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.



Saturday 22 September 2018

Abbotsbury Swannery Bird Sightings - July 2018



Highlights...
This month’s best sightings were singles of Garganey, Black-necked Grebe, Great Egret, Wood Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank, whilst there were also two each of Curlew Sandpiper and Arctic Tern.

Garganey, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018, © Joe Stockwell

Arctic Tern (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018, © Joe Stockwell



The Month's Bird News In Full...
More details of the above highlights and the rest of this month's sightings...


Canada Goose... Present throughout with 800 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Barnacle Goose... Last month’s individual remained and was joined by a second from the 10th on.

Greylag Goose... One was present all month.

Black Swan… Four were present for much of the month.

Mute Swan... Present throughout with 715 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Whooper Swan... The released rehabilitated second calendar year was present all month.

Common Shelduck... Present throughout with 60 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Mandarin Duck… Last month’s individual remained and was seen sporadically until the 12th.


Mandarin Duck (eclipse drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Garganey... A juvenile was present from the 27th to the 31st.


Garganey (juv.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Northern Shoveler… Present throughout with a peak of 12 on the 24th.

Gadwall... Seen regularly with a peak of six on the 12th.

Mallard... Present throughout with 260 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Northern Pintail... The female with wing damage was last seen on the 7th.

Eurasian Teal... Present throughout with a peak of 17 on the 12th.

Common Pochard... Seen regularly with a peak of three on the 30th.

Tufted Duck... Present throughout with 28 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Common Pheasant... Present throughout.

Little Grebe... Present throughout with at least five seen regularly by the month’s end.

Great Crested Grebe... Present throughout with 20 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Black-necked Grebe... One on the 20th/21st was an unexpected July record.

Grey Heron... Seen regularly with a peak of seven on the 25th.

Great Egret... One was present briefly on the 19th.



Great Egret (& Common Terns), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Little Egret... Present throughout with a peak of 21 on the 18th.

Great Cormorant... Present throughout with around 30 roosting nightly.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk... Singles were seen regularly.

Western Marsh Harrier... A juvenile seen on the 24th was the only sighting.

Red Kite... One flew over on the 23rd.

Common Buzzard... Present throughout.

Water Rail... Singles were seen or heard on the 23rd/24th.

Common Moorhen... Present throughout. Only five were counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th but as always with this species the actual number present is likely to have been higher.

Eurasian Coot... Present throughout with 165 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.


Eurasian Oystercatcher… Present throughout with ten counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.


Eurasian Oystercatchers, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Pied Avocet... Three on the 8th.


Pied Avocets, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell


Northern Lapwing... Present throughout with 21 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Common Ringed Plover... Singles on the 4th, 13th and 25th.

Little Ringed Plover... Two to three were present from the 2nd to the 4th; one on the 14th’15th and two on the 22nd.


Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Whimbrel... Two on the 5th and one on the 11th.

Eurasian Curlew... Singles were seen, or at least heard, regularly between the 4th and 22nd but three were present on the 27th.

Black-tailed Godwit... Seen regularly with peaks of nine on the 3rd and 26th.


Black-tailed Godwit, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Black-tailed Godwit (& Northern Lapwing) Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 
© Steve Groves

Ruddy Turnstone... Two were present from the 23rd to the 25th and again on the 30th.



Ruddy Turnstones, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Red Knot... Two on the 24th.

Ruff... Singles were present from the 2nd to the 4th and on the 12th.

Ruff Little Ringed Plover,  Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Curlew Sandpiper... Two on the 19th.

Sanderling... Two or three were present daily between the 23rd and 27th.

Dunlin... Seen regularly with a peak of over 70 on the 24th.


Dunlins,  Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler


Common Snipe... One on the 4th.

Common Sandpiper… Seen virtually daily with a peak of 13 on the 31st.

Common Sandpiper,  Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell

Common Sandpiper, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves

Green Sandpiper… Singles were seen regularly but two were present on the 2nd and 27th.

Common Redshank... Up to four were seen regularly.

Wood Sandpiper... One on the 4th.

Spotted Redshank... One seen on the 27th was the first since April 2017.

Common Greenshank… One on the 10th.

Black-headed Gull... Present throughout with 460 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.

Mediterranean Gull... Seen regularly with peaks of at least ten on several dates.


