A rare vagrant from Europe and latterly also a wanderer from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme. All have been immatures apart from one adult seen flying past offshore on 25th April 2015. Records from 2021 onwards have included birds from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme, but also further birds of Continental origin (in 2021 & 2024). There have been 35 records:

1889 1: November Cley

1891 1: October-November Cley

1904 1: December Cley

1924 1: March Cley

1949 1: 10th December to 20th January 1950 immature Blakeney Point/Cley/Bayfield

1957 1: 29th December immature Cley (HP Medhurst, J. Izzard, RE Emmett) and 9th, 12th, 15th & 19th January & 4th March 1958 Cley (spending the February period in the Snettisham area of the Wash) (HP Medhurst, RA Richardson, JDS Clark et al.)

1961 1: 6th & 15th December Blakeney Point (W Eales)

1962 1: 6th December filmed Blakeney Point (W Eales)

1963 1: 30th December to 6th April 1964 Cley/Blakeney often feeding on a dead seal

1999 1: 21st November juvenile west Cley (TC Davies, HP Medhurst)

2011 2: 4th April juvenile northwest Kelling Heath (A Aberdein), then, next day, over Cley, Blakeney Point, Langham & Wiveton Downs, and finally lingering at Bayfield (SJM Gantlett et al.), 5th May juvenile west Blakeney Harbour (A Stoddart, E Stubbings)

2013 1: 6th April juvenile southeast Kelling Heath (SJM Gantlett)

2015 2: 16th March juvenile east Cley over Simmonds Scrape, briefly on Arnold’s Marsh, then Salthouse and off east over Kelling Hard (D & P Wileman et al.), 25th April adult west Salthouse Sea Pool and Cley Coastguards over sea (A Stoddart, SJM Gantlett et al.)

2018 1: 29th October southwest Salthouse Heath (MA Golley)

2019 1: 20th March west Blakeney Fresh Marsh/Morston (ET Myers, D Norgate), 22nd March juvenile, presumed same, east Morston/Cley/Salthouse/Kelling (G Baldock, NR Rogers), 28th March presumed same east Kelling Heath

2020 1: 4th August immature west Cley Coastguards offshore through windfarm

2021 3: 7th March reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile male G463 southeast Walsey Hills (C Gibson, E Buck et al.) and off southwest Kelling Triangle (SJM Gantlett), 23rd March reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile male G471 Bayfield Lake, then circled Kelling, Salthouse and Cley reserve, and finally west over Blakeney Point (MA Golley, T Whiley et al.), 30th March juvenile male G463 again, east Gramborough Hill, then seen over Blakeney Fresh Marsh, then Blakeney Point and then off southwest (MA Golley), 9th April immature high east Cley south of village and off over Kelling Heath (T Davies), not one of the satellite-tagged Isle of Wight birds, so presumably a wanderer from the Continent, 2nd May 9.40am east Blakeney Point and Cley (R Doggart, SJM Gantlett et al.), not one of the satellite-tagged Isle of Wight birds, so presumably a wanderer from the Continent and perhaps the 9th April bird [also 2nd May, 1.30pm, just off the edge of the Cley Square, reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile male G461 northwest over Langham Dome]. (CBC Newsletter 120: 10-13)

2022 5: 28th January reintroduced Isle of Wight 3rd-year male G471 (seen previously at Cley in March 2021) Cley, on shingle east of Arnold’s Marsh, then on Salthouse Swan Pool, then west onto beach and finally west to Blakeney Point and off southwest (D & P Wileman et al.), 15th April reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile G486 Kelling (T Whiley), 7th May reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile female G801 west Walsey Hills/Cley/Blakeney Point (G Fellows et al.) and again next day west Blakeney Point Far Point, 18th November ringed immature over Blakeney Harbour, 8th December reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile female G452 [or G542?] west Cley/Blakeney Fresh Marsh (SJM Gantlett et al.), then south up Glaven Valley.

2023 3: 18th July immature Bayfield (R Price), 27th August immature Blakeney Harbour (P Laurie), 10th November southeast Blakeney Friary Hills/Wiveton (P Riley)

2024 3: 2nd March Netherlands ringed juvenile male WN88 southeast Glandford (SJM Gantlett), then 3rd March perched in Glandford poplars and feeding on a dead Hare west of Bayfield Road (A Johnson et al.), then 4th-16th March intermittently at Glandford, Bayfield, Blakeney Point, Cley, Salthouse, Salthouse Heath, Langham & Wiveton Downs, being last reported northeast over Kelling Heath on 16th March (D Thompson) (CBC Newsletter 129: 10-13), 30th April immature west Cley (T Davies), 28th-29th August immature Blakeney Point Far Point (G Hogan, D Tipling)

2025 2: 14th March reintroduced Isle of Wight 4th-year female G819 west Salthouse/Walsey Hills/Cley reserve/Blakeney Fresh Marsh (RG Millington et al.), 14th April reintroduced Isle of Wight juvenile male G637 west Blakeney Point (MA Golley)

2026 1: 30th March Dorset bred juvenile male G834 Cley, resting on the banks of Pat’s Pool, then North Scrape, then off southwest (D & J Bridges et al.).