Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant
Whimbrel – pattern of occurrence
Category: Whimbrel
Whimbrel – first and last dates
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant
Earlier records are summarised in Whimbrel 1994
| Year | Earliest sighting | Last sighting | Notes |
| 1993 | 15 April | 22 October | Spring maximum – 100 at Gann on 2 May Autumn maximum – 220 passed Strumble Head on 5 August |
| 1994 | 13 April | 27 September | Spring max – 29 at Skomer on 26 April Autumn max – 30 at Strumble Head on 30 on 28 August |
| 1995 | 9 April | 28 September | Spring max – 75 at Brownslade on 7 May Autumn max – 18 at Strumble Head on 26 August |
| 1996 | 7 April | 19 October | Spring max – 30+ at Skomer on 1 May Autumn max – 34 at Strumble Head on 24 August Single on Skomer on 21 November is a notable late date |
| 1997 | 17 April | 18 October | One probably overwintered on Skomer 1996-97 Spring max – 135 at Brownslade 6 June Autumn max – 26 passed Strumble Head on 24 July Two on Skomer in November-December |
| 1998 | mid-April | Oct-Nov | Two birds overwintered on Skomer 1997-98 Spring max – 115 at Castlemartin on 21 May Autumn max – 370 passed Strumble Head on 5 August One on Skokholm on 6 December |
| 1999 | 17 March | November | One probably overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – over 50 at Ramsey on 3 dates mid-April to mid-May Autumn max – 65 passed Strumble Head on 30 August |
| 2000 | 23 March | 20 November | One probably overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – 45 at Whitesands on 1 May Autumn max – 20 at Angle Bay on 18 August |
| 2001 | mid-March | 2 October | One probably overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – 200+ at Whitesands on 6 May Autumn max – 105 passed Strumble Head on 29 August Up to 3 in Dec when Skokholm vacated |
| 2002 | mid-March | mid-October | One probably overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – 70 at Freshwater West on 3 May Autumn max – 21 at Skomer on 1 August |
| 2003 | 8 March | 13 November | Spring max – 64 at Skokholm on 28 April Autumn max – 39 passing Strumble Head on 31 July One still on Skokholm when Island vacated in December |
| 2004 | 13 March | 30 October | Spring max – 60+ Hendre Farm on 3 May Autumn max – 26 at Cwm-yr-Eglwys on 6 August |
| 2005 | 8 March | October | Spring max – 42 at the Gann on 21 May Autumn max – 55 passed Strumble Head on 4 August Singles recorded at several places in December on Cleddau |
| 2006 | 20 March | 4 November | Single at Angle Bay on 2 & 6 January (same bird as Dec 2005?) Spring max – 148 at Whitesands on 29 April Autumn max – 45 passed Strumble Head on 4 September |
| 2007 | 17 March | 18 November | Spring max – 185 at Whitesands on 1 May Autumn max – 12 at Strumble Head on 1 September |
| 2008 | 1 March | 4 September | Spring max – 64 on the Teifi on 26 April Autumn max – 22 at Stumble Head on 2 September |
| 2009 | 4 April | 2 November | Spring max – 64 at the Gann on 30 April Autumn max – 65 passing Stumble Head on 9 August |
| 2010 | 10 April | 25 September | Spring max – 41 at Ramsey on 21 April Autumn max – 23 passed Strumble Head on 21 August |
| 2011 | 1 April | 14 October | At least two over-wintered on Skokholm seen 1st Jan – 22 March Spring max – 75 at Whitesands on 5 May Autumn max – light passage up to three birds at a time |
| 2012 | 2 April | 23 October | At least two over-wintered on Skokholm 2011-12 Spring max – 79 at St Davids Head on 1 May Autumn max – 53 at Porth Selau Beach on 14 September |
| 2013 | 10 March | 13 September | Spring max – 67 at Marloes Mere on 27 April Autumn max – 1498 seen from Strumble Head on 18 August |
| 2014 | 27 March | 19 September | One may have overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – 110 at the Gann on 13 May Autumn max – 247 passed Strumble Head on 11 August |
| 2015 | 21 March | 25 September | One assumed to have overwintered on Skokholm Spring max – 55 at Freshwater West on 30 April Autumn max – 30 passed Strumble Head on 23 August One on Skokholm in October-November – over-wintering? |
| 2016 | 10 April | 20 September | Spring max – 140 at Kilpaison on 30 April Autumn max – none given |
| 2017 | 12 April | 8 October | Spring max – 32 at Carew-Cresswell on 2 May Autumn max – 40 at Skomer on 29 August |
| 2018 | 7 March | 25 November | Spring max – 70 at Newport on 2 May Autumn max – 16 passed Strumble Head on 24 & 27 August |
| 2019 | 4 April | 30 November | One thought to have over-wintered on Skokholm A leucistic bird at Skokholm on 6&7 May, Spring max – 45 at Skokholm on 28 April Possibly same leucistic bird seen at the Gann on 9 July Autumn max – none given |
| 2020 | 11 March | 4 December | One over-wintered on Skokholm 2019 – 2020 and another one there on 4 Dec. Another winter record from Llanreath-Hobb’s Point (WeBS) 12 Jan |
Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports which may contain more detail than shown here
Whimbrel – 1994
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant
Mathew (1894) noted the Whimbrel as a passing migrant seen on the coast in May and again in September, and Lockley et al. (1949) described it as “a regular and sometimes abundant passage migrant in spring and autumn”.
