In the last hour of a 10-day stay on the island, Tim Davis and I were lucky enough to find a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler in Millcombe this morning. Back home this evening and this is the write-up we have done for Steve Waite, the Devon County Bird Recorder, and as a basis for a British Birds Rarities Committee submission. This is the first British record since 2003. Sorry that it goes on a bit, but hopefully of interest. Certainly a memorable day for us.
"After a 10-day birding
trip on Lundy and with just 50 minutes to go before they had to report for
their helicopter flight back to the mainland, Tim Davis (TJD) and Tim Jones
(TAJ) decided to have one last look in Millcombe, the sheltered east-facing
valley in the south-east of the island. The whole stay had been dominated by
strong, mainly south-westerly winds, which reached gale force, gusting higher,
during the morning and early afternoon of 27 October. The
media-dubbed “St Jude’s Day Storm” passed over South West England in the early
hours of 28th, having moved rapidly across the Atlantic from the
eastern seaboard of the USA. Given this meteorological set-up, and knowing that a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet had been trapped and ringed on Cape Clear on 27th,
TJD and TAJ were keenly aware of the possibility of Nearctic landbirds arriving
in western Britain, hopefully including Lundy…
We were walking slowly
down the northern side of the valley, through an area of trees and scrub
sheltered from the still-strong WNW wind, bringing with it hefty showers and
sunny intervals. TAJ saw a passerine fly in and perch on a small branch over
the path about 8-9m away. Recognizing it immediately from previous experience
of the species in North America, TAJ exclaimed to TJD “Yellow-rumped Warbler!”.
The bird flew a short distance to the left (north side) of the path, where a
series of robust wooden tree-guards protect young (planted) trees. The bird was
using these structures as a series of perches from which to forage, both by
sallying and periodically dropping into vegetation. The bird flitted from
shelter to shelter, gradually moving up the slope. It then alighted on the
trunk of a Turkey Oak, working its way up the tree in a series of hops and
short flights. It continued upwards onto the main branches of the tree, before
dropping back down onto the ground vegetation and tree shelters once more and
from there into a pine tree at the top of the slope, pursued by a Robin. At this point TAJ left to
try and alert other visiting birders. TJD walked slowly up the slope to stay
with the bird.
The bird dropped down from
the pine and landed in low vegetation, temporarily disappearing from view. As
TJD slowly continued along a small path towards the bird, it appeared sitting
on a plant stem holding in its bill a large bluebottle-type fly, which it took
some 15 seconds to consume. During this period, the bird was fully side on,
giving excellent views at a range of approximately 4-5m. As soon as it had
finished eating the fly, the bird flew in front of and away from TJD, over a
low hill and down towards the valley bottom, where it was lost from view.
Size, structure and behaviour: Size approximately similar to a Blackcap.
Relatively plump-bodied and long-tailed. Moved by series of short hops and
sallies when foraging. Direct flight when moving across valley. Considering its trans-Atlantic origins, the bird appeared in remarkable physical shape, with its plumage in excellent condition and its movements agile. It was clearly feeding well.
Plumage:
Bright yellow rump, most obvious in flight. Duller yellow wash to sides of
upper breast. Head and mantle with obvious brown cast. Mantle heavily dark-streaked.
Contrasting head pattern with brownish crown/nape, darker cheeks and prominent
whitish, broken eye-ring or “eye lids”. Pale throat extending onto sides of
neck. Underparts pale, heavily flecked/streaked brownish, especially on flanks and upper
breast. Wings darker than mantle. Prominent whitish wing bar on greater coverts.
Less distinct off-white wing-bar on median coverts.
Corners
of tail with large whitish patches, really noticeable in flight.
Bare parts:
Bill and legs appeared blackish.
Voice:
The bird was heard to call at fairly regular intervals – a characteristic sharp
“chup”, that both TJD and TAJ recognized.
Both TJD and TAJ viewed
the bird through 10 x 42 Zeiss Victory FL binoculars. Total viewing time was
about 8-10 minutes.
Both TJD and TAJ have seen
hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers in North America (particularly in Quebec)
and in both spring and fall plumages. Both are 100% confident of the
identification.
At around 11.40 another
visiting birder, Chris Baillie (CB), that we had managed to get a message to,
had a brief view of the bird in flight as it crossed to trees on the southern
slope of the valley. CB is also very familiar with the species, having lived
for some years within the Caribbean wintering area. CB left on the same flight
as TJD and TAJ."
Update 1 November: Not seen since we left on 28th October, according to the latest information (mid-afternoon, 1st November) from Lundy Warden Beccy MacDonald. Another Yellow-rumped Warbler was reported on 29th in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, while further North American arrivals at west-coast UK sites from Scilly to Rùm have included American Robin, Mourning Dove (first seen 28th) and Hermit Thrush – all presumably associated with the same weather system that brought the Yellow-rumped Warbler to Lundy.
Update 1 November: Not seen since we left on 28th October, according to the latest information (mid-afternoon, 1st November) from Lundy Warden Beccy MacDonald. Another Yellow-rumped Warbler was reported on 29th in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, while further North American arrivals at west-coast UK sites from Scilly to Rùm have included American Robin, Mourning Dove (first seen 28th) and Hermit Thrush – all presumably associated with the same weather system that brought the Yellow-rumped Warbler to Lundy.
