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 8 March 2020

Swannery Bird Sightings - January/February 2020

Highlights... 1st January to 29th February 2020


January...

The best bird of the month was a Caspian Gull (a second calendar year) on the 7th...

(Phone-scoped) Caspian Gull (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 
© Steve Groves

Also noteworthy were twenty-two Egyptian Geese that circled over on the 21st and three Scaup on the 10th only...


Scaup (two 2cy ducks, one 2cy drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 
© Steve Groves
Scaup (two 2cy ducks, one 2cy drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 
© Steve Groves

Goosander was present on the 16th; last month's Red-necked Grebe remained and lingered to the 4th, with it or another reappearing on the 12th to the 19th; sixteen Golden Plovers on the 12th (following a single on the 10th); a Woodcock on the 7th; the over-wintering Common Sandpiper throughout...


Common Sandpiper, Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 © Steve Groves

A Yellow-legged Gull (a third calendar year) was seen on the 26th; the regular Cattle Egret roost peaked at thirty on the 10th at least; two Great Egrets were seen regularly throughout...


Great Egrets, Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 © Steve Groves
Great Egret, Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 © Steve Groves
Great Egret, Abbotsbury Swannery, January 2020 © Steve Groves

Also at least one Marsh Harrier was seen regularly; there was at least one Barn Owl on several dates; a Merlin on the 26th; single Peregrines on the 8th and 17th  and at least one over-wintering Chiffchaff throughout.


February...


The best birds of the month were another Caspian Gull (a second calendar year) on the 10th...

(Phone-scoped) Caspian Gull (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, February 2020 
© Steve Groves
(Phone-scoped) Caspian Gull (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, February 2020 
© Steve Groves

... and a Little Auk (sadly dead) on the 24th, the first since November 2014, though thankfully that one was alive.

Little Auk (deceased), Abbotsbury Swannery, February 2020 © Steve Groves

Also of note were a Goldeneye (female) from the 25th; what may or may not have been last month's Red-necked Grebe again on the 10th; with it or another lingering from the 17th to the month's end; Curlew on the 24th; the over-wintering Common Sandpiper still; a peak of thirty-three Cattle Egrets in the nightly roost on the 20th; a regular Great Egret; regular Marsh Harriers with three together on the 27th; Barn Owl on the 28th at least; a Merlin on the 19th; a Peregrine on the 7th; a Chiffchaff on the 14th (always elusive here in February) and a Greenfinch (hard to find at all now) on the 27th. 


And that's it for this post except for a thank you to my colleagues Joe Stockwell, Kev Butler and Charlie Wheeler for finding some of the above birds. Also thanks to Swannery WeBS volunteers Alan Barrett and Nick Urch and other work colleagues and visiting birders that reported Swannery sightings. 

March 2020 sightings to follow shortly.

Steve Groves.


Wednesday 4 March 2020

Swannery Bird Sightings... March to December 2019

A Catch-up...

There has been a bit of an hiatus since my last post but hopefully now my posts will be more regular. This blog started as a weekly roundup of interesting sightings but after awhile I began only posting monthly (albeit eventually being more comprehensive) and then only quarterly before virtually petering out completely! I think trying to be comprehensive and include every bird species seen was my downfall, so to try and get back on track I will now revert to just covering the highlights, initially a catch-up from where I left off at the end of February 2019 and then hopefully a monthly review in 2020 (although I'm already behind schedule!).


Highlights... 1st March to 31st December 2019


March...

Lingering over-wintering birds included at least three Scaup to the 18th, with two to the 20th and one to 24th; whilst the Cattle Egret roost numbered up to thirty throughout. Early spring passage produced a drake Garganey on the 28th; two Little Ringed Plovers on the 29th to the 31st; Ruff on the 29th; an Osprey on the 31st; a Short-eared Owl on the 19th; Merlin on the 22nd, a Firecrest on the 26th and a White Wagtail on the 21st.


Image
Cattle Egrets, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2019 © Kevin Butler
Image
Cattle Egrets, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2019 © Kevin Butler

April...

The best birds of the month were The Swannery's first ever documented Stone-curlew on the 10th; the third ever Temminck's Stint on the 20th (the Swannery's two previous records were in June 1993 and August 1996) and the first Ring-billed Gull since 2007 on the 3rd.


