marsh adjacent to the Fenland Lagoon and Mere and although it could be frustratingly elusive for long periods, this often confiding bird ultimately delighted many visitors during its stay until the 19th March. Taking food put out for both it and Water Rails, the Sora was trapped and ringed on this last date and in the hand, a mix of old and new flight feathers was evident. Adults undergo one complete post-breeding moult annually, so this partial late winter (pre-breeding) feather replacement was indicative of a first-winter bird. This remarkable bird represented only the 15th British record of the species although it closely followed the thirteenth for Britain and the first for the Midlands in the neighbouring county of Nottinghamshire at Attenborough nature reserve from 12th to 31st December 2004 and hot on the heels of a first-winter at Lower Moors, St Mary's Isles of Scilly from 23rd September to 1st November 2005. Is it perhaps conceivable that this bird could have made an eastwards move across country and perhaps stopped off at Gib in spring whilst naturally trying to re-orientate itself northwards? Sora breeds in North America from Central Canada south to Central California and Maryland, USA. It migrates to winter from southern USA to Central America and northern South America. The majority of British and Irish records are of first-winters found in reedbeds at migrant traps from late September to November, while the few overwintering birds are presumably ones that arrived the previous autumn undetected. There are, however, some peculiarities to this species’ occurrence patterns in Britain. Firstly, there seems to be an unusually high incidence of adults – of the 16 that have been aged, no fewer than seven were adults. Secondly, there is a curious spread to the records, both geographically and temporally. Three records in particular are well away from expected localities, those in Berkshire in October 1864, Nottinghamshire in December 2004 as well as the Gibraltar Point bird. Furthermore, there are records from all seasons, although none in late spring – perhaps surprisingly as Sora arrives in Canada as a migrant mainly in late April and early May. Perhaps most difficult of all to fathom is the adult on Bardsey (Caernarfonshire) on 5th August 1981 (and a similar Irish record, involving another adult, in Co.Wexford on 2nd–4th August 1998). Perhaps these were returning adults that had summered on this side of the Atlantic? Overall, the pattern is closer to that of some North American shorebirds than we might expect and widening the search focus away from south-western reedbeds in October may be rewarding. If you should be fortunate enough to find one, while adults are relatively easy to identify, immatures are more challenging. At-a-glance separation from the similar Spotted Crake is perhaps best achieved by noting the absence of both spotting on the face and transverse white bars on the tertials – both of which are usually obvious on immature Spotted Crakes. Confusion can also occur with the other small crakes and Finland’s first Sora was, apparently, misidentified as Little Crake for a few days. A second county record would seem highly unlikely, but for those who saw the Sora this remains one of the best rarities on their Lincs list.
1995 – PINE BUNTING
A visit was made to the hide overlooking Lambert's Pond at Gibraltar Point at 12.15pm on 29th March as this overlooks a regular feeding station for birds. It was hoped that cold weather over the previous 3-4 days, which had resulted in a covering of snow and sub-zero temperatures overnight may have brought in some new birds. After 20 minutes or so, a bird was seen to drop from a nearby tree onto the ground beneath the nearest feeding table about 10 metres away. With a brief glance the immediate reaction was that it was a Reed Bunting, but getting the bird in the bins revealed it to be a stunning male Pine Bunting. The bird remained on the ground for about 20 seconds, then flew into the same tree from which it had dropped, giving an excellent view from the rear, for about a minute. It then flew off into the plantation and out of sight. The bird was relocated at 14:00hrs the same day when it showed for about 20 minutes giving better views. During the birds stay the bird remained very elusive, showing well on only a few occasions, always in the area of the feeding station. When located the bird often preferred to perch inside numerous hawthorn bushes, only rarely venturing out to give good views on the outer branches. The bird came to the bird tables to feed on grain, but often preferred to forage for spilt grain on the ground, where it was often dominant. The bird was last seen at 18:00hrs on 31st March. This bird remains the only county record. Pine Bunting breeds right across Siberia from the Urals to the Pacific. It winters from Iran, across northern India to China. Small numbers have been recorded wintering in Israel and, remarkably, in Italy, where one flock of 45-50 birds were recorded in 1995/96 with another flock of 20 elsewhere. Identification of females and immatures can be tricky, whilst some individuals are particularly difficult to identify and in areas of overlap (Western