Swannery Bird News - November 2015

Highlights... 

With no rare vagrants, scarce migrants or 'Swannery first's' to report this month, November's best birds were probably the first winter Long-tailed Duck that  lingered from October, plus a second individual that joined it on the 30th...   

A distant record shot of the first of this winter's Long-tailed Ducks © Charlie Wheeler

...And the slightly unseasonal first winter Garganey on meadow pool on the 17th (that was too uncooperative for even a poor record shot).

And now the rest of the news... 

Waterfowl...

The adult drake and the first winter  Scaup lingered from October and were joined by an adult duck and another first winter on the 23rd. The following day the adult drake had disappeared but another first winter arrived. The adult duck and three first winters then lingered until  the 27th and the adult drake and one of the first winters reappeared on the 29th only. So to reiterate this month, although the peak count was only four, there were at least five Scaup seen, an adult drake, an adult duck and three first winters (and the latter were probably comprised of two ducks and a drake but time and continuing moult will tell if, as hoped, they overwinter).

First for this autumn/winter was a Goldeneye on the 22nd (with a peak of four on the 3oth); whilst the first Dark-bellied Brent Geese since the 1st of October were settled birds on the 15th  and 22nd (one) and 24th (two)...

The two Dark-bellied Brent Geese that lingered briefly on the 24th © Steve Groves

The peak counts of the commoner wildfowl were: 

Mute Swan 790; 
Black Swan 2; 
Canada Goose   25; 
Shelduck 9; 
Mandarin 1 (the white escape until the 13th);
Wigeon 1200;
Gadwall 20; 
Teal 300;
Mallard  470; 
Pintail 200;
Shoveler  50;
Pochard 378; 
Tufted Duck 260;
Red-breasted Merganser 1o.

Pintail & Teal on Meadow Pool © Steve Groves

Other Water Birds... 

There were no noteworthy sightings and peak counts of the commoner species were: 

Cormorant 7; 

Little Egret 2; 

Little Grebe 25; 
Great Crested Grebe 17; 

Moorhen 40; 

Coot 1500.

Little Grebes off 'Bum Point' © Steve Groves

Waders...

Most noteworthy were sightings of Golden Plovers... with four on the 1st and one on the 3rd; Curlew... with one on the 26th and Turnstone with one on the 16th. 

Peaks counts of the commoner species were: 

Lapwing 100;
Dunlin 5; 
Snipe 2; 
Redshank 2.

Redshank © Charlie Wheeler

Gulls...

The only gulls of note were two Yellow-legged Gulls (an adult and a second winter) on the 15th. 

Peak counts of the commoner species were:

Black-headed Gull 90;
Mediterranean Gull 400!;
Common Gull 300;
Lesser Black-backed Gull 16;
Herring Gull 580;
Great Black-backed Gull 210. 

Mediterranean Gull © Steve Groves

Raptors...

Most noteworthy was a Short-eared Owl on the 20th...

The Short-eared Owl © Charlie Wheeler

...while Marsh Harriers were seen regularly with the regular adult male on the 1st and at least one immature on several dates...

Immature Marsh Harrier © Charlie Wheeler

There was at least one Peregrine sighting, while Sparrowhawks, Buzzards and Kestrels were all seen with some regularity and Tawny Owls were frequently heard, if not always seen.

Other Non-Passerines...

There wasn't the mass movement of Wood Pigeons that was noted elsewhere in Dorset but one thousand flew east on the 16th, one hundred west on the 20th and two hundred in several directions on the 23rd.  Other species noted in varying but non-noteworthy numbers were: 

Pheasant,
Domestic/Feral Pigeon, 
Stock Dove, 
Kingfisher, 
Green Woodpecker,
Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Passerines...

Highlights were single  Bramblings on the 1st and 17th, a Firecrest on the 19th and two late Swallows on the 23rd. Also of note were around half-a-dozen Chiffchaffs early in the month (with just the occasional single by the month's end); up to twenty Redwings throughout and a peak of twelve Lesser Redpolls on the 26th.