Image
Stone-curlew, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Kevin Butler
Temminck's Stint, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Ring-billed Gull, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Joe Stockwell

Other April highlights were another drake Garganey on the 16th and 17th; an Avocet on the 8th; further single Little Ringed Plovers on five dates over the month; two Arctic Terns on the 17th; Fulmar on the 5th; at least 30 Cattle Egrets still lingered for much of the April (only dropping to single figures in the last week); Great Egret on the 19th; another two Ospreys with one on the 4th and one on the 8th; Garden Warbler on the 24th; Redstart on the 20th; two Whinchats on the 19th; single Yellow Wagtails on six dates; two more single White Wagtails on the 2nd and 9th; a Tree Pipit on the 17th; whilst two Water Pipits on the 19th were the first for over ten years.


Image
Garganey (drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Kevin Butler
Image
Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Kevin Butler
Arctic Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Great Egret, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Water Pipit, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2019 © Joe Stockwell


May...

The best bird of the month was another Temminck's Stint that was present on the 15th. So a 23 year wait since the last and then two appear within a few weeks of each other!


Temminck's Stint, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2019 © Steve Groves

Other May highlights included single Little Ringed Plovers on the 1st and 6th; Sanderlings peaked at an impressive nineteen on the 31st, after a few single figure counts earlier in the month; three (second calendar-year) Little Gulls on the 18th, with at least one to the 30th; single Roseate Terns on the 28th and 31st; aArctic Tern on the 18th; a Black Tern on the 31st; a Gannet on the 8th; at least three Cattle Egrets lingering until the 12th; a Great Egret from the 26th to the 31st; aOsprey on the 4th; single Hobbies on the 1st, 2nd and 14th; a Garden Warbler on the 1st; at least two Spotted Flycatchers on the 4th;  a Redstart on the 5th; single Whinchats on the 2nd, 7th and 20th; a Yellow Wagtail on the 13th and a White Wagtail on the 17th.



Little Gull (second calendar-year), Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2019 © Steve Groves
Little Gull (second calendar-year), Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2019 © Steve Groves
Roseate Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, 28th May 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Roseate Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, 31st May 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Arctic Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Black Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2019 © Joe Stockwell


June...

Bird of the month (and the year!) was a Dark-eyed Junco that was discovered in the car park on the 21st. It is the first ever American passerine for The Swannery and probably the most unexpected addition ever to The Swannery bird list. It was a new addition to The Fleet recording area too (and only the second American passerine following a Red-eyed Vireo near Lynch Cove in October 1995) and also only the fourth for Dorset. 


Dark-eyed Junco (of the Eastern form - 'Slate-colored Junco'), 
Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 
© John Wall

A Glossy Ibis from the 13th to the 26th June was the third occurrence of the species (following two that flew west in October 2015 and a flock of five that flew east in October 2017) but was the first to linger (apart that is from a bird in the 1970's that was questionably deemed to be an escape).


Glossy Ibis, Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Charlie Wheeler
Glossy Ibis, Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Kevin Butler
Glossy Ibis, Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Kevin Butler


Glossy Ibis (video), Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Steve Groves

Other birds of note in June were another drake Garganey on the 8th; single  'heard only' Cuckoos on the 10th and 24th; two Little Ringed Plovers on the 27th; further single Roseate Terns on the 18th and 26th; Fulmar on the 4th; and a Great Egret from the 17th to the 22nd.


Garganey (drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Steve Groves
Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Roseate Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 © Joe Stockwell

Cormorants, nesting for the first time at Abbotsbury Swannery, June 2019 
© Kevin Butler


July...

Yet another new bird for The Swannery was found this month and like the Stone-curlew but not the Junco it had long been expected... a Night Heron. Unfortunately though it was seen only briefly on a couple of occasions on the 5th. 


Night Heron, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Night Heron, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Kevin Butler


Other noteworthy sightings in July included single Garganeys on the 3rd and 27th; singles of Little Ringed Plover on four dates but with five together on the 14th; single Knots on the 13th and 28th; a Sanderling 27th; single juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on several dates but at least two on the 20th; an Arctic Skua 30th; single Spoonbills on the 14th and 30th; an Osprey on the 16th; Hobby on the 12th;  Grasshopper Warbler on the 27th and regular singles of Yellow Wagtails but with three or four on the 26th and 27th.