Siberia), it regularly hybridises with Yellowhammer, producing an intriguing array of plumage characters, particularly on the head pattern of males. In claiming any Pine Bunting eliminating the bird showing any trace of yellow should be taken into consideration. One particular strikingly plumaged hybrid Pine BuntingxYellowhammer was present with Yellowhammers in a field at Sizewell, Suffolk from 21st to 23rd April 1982. There have been a total of 50 records up to the end of 2011 and this remains a much prized bird. A large proportion of the records originate in the Northern Isles with the peak time being October and early November, although a few birds have now been recorded wintering and there are a handful of records in the early spring period, again possibly relating to birds which have wintered further south. Although the first British record occurred as long ago as 1911 (when a male in winter plumage was shot on Fair Isle on 30th October) it was not until the early 1990s that birders had their first chance to catch up with some long staying and widely twitchable individuals. The first of these was a very cold and grey toned female which remained at Bigwaters Country Park, Tyne & Wear from 18th February to 16th March 1990. Feeding with Yellowhammers and other buntings and finches at a feeding station it is estimated that this bird was observed by over 3000 observers during its stay, but due to its unusually pale plumage it created a great deal of debate as to whether it was an aberrant Yellowhammer or a hybrid between the two species. For many however, the 'Bigwaters bunting' was always a Pine! A much less controversial individual arrived just two years later however when a superbly-plumaged male was present feeding with up to 15 Yellowhammers at Dagenham Chase, Essex/Greater London, from 12th February to 17th March 1992. This bird attracted a huge amount of interest and attracted over 2000 birders (some estimates suggest up to 5000) during its stay and was considered to be one of the biggest twitches of all time. Another well-watched male was present near Creswell Northumberland at the same time being seen at a feeding station from 29th January to 19th February 1992 but perhaps due to its northerly location attracted much fewer visiting birders. Since these individuals there have now been several other widely twitched Pine Buntings, with virtually all of these being located in England in winter. For any would be finder of a Pine Bunting, it would seem the best chances (away from the northern isles in autumn) would be to pay careful attention to any winter feeding stations or farmland finch and bunting flocks.
1979 – BONAPARTE'S GULL
The first County record of this dainty Nearctic gull was of a first-summer bird seen briefly at Grimsby docks on 17th March 1979. Unfortunately the bird could not be relocated and it was then a further 31 years before birders had a chance to catch up with this species. During mid to late June 2010 large numbers of loafing gulls were present on Chowder Ness Managed realignment at Far Ings before flying off to roost. Such large numbers had no doubt been attracted to the area by the organic waste that was being spread on fields inland of Barton-on-Humber at the time. During the early evening of 28th June several hundred small gulls were roosting on the eastern side of the mudflats. On scanning through the gulls, most of which were asleep, a bird briefly lifted its head which appeared to show an all black bill but promptly went back to sleep. After around a further 40 minutes the bird awoke and stood up, and this allowed all of the plumage features to be determined to clinch the bird as a first-summer Bonaparte's Gull, only the second for Lincolnshire. The first local birders were on site within 15 minutes and the bird was watched for the next hour before it eventually flew off to Redcliffe Middle Sand to roost with the Black-headed and Common Gulls. Remarkably a second-calendar year Ring-billed Gull was found within 3 metres of the Bonaparte's Gull during the same evening – an amazing American gull double for the county. Unfortunately the bird was not seen again, so a long staying 'Boney' would be welcomed by the majority of the county's birders. Bonaparte's Gull breeds in the North American taiga across Alaska and Canada east to James Bay. It winters on the Great Lakes and coastal USA, south to northern Mexico and the West Indies. As with other Nearctic Gulls this species has a wide scatter of records in Britain, although there has been a more recent bias to the south-west as would perhaps be expected. By the end of 2011 there had been a total of 188, with a peak of 13 in 2004. It seems that small numbers cross the Atlantic in late winter in response to severe weather in North America or simply because they are swept across in fast moving depressions. The peak period for occurrence is without doubt late winter and spring, and it seems likely that some of the spring birds have wintered further south and then moved north up the Western European coast. Once here they may then take up residence on this side of the Atlantic, and some of the records have undoubtedly related to individual returning in subsequent years.