Other species noted in varying but unremarkable numbers were: 

Goldcrest,
Magpie, 
Jackdaw, 
Rook, 
Carrion Crow, 
Raven, 
Blue Tit, 
Great Tit, 
Coal Tit, 
Sky Lark, 
Cetti's Warbler, 
Long-tailed Tit, 
Treecreeper, 
Wren, 
Starling, 
Blackbird, 
Song Thrush, 
Mistle Thrush, 
Robin, 
Stonechat, 
House Sparrow, 
Dunnock, 
Grey Wagtail,
Pied Wagtail,
Meadow Pipit,
Rock Pipit,
Chaffinch, 
Greenfinch, 
Goldfinch, 
Siskin,
Linnet,
Bullfinch, 
Reed Bunting.

And that's it for this month except to thank  Charlie Wheeler for the use of his photograph of his photos. 

Swannery Bird News - October 2015

Highlights... 

Two Glossy Ibises flew in over Chesil Bank  at around 11 am on the 10th. They headed straight for a pool on the west side but just as they began to drop down they suddenly veered off west and just kept going. Previously that morning, at around 10.30, they were seen at nearby Lodmoor RSPB and then shortly after they were reported over Radipole RSPB. At the time of my sighting however I was unaware they were headed west and it was by pure chance that I was in the right place at the right time to finally add this species to The Swannery List!  Later in the day they were seen on the Axe Estuary (where they lingered into early November) and local birder Phil Abbott has kindly allowed me to use his photo of them at Colyford Common (as I failed to get a pic of them at The Swannery)...   

The Glossy Ibises at Colyford Common © Phil Abbott

Following on from last month's Cattle Egret sightings there were further sightings of a single on the 1st and 6th...

The Cattle Egret on Meadow Pool on the 1st

In what proved to be a very good autumn for Yellow-browed Warblers nationally... up to four individuals were seen or at least heard at The Swannery with singles on the 1st, 15th, 22nd and 31st. Unfortunately none gave themselves up to the camera so below is a pic of one that was trapped, ringed and released at The Swannery back in October 2012...

Yellow-browed Warbler October 2012

And now the rest of the news... 

Waterfowl...

A first winter Long-tailed Duck arrived on the 30th and the adult drake Scaup was at last joined by another on the 27th when a first winter bird arrived. All three were still present on the 31st.

Two firsts for this autumn were a Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the 1st and a Red-breasted Merganser on the 18th but both were the only ones of the month.

The peak counts of the commoner wildfowl were: 

Mute Swan 720; 
Black Swan 2; 
Canada Goose   240; 
Shelduck 1; 
Mandarin 1 (the white escape still);
Wigeon 460;
Gadwall 6; 
Teal 800;
Mallard  635; 
Pintail 250;
Shoveler  50;
Pochard 220; 
Tufted Duck 260.

Moulting drake Pintail

Other Water Birds... 

Apart from the aforementioned Glossy Ibises and the Cattle Egret there were no noteworthy sightings and peak counts of the commoner species were: 

Cormorant 20; 

Little Egret 3; 

Grey Heron 1;
Great Crested Grebe 30; 

Little Grebe 24;
Moorhen 20; 

Coot 1100.

Waders...

Most noteworthy was a Jack Snipe on the 11th but also of note were sightings of Golden Plovers... with one on the 23rd and thirty on the 27th; Grey Plover... with one on the 6th; Knots... with singles on the 10th, 28th and 29th; Black-tailed Godwits with three on the 2nd and singles on the 4th and 21st; Common Sandpipers with one on the 6th and two on the 11th and Turnstones with six on the 2nd. 

Peaks counts of the commoner species were: 

Lapwing 60;
Dunlin 4; 
Snipe 3. 

Unusually not a single Redshank was seen.

The three Black-tailed Godwits on the 2nd

Gulls...

The only gulls of note were single first winter Yellow-legged Gulls on the 5th and the 12th. 

Peak counts of the commoner species were:

Black-headed Gull 30;
Mediterranean Gull 80;
Common Gull 20;
Lesser Black-backed Gull 5;
Herring Gull 20;
Great Black-backed Gull 200. 

Adult winter Mediterranean Gull

There were no terns.

Raptors...

