Please note that this is my own personal blog and therefore the views and opinions expressed, although in no way intended to be controversial, are not necessarily those shared by my employers Abbotsbury Tourism Ltd. and Ilchester Estates . All photos are © Steve Groves unless otherwise credited.



Sunday 28 July 2013

'A Shore Thing'

Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week...

Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th July 2013.......

With no real changes to the numbers or the variety of waterfowl, passerines, 'near-passerines' or raptors (the return of 'our' female Marsh Harrier being the exception) this week was all about Charadriiformes and most notably waders... Plovers and their allies were represented by at least five Oystercatchers, an early fly-over Golden Plover, half-a-dozen or so Lapwings and at least two Little Ringed Plovers... 


Juvenile Little Ringed Plover on the bund.
Juvenile Little Ringed Plover in the meadow.
Sandpipers and their allies were represented by the first couple of Whimbrels of the 'autumn', at least three Black-tailed Godwits... 

Black-tailed Godwit on the meadow pool.

 ... at least three Turnstones, a peak of six Sanderlings, peaks of twenty plus Dunlins, a peak of five Common Sandpipers, at least one lingering Greenshank...

Greenshank on the meadow pool.
.... and at least two Redshanks...

Juvenile Redshank on the meadow pool, with a bizarre almost 'Upland Sandpiper-like' head pattern!


Greenshank and Redshank on the meadow pool.
So a nice, if not exactly exciting, selection of shorebirds but only the usual 'inshore-birds'... i.e. good numbers of Common Terns still...

Just a few of the hundred plus Common Terns present this week.
... but all I could find among them were a few Sandwich Terns still and the best gull was the first juvenile Mediterranean Gull of the year...

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull (left) with juvenile Black-headed Gull.
 So a poor week for passerine migrants but with August just round the corner things should be picking up soon!

And Finally A Short Selection Of This Week's Swannery Insects...


Great Green Bush Cricket.


Scarlet Tiger Moth - currently the best numbers for years!


Peacock Butterfly.

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