1977 – CETTI'S WARBLER
A Cetti's Warbler seen by just a single observer at Barrow Haven on 6th March 1977 became the first county record of this explosive songster. Although this species dramatically colonised England in a very short space of time, soon reaching as far north as Norfolk, it remained an extremely rare visitor to the County over the next 15 years or so. The second Lincolnshire bird occurred 6 years later and involved a bird trapped (and seen by several observers) at Theddlethorpe on 1st October 1983. Ten years later Theddlethorpe claimed it's second record (and the county's third) when a first autumn bird was trapped and ringed on 17th September 1993. The next bird, two years later, perhaps hinted at the future colonisation of the county when a male was in song at Langtoft Pits from 10th June until 8th July 1995. Further records soon followed with the first multiple record in 1997 when a singing male was again recorded at Langtoft Pits on 13th April and 5th May and the first record for Gibraltar Point occurred when a bird was trapped on 19th April. The following year a singing male was recorded on 12 occasions at Rimac between 23rd March and 7th June and formed the last record of the decade. There were no further records until a single coastal bird in 2001 but since then the species has become annual with numbers fluctuating between 2 and 5 birds up to 2008 and with a slight preference of birds at inland localities over coastal. Although 2008 again saw what would now be considered average numbers of birds seen it was a defining year which saw the first breeding of Cetti's Warbler in Lincolnshire. A singing male (possibly a bird previously seen at Messingham between 17th February and 30th March) was discovered at Bagmoor on 5th April. It was noted frequently through June with a family party of four juveniles seen on 30th July and 3rd August. The following year an exceptional 22 new arrivals were noted (2009) with 16 at inland localities and 6 on the coast. Two territories were held, one at Keadby between 25th April and 15th June and at Barton pits a series of records during the year including a territory holding male between 16th March and 3rd July with calling and singing birds noted in August and up to 5 males and one presumed female in September. Up to 6 singing males were present at Barton Pits in April and May 2010 with a brood of at least 2 juveniles observed on 11th June whilst additionally a pair also bred along the coast and were seen with fledged young in June. Up to 10 birds were present at Barton Pits on 31st October and in total 13 different sites hosted the species across the County during the year. However, there were no December records anywhere as a period of severe wintry weather set in. With further severe winter conditions in 2011 it was perhaps inevitable that this susceptible species took a hit with 9 sites recording the species but just a maximum monthly county total of 4 birds in October. However, despite this setback a pair still bred successfully at Water's Edge, Barton with young present in late July. Lets hope that with some subsequent milder winters this species can not only recover as a county breeding resident but continue to go from strength to strength. Arrival times of birds in the County include a small spring peak between February and May, but with most between September and December but with a clear peak in October. This peak, along with the majority of coastal arrivals being in September and October, hint at the arrival of dispersing birds from elsewhere. At inland localities birds have often remained for long periods with wintering becoming frequent at some sites. A bird trapped at Marston STW on 25th September 2009 had been ringed at Rye Meads Hertfordshire on 11th July 2009. This species greatly extended its range during the 20th century in western Europe. A northward spread in France starting in the 1920s and accelerating after 1950 no doubt led to the first British record shortly afterwards when a singing male