Noteworthy sightings were of a Red Kite on the 15th; a Hobby on the 6th and a Merlin on the 31st. An adult male and at least two juvenile Marsh Harriers were seen regularly and there were at least two sightings of Peregrines including two together on one date. Sparrowhawks, Buzzards and Kestrels were also seen with some regularity of course. A Short-eared Owl was seen on the 15th and Barn Owl on the 21st, while several Tawny Owls were heard regularly.

Other Non-Passerines...

At least two Kingfishers were seen regularly but the only other species noted in varying non-noteworthy numbers were: 

Feral Pigeon, 
Stock Dove, 
Wood Pigeon, 
Collared Dove, 
Green Woodpecker and 
Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Passerines...

Lingering summer migrants included at least ten Yellow Wagtails until the 6th; three Wheatears with the last on the 16th; at least one Sand Martin still on the 2nd; House Martins that peaked at one-hundred on the 1st and were last seen on the 16th and Swallows that peaked at two-hundred and fifty on the 15th and were last seen on the 26th. Chiffchaff and Blackcap numbers were relatively poor with no more than ten of each estimated in the grounds at any one time and apart from the aforementioned Yellow-browed Warblers and the ever present Cetti's Warblers, the only other warbler of the month was a latish Reed Warbler on the 15th. 

Incoming winter visitors included the first one of this season's Redwings on the 15th, with others heard regularly later in the month and a flock of over one-hundred Fieldfares that flew north on the 16th. At least one Brambling was present on the 31st and several Lesser Redpolls were seen, or at least heard, with six on the 8th being the largest flock. Siskins however were relatively scarce with flocks of around ten early in the month but then only sporadic singles noted thereafter. 

Goldcrest numbers continued to be very impressive though with estimates in the region of at least fifty in the lower grounds alone in the middle of the month...

One of this month's Goldcrests

It was perhaps not surprising with so many Goldcrests around that a few Firecrests were also seen with singles on six dates from the 15th...

One of the Firecrests...much less cooperative than the Goldcrest!

There was a small but obvious influx of Coal Tits with at least five on some dates but all seen well were of the British race, despite several records of Continental birds elsewhere in the county. Singles of Grey Wagtails and up to three Rock Pipits were regular, while seven  Stonechats on the 12th were the most so far this autumn. 

Male Stonechat

With movements noted elsewhere in the area it seemed only a matter of time before the first Bearded Tits dropped out of the sky, which they duly did on the 15th, with at least five then present to the end of the month.  

Overhead passage of commoner species was fairly unremarkable  with peak counts being eighty Skylarks on the 8th; one-thousand Starlings on the 31st;  fifty plus Linnets on several dates and small numbers of  Meadow Pipits and   Pied Wagtails although there were around thirty of the latter coming in to roost each evening. 

Other species noted in varying but unremarkable numbers were: 

Magpie, 
Jackdaw, 
Rook, 
Carrion Crow, 
Raven, 
Blue Tit, 
Great Tit, 
Long-tailed Tit, 
Treecreeper, 
Wren, 
Blackbird, 
Song Thrush, 
Mistle Thrush, 
Robin, 
Dunnock, 
House Sparrow, 
Chaffinch, 
Greenfinch, 
Goldfinch, 
Bullfinch and 
Reed Bunting.

Female Chaffinch

And that's it for this month except to thank Phill Abbott for the use of his photograph of the Glossy Ibises. 

Swannery Bird News - September 2015

Highlights...

Two Cattle Egrets appeared on Shipmoor Point briefly on the 7th ... 

A distant record shot of the two Cattle Egrets (left) with two Little Egrets on Shipmoor Point 

© Charlie Wheeler

...And there were two further brief sightings of a single Cattle Egret on the 26th and 30th. 

Much more cooperative though was the Grey Phalarope which lingered on Meadow Pool from the 15th to the 18th...

The Grey Phalarope

And now the rest of the news... 

Waterfowl...

The drake Scaup was still present all month (although it did occasionally go missing) and a white Mandarin (or Wood Duck?) clearly of captive origin, arrived early in the month and was still present at the month's end... 