Mediterranean Gull (Juv.),  Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell


Common Gull... Rather unseasonably one, sometimes two, were seen fairly regularly.

Great Black-backed Gull... Present throughout with at least 60 present on the 29th.

European Herring Gull... Present throughout, with at least ten together on the 29th.

Yellow-legged Gull... Single juveniles were seen regularly.


Yellow-legged Gull (Juv.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Lesser Black-backed Gull... Seen regularly in the latter half of the month at least with a peak of over five on the 29th.

Sandwich Tern... Seen regularly with a peak of at least four on the 4th.


Sandwich Tern & Common Tern,  Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell


Common Tern... Present throughout with 180 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 15th.
Common Tern (Juv.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell


Arctic Tern... Single second calendar years were seen on the 10th and 27th.


Arctic Tern (2cy.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Joe Stockwell


‘Feral Pigeon’... Seen regularly.

Stock Dove... Single figures were seen regularly.

Common Wood Pigeon... Present throughout.

Eurasian Collared Dove... Present throughout.

Western Barn Owl... There were regular sightings of at least two individuals.

Tawny Owl... Seen or at least heard regularly and breeding was confirmed with the sighting of a recently fledged juvenile.

Little Owl... One was heard on the 5th, the first since August 2016.

Common Swift... Single figures were seen regularly but at least ten were seen on the 30th.

Common Kingfisher... Singles were seen fairly regularly but three were present on the 21st.

Great Spotted Woodpecker... Seen regularly.

European Green Woodpecker... 
Seen regularly.

Common Kestrel... One or two were seen regularly but five were present on the 19th.

Eurasian Hobby... One flew over on the 10th.

Peregrine Falcon... Two were seen together on the 17th/18th while singles were seen on the 23rd and 27th.

Eurasian Magpie... Present throughout.

Western Jackdaw... Present throughout.

Rook... Present throughout.

Carrion Crow... Present throughout.

Coal Tit... Present throughout.

Eurasian Blue Tit... Present throughout.

Great Tit... Present throughout.

Eurasian Skylark... Present throughout.

Sand Martin... Seen regularly with a peak of at least 350 on the 17th.

Barn Swallow... Present throughout, with a peak of at least 300 on the 17th.

Common House Martin... Seen regularly, with a peak of over 50 on the 17th.

Cetti's Warbler... Present throughout.

Long-tailed Tit... Present throughout.

Willow Warbler... The first returning bird was seen on the 24th and there were then regular sightings with a peak of at least ten on the 31st.

Common Chiffchaff... Present throughout.

Sedge Warbler... Present throughout, with at least ten present daily in the final week.

Eurasian Reed Warbler... Present throughout.

Common Grasshopper Warbler... One on the 25th.

Eurasian Blackcap... Present throughout.

Common Whitethroat... Present throughout.

Goldcrest... Present throughout.

Eurasian Wren... Present throughout.

Eurasian Nuthatch... One arrived on the 15th and was then seen, or at least heard, regularly through the rest of the month.

Eurasian Treecreeper... Present throughout.

Common Starling... Surprisingly scarce with a flock of at least 20 seen on the 4th and eight seen on the 10th.

Common Blackbird... Present throughout.

Song Thrush... Present throughout.

European Robin... Present throughout.

House Sparrow... Present throughout.

Dunnock... Present throughout.

Western Yellow Wagtail... The first returning bird was seen on the 4th and there were then regular sightings of singles through the rest of the month.

Pied Wagtail... Present throughout.

Common Chaffinch... Present throughout.

Eurasian Bullfinch... Seen or at least heard regularly.

European Greenfinch... One or two were seen regularly.

Common Linnet... Present throughout.

European Goldfinch... Present throughout.


European Goldfinch (Juv.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


Eurasian Siskin... An unseasonable bird was heard on the 27th..

Common Reed Bunting... Present throughout.




... And that's it for this month except to say thanks to my work colleagues and volunteers for additional sightings and additional images, particularly Joe Stockwell and Charlie Wheeler but also Alan Barrett, Kev Butler, Phil Jenks and Jonny White.



I'll leave you with some other wildlife images from The Swannery during July 2018...



European (Common) Toad, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Steve Groves


European Grass Snake, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler




Gatekeeper, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler


Comma, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler


Common Blue, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler


Common Blue, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2018 © Charlie Wheeler




August's sightings to follow shortly.








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