was recorded at Titchfield Haven, Hampshire from 4th March to at least 8th April 1961. A further 6 birds had been recorded by the end of the decade but after an absence in 1969 and 1970 there was an exodus from the continent in autumn 1971 with four birds in Kent and 1 in Berkshire. Up to three survived the winter in Kent and probably bred near Canterbury in 1972, with breeding confirmed in 1973. The spread and increase in numbers after 1972 was spectacular. Following the above confirmed breeding the mean of singing males for 1973-74 was 17 (13 of which were in Kent but with the colonisation of East Anglia commencing with 3 in Norfolk and 1 in Suffolk). Within 5 years of the first breeding a total of 100 singing males had been reached and by 1984 over 300. However, following this early peak numbers then declined slightly. Not surprisingly, they are vulnerable to cold winters, which occurred in 78/79, 81/82, 84/85 and 85/86 leading to a national population decrease of up to 30%. Numbers in Kent fell surprisingly sharply over these winters and not one was left by 1988 although they have recolonised since. The Suffolk population declined from 30 in 1984 to two in 1989 but has seen a remarkable recovery since (in comparison to Kent). A few other counties, such as Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex have also lost populations in the past and have since been recolonised so this is certainly a resourceful species. During the 1980s and early 1990s the populations in more westerly counties, especially Hampshire, Dorset and Devon seemed to be less badly affected and this area has remained a stronghold to this day. Thanks largely to a couple of mild winters a total of 350 males were recorded in 1990 (which corresponds to around 450 pairs) and since then the species has continued to increase and spread, again largely thanks to general lack of severe winters. Numbers continued to rise fairly consistently, passing 500 singing males in 1996, 1,000 in 2003 and 2,000 in 2007, whilst the following year a record 2,257 singing males or territories were recorded. The severity of winter weather does seem to impact significantly on this species fortunes however and the 1,907 singing males or territories recorded in 2010 was the first drop in numbers reported for 10 years. The true impact of recent cold winters on the population is uncertain and it may be the species has become the victim of its own success with perhaps poor reporting from the core areas where it is now common. Although not accounting for the peak population figures, the year 2010 saw singing males or territories recorded from a record 43 counties in England and Wales including the first confirmed breeding records in Cleveland, Derbyshire, Lancashire and North Merseyside and Lincolnshire. South-west England is still the stronghold for the species in the UK (with Hampshire recording the most territories) closely followed by eastern England where numbers are very close between Suffolk and Norfolk. The south-east, where the species first colonised is now the third most important region in the UK, possibly due to suffering the effects of some severe winter weather, whilst it now well established in Wales and Central England with northern counties now starting to get in on the act also. However, as in 2010, numbers of Cetti's Warblers in 2011 would appear to have been affected to some degree by the severe weather in the preceding winter (December 2010 was the coldest December for over 100 years according to the Met Office). However, February 2011 was the mildest since 2002 and the spring was warmer than average, especially April . The impact of recent cold winters led to reduced numbers of this and other vulnerable resident passerines such as Bearded Tit and Dartford Warbler. However, the past how shown how resilient Cetti's Warbler can be, and given the chance with a run of a few mild winters there is no doubt that this explosive songster will continue to bring joy to birders in more and more areas of the UK.
