As the year draws to an end, we’ve been taking a moment to reflect on some of the incredible rare and scarce birds we’ve come across during out UK tours in 2025. Picking a top ten hasn’t been easy but here are some of our favourites!
Green-winged Teal – Holkham, Norfolk on 7th of January
An early highlight came in the form of a drake Green-winged Teal which our Norfolk Winter Wildfowl group located from Lady Anne’s Drive, Holkham on the 7th of January. A scarce winter visitor to the UK, this was possibly a returning bird seen in the area the previous winter but still a really nice surprise!
European Bee-eater – Barra, Outer Hebrides on 18th of May
Our Outer Hebrides tour had already enjoyed a bird-filled day featuring White-tailed Eagles and Great Northern Divers when this European Bee-eater flew over their heads on the magnificent island of Barra. It only showed briefly as it was mobbed by Meadow Pipits but was later relocated by local birders. A very unexpected encounter with this Mediterranean species!
American Black Tern – Long Nanny, Northumberland on 8th of June
A female American Black Tern has been returning to the tern colony at Long Nanny in Northumberland for several years, and our North-east England Grand Tour caught up with her in early June. We have seen this bird during the June tour every year since 2021, and she never fails to disappoint. Fingers crossed she returns to the Long Nanny in 2026!
Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll – Isbister, Shetland on 19th September
An unexpected white blob perched among a House Sparrow flock at Isibister on Shetland’s North Roe peninsular turned out to be a superb Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll. Our group enjoyed some point-blank views of this Shetland speciality before it flew off calling. What was possibly the same bird was also seen by our third Shetland tour on Unst a couple of weeks later.
Siberian Thrush – Asta, Shetland from 2nd of October
After a close call with a Siberian Thrush just a couple of days previously, two of our Shetland groups were thrilled to get good views of the first-winter male Siberian Thrush by the shore of Loch of Asta on the 2nd of October. It was an elusive bird but showed well on occasions, particularly later in its stay as it began feeding in the leaf litter in nearby gardens. We were thrilled to catch up with an almost mythical species in Britain!
White-throated Needletail – Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire on 8th of October
Another mythical British vagrant is the White-throated Needletail. Our East Yorkshire tour had already enjoyed views of Ring-necked Duck, Barred and Yellow-browed Warblers on Wednesday 8th October when word came through that a Needletail had been photographed 15 miles away at Tophill Low. Despite this, it came as quite the shock when our group relocated the Needletail at Bempton Cliffs in that evening! Spectacular views of it in one of Britain’s most iconic birding locations made for a very memorable evening!
Photo © Graham Jepson
Long-eared Owl – Warham Greens, Norfolk on 14th of October
While not the rarest bird on this list, the Long-eared Owl which one of our custom tours caught up with at Warham Greens is definitely worth a mention! Usually a notoriously elusive species, we were able to watch it resting and preening completely in the open just a few metres away! We really couldn’t have asked for better views.
Eyebrowed Thrush – St Mary’s, Scilly on 21st of October
It wasn’t even three weeks after the Siberian Thrush on Shetland that we caught up with a second mega eastern thrush at the other end of the country! This time an Eyebrowed Thrush at Portloo on St Mary’s, Scilly. Our group was in just the right place at the right time as it didn’t show for long and only put in one more brief appearance the following day.
Photo © Simon Knight
Steppe Grey Shrike – Mullion Cove, Cornwall on 22nd October
One of the stand-out highlights of our Cornwall Autumn Migration tour was a first-winter Steppe Grey Shrike at Mullion Cove. Despite still be classed as a subspecies of Great Grey Shrike, pallidirostris Steppe Grey Shrikes are very distinctive birds and it feels like they may well be split again at some point. Great birds either way!
American Golden Plover – Holy Island, Northumberland on 30th of October
Yet another exciting moment during October was this adult American Golden Plover which our Durham and Northumberland tour unearthed among a flock of its European counterparts on Holy Island. It took forty minutes for the bird to wake up but, once it did, we had some cracking views including of the underwing. It’s always nice to find our own rarity on tour!
We will undoubtedly come across more exciting rarities next year so check out our tour availability to get in on the action!