The white Mandarin or Wood Duck © Charlie Wheeler

Commoner wildfowl numbers continued to rise and peak counts of wildfowl were: 

Mute Swan 790; 
Black Swan 2; 
Canada Goose 90; 
Mandarin 1;
Shelduck 3; 
Wigeon 250;
Gadwall 6; 
Teal 500;
Mallard 370; 
Pintail 100;
Shoveler 20;
Pochard 50; 
Tufted Duck 150;
Scaup 1.

Other Water Birds... 

Apart from the aforementioned Cattle Egrets there were no noteworthy sightings and peak counts of the commoner species were: 

Cormorant 37; 

Little Egret 6; 

Grey Heron 3;
Great Crested Grebe 32; 

Little Grebe 26;
Moorhen 9; 

Coot 460.

Waders...
In addition to the aforementioned Grey Phalarope, other noteworthy sightings were of a Little Stint also on Meadow Pool from the 12th to the 15th and even rarer in a Swannery context, a Spotted Redshank on the 2nd (the latter frustratingly missed by me!).

The juvenile Little Stint (top left) with Dunlin

And a more heavily cropped shot of the juvenile Little Stint

More expected were a Ringed Plover on the 23rd; a Curlew on the 30th; single  Black-tailed Godwits on the 1st and 18th; single Greenshanks on the 12th and 15th and a Sanderling on the 15th; while there were regular sightings of Lapwings (with a peak of eight on the 30th); Turnstones (with a peak of five on the 29th); Knots (with a peak of four on the 14th); Dunlins (with a peak of eight on the 15th); Common Sandpipers (with a peak of four also on the 15th); Redshanks (with a peak of three on several dates) and Snipe (with a peak of only two on the 21st).

Terns & Gulls...

Two juvenile terns that were either Common Terns or Arctic Terns were glimpsed briefly on the 15th as they headed off west and two Sandwich Terns were present on the 17th...

One of the two Sandwich Terns seen this month

Mediterranean Gulls were regular and peaked at fifty on the 13th; an adult Yellow-legged Gull was present on the 21st while single first-winters were seen on the 5th and 22nd. Only a single Common Gull was noted and no more than singles of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were seen at any one time.

Peak counts of commoner species were:

Black-headed Gull 650;
Herring Gull 50;
Great Black-backed Gull 180.

Raptors... 

At least one Osprey was seen regularly from the 4th to the 29th...

Above two pics are of one of this month's regular Osprey sightings © Charlie Wheeler

... Three juvenile Marsh Harriers were seen on the 1st with singles then regular through the month and an adult male was seen on the 28th and 29th. Single Hobbies were seen on five dates through the month and single Merlins on the 15th and 29th and single Peregrines were regular too as of course were Sparrowhawks, Buzzards and Kestrels. A few 'heard only' Tawny Owls were the only owls reported.

Other Non-Passerines...
A late Swift was seen on the 6th; whilst at least two Kingfishers were seen regularly. Other species noted in varying numbers were Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Passerines...
In what is proving to be a very good autumn for Goldcrests there were also at least three Firecrests with one on the 12th and two on the 29th.  It also proved to be a good season for Whinchats with a marked passage from the 1st to the  21st including a peak of ten on the 3rd. As the Whinchats tailed off towards the end of the month Stonechats began to reappear again with a peak of five on several dates, whereas Wheatears were seen throughout with a peak of seven on the 1st. As there were none in the spring the first Spotted Flycatcher of the year was seen on the 5th with another on the 17th. Yellow Wagtails were regular all month but peak counts were of only of around ten.  Swallows however peaked at around a thousand on the 25th with House Martins peaking at only around fifty on the same date and Sand Martins peaking at about ten on several dates. As to be expected Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were fairly equal in number early in the month but the former tailed off rapidly later, with the last seen on the 25th. Blackcaps and a few Whitethroats were seen throughout as were several Cetti's Warblers of course but the last Reed and Sedge Warblers were seen on the 17th. Siskins and Meadow Pipits were a fairly constant overhead feature but counts of a hundred plus of each weren't recorded until the end of the month. Linnets and Skylarks were also on the move but in fewer numbers as yet and there was only one Rock Pipit on the 15th. 

Other species noted in varying numbers were Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting.
                              
And that's it for this month except to thank Charlie Wheeler wheeler-photography for the use of the Cattle Egret, Mandarin and Osprey photographs.