1976 – WHITE-BILLED DIVER
The first county record of this spectacular high arctic diver unfortunately involved an adult bird found dead in the Wash at Friskney Marsh on 26th March 1976. Twenty years later however, Lincolnshire birders got the chance to catch up with a live White-billed Diver in the County – in a most remarkable occurrence and in the most unexpected of locations. On 29th February 1996 a detour by one local birder was made along the road which runs alongside the River Witham near Tattershall Bridge. At around midday, about a mile before reaching Tattershall Bridge, a large diver was noticed underneath the nearside bank at a range of around 10 metres. The bird was identified as a White-billed Diver, an amazing sighting for what is an exceptionally rare bird in Britain away from Scotland. The bird was watched for the next hour often associating with a Black-throated Diver. News was then released and the bird drew large numbers of observers to witness this remarkable bird where it showed very well continuously until tragedy struck on 2nd March. The stretch of the River Witham is very popular with anglers and unfortunately on this date the bird took an angler's pike bait. As distraught birders (and anglers) looked on, the bird was brought to the bank and was subsequently taken into care. On examination, the hooks the bird has swallowed could not be retrieved and unfortunately the bird subsequently died – a very sad demise for such a superb bird. Interestingly this was only the second British record of a White-billed Diver away from the coast; the other being an adult bird present at Audenshaw Reservoirs, Greater Manchester from 7th to 8th December 1987. First discovered by Captain James Clark Ross when he collected three specimens from an area north of Hudson Bay in 1829 it was then Edward Sabine, who was also there, that persuaded him that the species was not (as Ross believed) new to science. Instead, Sabine felt that they were 'old male' Great Northern Divers. As a consequence it has generally been acknowledged that the species was in fact first described by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1859 based on a specimen he collected in Alaska. Today, this species breeds within a relatively narrow band about 600 miles wide, lying mainly north of the Arctic circle, extending from the Varanger Fjord, in northern Norway, eastwards to the Siberian tundra, Alaska and north-west Canada. In winter, pack ice forces the birds southwards, with moderate numbers spending the period off the Norwegian coast. Prior to 1980, there had been just 68 British records of White-billed Diver but there were 68 in the 1980s, 84 in the 1990s and 92 in the first half of the 2000s. Such an increase is unclear, as this is a globally rare species with a world population estimated at just 18,000 individuals in the early 1990s. Although there is a small but regular wintering population in northern Norway, the core breeding areas are in distant regions of eastern Siberia and northern Canada. Half the British records come from the three Scottish archipelagos of Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides and there is a clear spring peak in sightings, with over 40% of records in April and May. It has been suggested that these birds are wintering in the North Sea, and the fact that there are records from almost every coastal recording area along the east and south coasts of Britain from Shetland to Scilly suggests that small numbers may winter there. To account for a spring passage witnessed in Norway however, there must be a population of perhaps 100–200 birds somewhere to the south. It seems unlikely that such numbers are wintering in the North Sea, especially as sightings in The Netherlands have decreased recently, with 21 of the 35 records up to 2004 occurring before 1980, a completely different pattern from that found in Britain. An alternative suggestion is that spring birds originate to the west of Britain, passing northern Scotland before they reach the Norwegian coast and begin heading north. The recent discovery of a significant spring passage in the Outer Hebrides lends support to this theory but still leaves the mystery of where these birds spend the winter. Midwinter records are rare in Scotland, even in Shetland and the Outer Hebrides, although becoming slightly more frequent in line with the overall increase. There is also little evidence of regular occurrence to the south or west of Scotland: there have been just six records around Irish Sea coasts at any season (three in England and Wales, and three in Ireland), and a grand total of just eight in Ireland to the end of 2004, although four of these were in January or February. There are just three records from the Faeroe Islands and, amazingly, there are no confirmed records from Iceland. With such a predominantly northerly distribution in Britain this can be a tricky species to catch up with for many birders. One of the first widely twitched birds in England was an extremely confiding winter adult which was present in Hartlepool Docks from 14th to 22nd February 1981 and attracted over 400 visiting birders. It often allowed approach to within 15yards as it swan up and down the dockyard and