It is now a frequent visible diurnal migrant, but also passes at night, when it can be heard calling over most parts of the county, and has been seen at lighthouse attractions at the Smalls, South Bishop and Strumble Head.
Spring passage normally begins in mid-April, with advanced birds from 17 March in some years, and continues into June, with a latest record of 23 June. Groups of up to 30 (or even up to 80 in many years) stop off in coastal areas, the saltings of the Cleddau Estuary being particularly favoured, but groups can also be seen on the offshore islands, in coastal fields and around the whole of the rocky outer coast, where small crabs are an important food source, and can be seen passing northwards offshore, with fewer recorded inland. A similar pattern pertains in the autumn from 8 July to 24 October, numbers being similar to spring passage, though a maximum gathering of 110 was at Skokholm on 22 August 1948.
Single Whimbrels were recorded at Skokholm, Martin’s Haven, Sandy Haven Pill and Nevern Estuary during the winters of 1962, 1968, 1982 and 1992. One found on Skokholm when the island was reoccupied on 3 March 1971 may also have wintered. A migrant ringed on Skokholm in August 1967 was recovered in Finland in June 1969.
Whimbrel – 1980s winter
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant
One Whimbrel was recorded in Pembrokeshire for the BTO winter atlas during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.
Very few Whimbrels are known to winter in Europe.
Graham Rees. Pembrokeshire County Bird Recorder 1981-2007
Data collected by volunteers for the BTO. Lack, P. 1986 Atlas of wintering birds in Britain and Ireland. T & A.D. Poyser.
Whimbrel – 1949
Numenius phaeopus phaeopus
Regular and sometimes abundant passage migrant in spring and autumn.
Whimbrel – 1894
Numenius phaeopus
A passing migrant; seen on the coasts in May and again in September when it is passing South. Common.
Mr. Tracy writes: “I strongly suspect this bird breeds in the county, but I have been unable to find its eggs I have watched several pairs, during the summer months, so late as the latter end of June, that had every appearance of having nests in the locality, but without success. They then generally leave us about two months, as I do not see them again until the latter end of September.”
The Whimbrel breeds in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and its nest has not yet been detected elsewhere in the British Islands. On the last day of May, 1884, we were on Skomer Island, where we nearly trod upon a Whimbrel among the fern. The bird ran slowly off with trailing wings, and all the gestures of a bird just started from its nest, until she disappeared the other side of a hillock. We were following in pursuit of a wounded bird at the time, and unfortunately did not pause to search for a nest, and when we returned subsequently to do so we found that we had lost the position, and our investigations were fruitless. It would have been very interesting to have taken eggs of the Whimbrel so far to the south.
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant
Whimbrel – pattern of occurrence
Cummulative number of records per week as reported in BirdTrack
Whimbrel – first and last dates
Earliest and latest dates for this passage migrant, with notes on over-wintering birds since 1993. Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports
Whimbrel – 1994
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant Mathew (1894) noted the Whimbrel as a passing migrant seen on the coast in May and again in September, and Lockley et al. (1949) described it as “a regular and sometimes abundant passage migrant in spring and autumn”. It is now a frequent visible diurnal migrant, but also passes at […]
Whimbrel – 1980s winter
Numenius phaeopus – COEGYLFINIR – Passage migrant One Whimbrel was recorded in Pembrokeshire for the BTO winter atlas during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84. Very few Whimbrels are known to winter in Europe. More about the Whimbrel in Pembrokeshire
Whimbrel – 1949
Species account from the Birds of Pembrokeshire, 1949, by Lockley, Ingram and Salmon.
Whimbrel – 1894
Species account from the 1894 ‘Birds of Pembrokeshire and its Islands’ by Rev M A Mathew
Pembrokeshire Avifauna 