- Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix)
22 Dec: Found at Porumbacu, and a first for Romania and, if accepted, the 3rd for the Western Palearctic.
- Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
19 Dec: First for Hong Kong, seen at Mai Po marshes this winter.
- Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
16 Dec: A Drongo showing features apparently consistent with this species was found in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates today.
17 Dec: All 15 birders who have now seen it (a mass twitch by UAE standards!) are in agreement about its ID as an Ashy Drongo of the race longicaudatus, as are those who have commented on pictures via email. This therefore represents the first record for the Western Palearctic, unless anyone knows of records from eg Israel, Saudi Arabia or Kuwait?
- Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
15 Dec: First (if accepted) for Belgium, found near Kallo, Oost-Vlaanderen. The bird is unringed and shows no signs of captivity.
- Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
28 Nov: A first for Turkey, trapped and photographed at Kizilirmak delta.
- African Crake (Crecopsis egregia)
28 Nov: A bird was found exhausted by local workers at Radazul harbour, El Rosario, Tenerife, on 15-Nov. It was brought into the Recovery Center of Cabildo de Tenerife but died shortly after. Its corpse was kept for further study. On 16-Nov another bird was also found exhausted at Military Museum gardens of Almeida, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. close to the area where a bird was found on 23.11.2001 (the 1st for the WP). The bird was also brought to the same recovery center but died too
- Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
23 Nov: probably a First for North America, after review...November 11-17 2006 at Saint-Fulgence, Qc, Canada.
- Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)
10 Nov: Found and photographed at Al Abraq, an oasis farm in western Kuwait by Mike Pope, Pekka Fagel and myself. This is the first record for Kuwait and if you are a traditionalist and regard the Western Palearctic as north of 27 degrees lattitude possibly the first for the Western Palearctic ?
- Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix)
07 Nov: Although reported as a Little Auk at the time, the bird is now being considered to be a Long-billed Murrelet - a first for Britain & England, seen at Dawlish Warren, Devon.
- Siberian Accentor (Prunella montanella) & Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus)
02 Nov: Two new species observed and photographed by Soner Bekir today in Rumeli Feneri (Istanbul, Black Sea shores), Turkey
- Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata)
02 Nov: reported today from Reve. This is the third Nearctic warbler to reach Norway, following a Yellow-rumped Warbler in October 1996 and an Ovenbird in October 2003. All records are from Rogaland county!
- Grey-necked Bunting (Emberiza buchanani)
30 Oct: An Ortolan Bunting found today on the west coast of Finland (Pori) was after sunset re-identified as Grey-necked Bunting (E. buchanani).
- Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
22 Oct: juvenile, first for the Azores, also recorded on Corvo by Peter Alfrey and crew
- Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) & Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
21 Oct: Greenland-type Redpoll, first for the Azores and Macronesia, recorded on Corvo by Peter Alfrey and crew .
- Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)
20 Oct: during a 'Deception Tours' weekend on Vlieland, the Wadden Sea island north of Texel, the first Pallid Swift for the Netherlands was discovered by Nils van Duivendijk and others. The bird was seen only a few times that day and disappeared over the sea in the afternoon. There was some confusion as two Common Swifts were also present. Luckily, one of the birders, Bas van den Boogaard, succeeded to make excellent photographs.
- Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
14 Oct: At Fujairah National Dairy Farm, a Red-footed Falcon (a United Arab Emirates first, if accepted),
Peter Hellyer" hellyer@emirates.net.ae
- African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)
08 Oct: the United Arab Emirates' first was seen at an Umm Suqeim beachfront villa in Dubai. (escape ?)
- Canada Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)
08 Oct: A first-winter found late afternoon south-west of Kilkee, just east of Loop Head at Kilbaha, Ireland. There is just one previous Western Palearctic record, from Iceland on 29 September 1973.
- Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)
07 Oct: Found yesterday evening and was still showing well this morning near Geneva, Switzerland. If accepted (which seems very likely), it will be the first Swiss record. It was found by Michel Rogg and seen this morning by several birders near the village of Laconnex. We're still working on age (ad. female or advanced 1cy) and on subspecies id.
- American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
06 Oct: From Andy Paterson in southern Spain, who has been watching a full adult male at La Janda. The bird flew across the road in front of his car at 16.10 hrs local time - This will be, if accepted, the first for Spain and one of not very many for Western Europe.
- Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus)
02 Oct: According to news paged last night by Rare Bird Alert (www.rarebirdalert.com), a bird has appeared on Utsira, Rogaland, in western Norway.
If accepted it would be the first for Norway and perhaps the fourth confirmed record for NW Europe, following the bird at Kilrenny, Fife, Scotland, in Oct - Nov 2004, and older records from Finland (23 Oct 1983) and Sweden (1 Oct 2004).
- Pallas's Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus)
27 Sep: Two American birders have discovered North America's first at Gambell in the Aleutian Islands. They have reasonable photos and video to document this first-ever record. For those of you who know Gambell, the warbler is in the Circular Boneyard. Photos have been posted on "surfbirds.com" (follow the link and scroll down to the photos)
- Olive-tree Warbler (Hippolais olivetorum)
16 Aug: The belated identification of Britain & Scotland's first which had originally been identified as an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler at Boddam (Shetland) was confirmed by some superb photos.
- Franklin's Gull (Larus pipixcan)
31-Jul: reported by Stavros Christodoulides at Larnaca Sewage Works. It is the first time this American species has been reported in Cyprus. It appears to be an adult bird and was seen and photographed by Stavros on the central area between the two pools, amongst the Yellow-legged Gulls, easily visible from the hide. It has been present since at least Friday 28th, when first seen by A. Kephalus, who suspected its identity and reported it to Stavros.
Source: Colin Richardson, Bird Recorder - BirdLife Cyprus
- Stilt Sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus)
13 Jul: an adult was found today northeast of Hortobágy. This will be a first for Hungary.
- Amur Falcon (falco amurensis)
10 Jul: an immature female Amur Falcon in Eastern Hungary. The bird was seen close to a smaller Red-footed colony, and together with a flock of immature birds of this species
- Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
07-Jul: The first record for Denmark, if accepted. Henrik Knudsen was able to find a migrating 2cy+ winter plumage at Nørre Lyngvig (West Cost of Jutland, North of Blåvand). The tern was seen for only a few minutes, but at close range. It migrated south along the coast, but was not refound
- Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)
01-Jul: On 22nd June 2006 an adult was photographed at the northern mole of Liepaja harbour (west coast). The news was delayed until 26th, and the gull has not been relocated so far. This is the first record for Latvia and first record of any American bird species here in Latvia!
- Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)
28-Jun: An individual sighted recently in a small town in north central New South Wales state and is still around at the moment, partly due to injured leg. This is probably the first ever record in Australia.
- Audouin's Gull (Larus audouini)
09-Jun: The first record for Denmark, located near Helsingor. The bird appears to be in 3rd summer plumage.
- Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
22-May: The first record for Denmark, if accepted, found at Kongeåslusen 9 km Northwest of Ribe.
- Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)
14 May: The first for The Netherlands, was present at Het Bokkegat, Wissenkerke, Zeeland
- Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)
07 May: The first for Lithuania, second-calendar-year male trapped and ringed in Ventes Ragas.
- Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
30 Apr: The first for The Netherlands, was photographed today at a prohibited site in Grevelingen, Zuid Holland. Unfortunately it's not possible to see the bird at this location.
- Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
29 Apr: Sweden's first possibly wild Cirl Bunting was seen briefly near Falkenberg, Halland last weekend. It reappeared and was singing briefly in the morning of April 28th (yesterday). Three birds together in July 1989 are considered as escapes from captivity.
- Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
28 Apr: The first for The Netherlands, near Amsterdam at Het Nieuwe Meer.
- Little Swift (Apus affinis)
26 Apr: The first for Hungary was seen among House Martins around Tata town (northwest of Budapest).
Source: Szabolcs Kókay
- Blue Rock-Thrush (Monticola solitarius)
11 Apr: Found in southern Hungary, on Szársomlyó hill (this is the most medditerranean hill in Hungary with rare and protected plants, some remaining population of rare Reptiles, etc.). This is the first record here (probably quite surprisingly).
Hopefully we will have some nice photos soon!
Source: Szabolcs Kókay
- Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
10 Apr: 2 males were found in western Hungary today, at Fertõ-lake on the Austrian border.
- Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)
09 Apr: Observed and photographed at Akgol, Eregli Marshes, Konya-Cenrtal Anatolia by a local birder, Nihal Sullu.
This is a first for Turkey and also some days ago a Lesser Flamingo was observed at Eilat,Israel(19th March). It could be the same bird which could migrate with Greater Flamingoes.
It is interesting that there are no zoos which have Lesser Flamingo, in Turkey (except Istanbul, Darica Bird Collection).It is more possible to be a genuine vagrant from Tropical Africa.
- Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
08 Apr: Swedish birder (and current southern French resident) Richard Ottvall found a Black-faced bunting in the Camargue, Southern France. The bird has been photographed and seen by many observers Satuday and Sunday. The bird was still there Sunday evening and the night has been rainy and cloudy...
- Camiguin Hanging-Parrot (Loriculus camiguinensis)
- Dark-throated Thrush (Turdus ruficollis)
01 Apr: Found on 02 Feb, one adult female observed in a city park in Ankara, Turkey, by Emin Yogurtcuoglu which was a first for the country, and accepted by the Turkish rarities committee.
- Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)
20-Mar: Found yesterday by the BirdFinders group in the K20 salt pans north of Eilat. The bird was found among the many Greater Flamingos in the north-western pool. If accepted, this will be the first record for Israel.
- Common or Mew Gull (Larus canus)
16-Mar: On March 8th, in the Mejia reserve in southern Peru, resting with 1000 Franklin's Gulls, near the river mouth inside the reserve, at least 5 km from the entrance.
- Fan-tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus)
04-Mar: On 20th February, two disbelieving observers had a UAE first (subject to acceptance) - about 1000km from its nearest breeding area, in Dhofar, southern Oman. It kindly circled over the observers in the Qusaihwira area of the deep desert of south-east Abu Dhabi emirate before heading off south into Saudi Arabia.
- Stock Dove (Columba oenas)
02-Mar: The first record for Madeira, which was seen and photographed at Ponta de São Lourenço on 19th January 2006
- River Tern (Sterna aurantia)
26-Feb: The first record for Iran, The latest issue of Dutch Birding (28: 21-23, 2006) contains a short paper by Erik Foekens and Jaap Schlevis entitled 'Two River Terns in Golestan, in January 2005', in which the authors describe their exciting
discovery of the species during a midwinter count of waterbirds in the country.
- Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuaris)
26-Feb: The first record for Greece, was, according to the latest Birding World (19: 18), an adult male photographed by Chris
Vlachos at Loutsa, Athens, on 27 August 2005. The record is reported to have been accepted by the country's newly formed rarities committee.
- Audouin's Gull (Larus audouinii) *** Identity now in doubt *** 22-Feb
- Brunnich's Guillemot (Uria lomvia)
07-Feb: The first record for Korea found by Nial Moores, Klemens Steiof, Bernd Ratzke and Alessandro Kormannshaus on February 1st, on the East coast near Pohang City.
- White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus)
02-Feb: The first record for Cape Verde Is & Western Palearctic, at Mindelo Sewage Ponds. Bird was found by Gambia-Senegal-Cape Verde cruisers Jouni Riihimäki, Dick Forsman etc.
- Bimaculated Lark (Melanocorypha bimaculata)
01-Jan: The first record for Denmark, found by Connie Gubbe Jensen. The lark is near Køge just south of Copenhagen.