was extremely well photographed. Thankfully there have been several other twitchable English birds since (including the above Lincolnshire individual) the most recent of which was a rather confiding bird present in Brixham Harbour, Devon in December 2013. A fairly steady increase in the winter and spring records was apparent between about 1965 and 1995, but since then numbers in spring have soared. This surge in spring records coincided with a sharp increase in observer coverage on Lewis in the late 1990s linked to several keen birders taking up temporary residence to carry out ornithological survey work for various prospective windfarms. The 2008 annual total of 33 was the highest ever, and the species was dropped as a BBRC rarity at the end of that year. No fewer than 171 had been accepted over the preceding ten years, which included eight years with ten or more, and White-billed Diver is now more accurately described as a scarce migrant than a national rarity, even though it remains hard to come by away from the northern and northwestern extremities of Britain. With further awareness of passage movements it now seems that spring White-billed Divers can be found virtually anywhere off the Outer Hebrides, both the northwest and northeast coast of the Scottish mainland and Shetland. For example in spring 2013 at least 30 were logged in Scotland during April, 15 of which were seen along the west coast in Argyll, Highland and the Outer Hebrides (including 7 off Lewis on 12th). On the North sea coast at least 15 lingered offshore from Portsoy, Aberdeenshire during the latter part of the month (13 of which were seen from a boat on 27th) with numbers gradually decreasing to 8 and then 5 in early May. There is however, still little idea where most of these passage birds spend the winter. They are seldom seen in the southern North Sea or off the west coast during December to February and it is suspected they may be beyond the range of land based observers; perhaps off the west coast of Ireland? Leading on from this it is commonly believed that those White-billed Divers that have been encountered in western Scotland (and the few records from Ireland) in the early spring period are heading back to Siberia. However, it is interesting to speculate that (in Canada) White-billed Divers breeding range overlaps much of the same area as occupied by Pale-bellied Brent Geese that winter in Ireland, so perhaps they could ultimately have originated from, and then be returning to, a more westerly origin.
1883 – NUTCRACKER
The first County record of this pearl dropped pine specialising corvid was a bird killed near Sleaford in March 1883 with the specimen subsequently held in Lincoln Museum. The second record occurred just 5 years later when details emerged of a specimen which was recorded as being shot at Marshchapel, close to the coast on 6th November 1888. At the time, this bird was recorded as being the first example of this bird to be found in Lincolnshire. Another 80 years passed before any more birds were recorded, but 1968 saw a unique event: for the first (and so far only) time, over 300 Nutcrackers visited Britain as part of a larger irruption into western Europe. Lincolnshire recorded three birds during the autumn as part of this irruption, all during a one week period, and each bird only witnessed by their finders. The first of these was a bird seen at Theddlethorpe on 12th September, whilst two birds appeared on 17th September at Sutton-on-Sea and Gibraltar Point. The following year (1969) another bird was recorded in the County, most likely a leftover from the previous autumn's irruption, when one was seen at Metheringham on 9th April. There has been just one further County record when a bird was seen (once again by just one fortunate observer) at Donna Nook, briefly on 12th September 1976. This bird (and another British record in 1975) followed two blank years in the UK. There have been no further county records. There have been a total of 437 British records of Nutcracker. However it is the remarkable events of 1968 for which the species will for ever be famed. The fortunes of the Slender-billed Nutcracker fluctuate with the cone crop of the Arolla Pine on which it feeds. The crop of seeds varies from year to year, and it has been stated that an invasion occurs whenever an abundant crop (during which the population has increased, due in part to lower mortality in the winter) is followed by a poor year when the birds are driven to seek food elsewhere. There was some evidence of a poor cone crop in western Siberia in summer 1968, although an early spell of cold weather in Siberia has also been cited as a contributing factor leading to the exceptional westward irruption of the species during the latter part of that year. It was soon realised that the number of records in Britain, though most impressive, was very small compared with those in Sweden, the Baltic States, Germany and the Netherlands. Britain was very much on the western fringe of the eruptive movements. As part of the invasion into continental Europe the first Nutcrackers arrived in Germany and the Netherlands in late June, but none was reported from the Baltic States and Poland until July. The flight-lines