Rum-believable!
A Red Deer survey on the Isle of Rum was the unlikely setting for Sean Morris’s mega find of an Ovenbird.
ON Saturday 23 September I was carrying out a census of Red Deer at Kilmory on the
Isle of Rum. As a patchbirder I am always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary. I was aware of the recent influx of North American landbirds that had been seen in Britain, especially those on Barra. Rum is basically the next stop after the Outer Hebrides for birds arriving from the west, so I was wondering if I might get lucky.
On the way to Kilmory I was careful to check the tree plots in Kilmory Glen, but did not come across anything out of the ordinary. By late morning I was walking, carrying out my census of the deer, when I flushed a bird from my feet. My first thought was that it was a Meadow Pipit
but, as it flew a short way, I could not see any white outer tail feathers, and this alerted my curiosity.
When the bird landed a small distance away, I noted the striking white eyering, dark streaking on the flanks and, most notably, the distinctive crown stripe. I have always been worried that when I did eventually discover something rare, I wouldn’t have a clue what it was – but on this occasion I knew exactly what I was looking at. It was an Ovenbird!
The bird flew a little further away again and thankfully landed in the open. I knew as a lone observer I needed to get some record shots, so fumbled with my camera and was able to fire off a few quick images before it flew for a third time, after which I didn’t see it again. I only saw it for about a minute, but I was able to see all the features to make a confident identification.
I did not have mobile phone reception in the area, so it was another 45 minutes or so before I was able to release the news on the Skye and Lochaber birding WhatsApp group. The area was checked over the next few days, but the weather had turned wet and windy so it’s likely the bird had moved on, probably still on Rum somewhere, but to some more suitable sheltered habitat. Unfortunately, the weather was such that no ferries ran for several days after the original sighting, so no other birders were able to look for the bird. ■