Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week...
Wildfowl...
The female Scaup was still among the increasing Pochard and Tufted Duck flock, while Teal reached fifty and Shoveler twenty but there were no Wigeon or Gadwall (and as yet no Pintail).Waders...
A juvenile male Ruff on Meadow Pool on Monday was the highlight...
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| Above three images the Ruff on Meadow Pool (top with Dunlin) |
There was a nice selection of other species too with peak counts of ten Ringed Plovers; one Curlew; five Black-tailed Godwits...
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| Above two images one of the juvenile Black-tailed Godwits present this week |
...one Turnstone; eight Sanderlings; forty Dunlins; two Green Sandpipers; three Greenshanks: two Redshanks and four Common Sandpipers...
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| Common Sandpiper on Bum Point |
Gulls, Terns & Petrels...
The highlight was a juvenile Arctic Tern on the tern rails on Sunday...
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| Above two images the juvenile Arctic Tern (left) with a juv. Common Tern |
The last of the Common Tern chicks fledged early in the week and by the end of the week only eight, mainly juveniles remained. One or two Sandwich Terns also lingered, whilst a juvenile/first winter Yellow-legged Gull was seen on Wednesday and Thursday. Black-headed Gull numbers increased but there were as yet very few Mediterranean and Common Gulls, two Fulmars over The Fleet on Monday however were a little unusual.
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| Adult winter Black-headed Gull |
Raptors...
An Osprey flew north on Tuesday, the same day that the male Marsh Harrier was seen to come in to roost and Peregines are now again being seen almost daily.
Passerines...
The first few returning Spotted Flycatchers and Common Redstarts were among good numbers of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Common Whitethroats in the hedgerows and withy-beds, whereas there were still plenty of Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers in the reed-beds. The feeding flocks of Swallows, House and Sand Martins still held a couple of Swifts early in the week, while the roosting flock of Yellow Wagtails reached at least three-hundred, although there were far fewer feeding in the meadows during the day.
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| A rather distant Spotted Fycatcher |
Well that's August done and dusted...bring on September!
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