Blue-winged Teal

A national rarity with three records this century: 

2003, an adult female at CVL from August 12th until 26th and again on 30th [BBRC] 

2009, a female at Weston STW on September 28th [2012 BBRC][2012 ABR] 

2011, a female at CVL from June 5th (A photograph taken on this date, and previously unidentified, has recently come to light [2021 ABR] ) until 24th [BBRC] 

There are five twentieth century records: 

1979 – CVL on 18th November [BBRC] [1980 ABR but with incorrect date] 

1992 – an adult female at CVL from July 29th until August 13th [BBRC] 

1993 – a female at BL on May 1st was paired with a Shoveler and remained until October 10th [BBRC, see 2013 ABR for clarification], a first winter male at CVL from October 9th until 11th [BBRC] 

1995 – an adult female at CVL from September 2nd until 5th [BBRC] 

1993 – A female paired with a Shoveler at BL between May 1st and Oct.10th, 1993 was, according to the 1993 Report, “accepted by BBRC but not as a wild bird”. It has now emerged that this was based on an incorrect interpretation of a comment in the BBRC annual report; the BBRC secretary has recently confirmed that this record was fully accepted by BBRC as wild. The local doubts at the time were in part due to the presence nearby of a presumed escape female Cinnamon Teal, also paired with a male Shoveler. At the time the BL individual was the third local record, after the first in 1979, and BBRC have now accepted a total of eight local records, with the last in 2011. 

A female photographed at Weston STW on Sept. 28th, 2009 has recently been accepted by BBRC (P A Bowyer, M S Ponsford). BBRC have accepted six other records, with the last in 2011, but this is the first away from CVL. 

One record: a female in the Hollow Brook area at CVL from June 12th to 24th (SD et al.). [BBRC] 

NB: arrival date now June 5th (A photograph taken on this date, and previously unidentified, has recently come to light [2021 ABR] ) 

This is the sixth accepted record for the Avon area and the first since 2003 when a female was at CVL in the autumn. The only record away from CVL was of a female at BL in 1993 paired with a Shoveler which was not considered to be wild and is not included in the above total. 

NB: The 1993 BL bird was accepted by the BBRC as a wild bird and has been added to the records