extended through northern Poland and Germany, and along the Gulf of Finland into Scandinavia. The main influx usually followed two to four weeks after the first arrivals. A total of 13 countries recorded records of the Slender-billed race of Nutcracker as part of this widespread irruption. The first bird in Sweden was recorded in Lapland on 23rd June, and on 8th July there were 50 in the province of Blekinge. At the beginning of August the number of records increased and flocks were seen flying south whilst on a single date about 4,400 were counted flying NNW at Hoimon Island. The peak of the invasion was at the end of August, however, with flocks flying mainly south or south-west at Thorhamns Udde, Oland and Lake Vanern. During September the size of the flocks diminished and parties remained static. Numbers decreased gradually throughout the winter of 1968/69. An estimated 90% to 95% of those in Sweden belonged to the Slender-billed race; the remainder were Thick-billed Nutcrackers from European Russia caught up in the irruption. In the Hamburg district in West Germany, the first was seen on 27th June, but it was not until the end of July that there were any large numbers in the country. In all there were 630 reports (of over 1,300 birds), including about 250 in early August, 80 at the end of August and a further peak of 220 at the beginning of September; only four remained at the end of December. About 800 were recorded in Belgium following the first on 21st July with the main influx beginning on 20th August, although numbers fell sharply after September. In the Netherlands the first were recorded in the north, with one or two at the end of June, but there were more in July and the largest numbers in August. Some 6,000 records were received and over 100 corpses passed to one taxidermist alone. The first arrivals in France occurred from 20th July in the northern part of the country and on the channel coast with steady numbers in August but many more in September but with the largest numbers still in the north. Peaks along the channel coast between August and September reflected the highest daily totals in south-east England over the same period. One was also seen on Alderney, Channel Islands on 13th September. Extralimital records included a bird which appeared in northern Italy, one caught and ringed in Portugal in autumn 1968, the only record from the Iberian Peninsula, and one reached North Africa. Further afield, Nutcrackers appeared in the Gobi Desert in autumn 1968, indicating that the species erupted eastwards as well as westwards. Favourable weather assisted in bringing the Nutcrackers as far west as Britain in such numbers. Birds arrived mainly while south-east England was linked to the vast area of high pressure over northern Europe. This anticyclonic weather was particularly prevalent in August from 1st to 3rd, on 8th and 9th, and from 23rd to 28th, from 7th to 10th September and on 5th October. The first birds arrived in Britain during the period 6th to 17th August and totalled 27 birds with 21 in Norfolk, 4 in Suffolk and 2 in Kent. By the last two weeks of the month the number of birds recorded had risen to 66 with the bias shifting to Suffolk (27 birds), Kent (11 birds) but still 10 in Norfolk, whilst 7 new birds in Essex cemented the species dominance from the south-east. However, of 11 others noted there was an extralimital record from Shetland, the other farthest north being in Yorkshire, whilst birds reached as far west as Cornwall and Wales. September was the peak month for the irruption with 138 birds recorded included impressive numbers from Norfolk (47) and Suffolk (41) with records from a further 21 counties by the end of the month (including 3 in Lincolnshire). Numbers then began to tail off in October and November and by December there were a total of just 17 birds recorded from 11 counties. A total of 324 Nutcrackers were acceptably reported in Britain in autumn 1968. This was approximately five times the sum total of all previous British records (although movements on the Continent were even more remarkable) whilst the weather in August 1968 probably assisted the Nutcrackers in crossing the North Sea. A remarkable 36 counties in Britain recorded Nutcrackers during 1968 with birds reaching as far west as Cornwall and Scilly (a bird on Tresco on 17th and 20th September) Carmarthenshire, Lancashire and as far north as Shetland (a bird at Lerwick from 21st to 23rd August). Peak counties were Norfolk (104 birds at 58 localities), Suffolk (94 birds) and Kent (up to 34 recorded), whilst birds filtered inland to most English counties. A further 10 new Nutcrackers were found in early 1969 in Britain in addition to those left over from the 1968 irruption. There have been only 14 further accepted British records of Nutcracker since the last bird in Lincolnshire in 1976 and no accepted records since 1998, so 16 years on, another chance to catch up with one of these charismatic birds would be most welcome. In a Lincolnshire context however this must be one of the most wanted birds on the Lincs list with all 7 birds only being seen by their finders and none seen now for over 37 years.
Matthew
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