Garganey (ad. female or juv.), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Knot, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Yellow-legged Gull (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 
© Steve Groves
Arctic Skua, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Osprey, Abbotsbury Swannery, July 2019 © Joe Stockwell


August...

The best bird of the month was an Aquatic Warbler seen briefly on the 19th, the first, of this once regular migrant, for nineteen years.


Aquatic Warbler, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Charlie Wheeler

Other sightings of note included three Little Ringed Plovers on the 6th; one or two Knots regularly; a Ruff one on the 13th; a Wood Sandpiper on the 2nd; regular juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls with at least three on the 1st; at least one Arctic Tern on the 16th; Fulmar on the 28th; a Gannet on the 9th; a Cattle Egret on the 31st; a Great Egret on the 29th; one, sometimes two Ospreys regularly; a Hobby on the 2nd; single Grasshopper Warblers on the 18th and 23rd; a Garden Warbler on the 1st; two Spotted Flycatchers on the 21st/22nd; single Pied Flycatchers on the 10th/11th and 27th; a Redstart on the 20th/21st; regular Whinchats from the 22nd to the 27th with a peak of four on the last date; regular Yellow Wagtails with a roost of over 400 in the last week and regular Tree Pipits from the 12th to the 25th with a peak of over fifteen on the 21st.

Yellow-legged Gull, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Steve Groves
Osprey, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Osprey, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Garden Warbler, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Pied Flycatcher, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Redstart, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Steve Groves


In addition to the above sightings a flock of twenty-one White Storks flew west on the 24th but they were releases from a re-introduction project rather than wild birds. Nevertheless it was apparently a fantastic sight (as unfortunately I was elsewhere... As I was for the Ring-billed Gull, Night Heron and Aquatic Warbler too!).

White Storks, Abbotsbury Swannery, August 2019 © Joe Stockwell


September...

This month saw the arrival of The Swannery's first White-winged (Black) Tern (a juvenile) on the 1st (the fourth new Swannery bird of the year!) and also The Swannery's third Caspian Gull (a first winter) on the 22nd.

White-winged Tern (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 
© Kevin Butler
White-winged Tern (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 
© Kevin Butler

Caspian Gull (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 
© Joe Stockwell

Also of note were twenty Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the 11th/12th; a Common Scoter on the 5th; three Goosanders on the 27th; an Avocet on the 2nd; regular Knots peaking at over fifteen on the 1st; two Sanderlings on the 9th; a Curlew Sandpiper on the 24th; a Spotted Redshank on the 22nd; a Kittiwake on the 27th; a Little Gull on the 29th; single Yellow-legged Gulls on three dates; two Black Terns on the 24th; at least five Arctic Terns on the 29th; a Gannet on the 6th; regular Cattle Egrets peaking at seven on the 14th/15th; regular single Ospreys; singles of Hobby on three dates; a Grasshopper Warbler on the 30th; single Garden Warblers on the 8th and 14th; regular Firecrests with at least four on the 8th; three Spotted Flycatchers from the 6th to the 8th; a Pied Flycatcher on the 9th; regular Whinchats peaking at four on the 15th; a Blue-headed Wagtail on the 11th; regular Yellow Wagtails with the roost holding over fifty on several dates; two White Wagtails on the 10th and at least three on the 19th and a Tree Pipit on the 9th and two on the 13th.


Pale-bellied Brent Geese, Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Common Scoter (duck), Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Steve Groves
Goosanders ('redheads'), Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Joe Stockwell

Knot, Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Joe Stockwell

Curlew Sandpiper, Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Steve Groves
Blue-headed Wagtail, Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Joe Stockwell

October...

There were no true rarities this month but there were still a number of notable sightings... the first Scaup of the autumn arrived on the 28th and was joined by two more on the 31st;  there were two Avocets on the 31st; two Knots on the 21st; Sanderling on the 5th; Curlew Sandpiper on the 2nd; Jack Snipe on the 2nd; single Grey Phalaropes on the 2nd and 11th; single Yellow-legged Gulls on four dates but with at least four on the 25th; the first Razorbill for five years on the  25th; a Gannet on the 26th; Cattle Egrets were regular peaking at twenty-three on the 30th; one or two Great Egrets were regular but there were three on the 22nd; two Merlins were around in the first week followed by a single on the 22nd; there were at least two Bearded Reedlings from the 22nd to the 27th; up to two Yellow-browed Warblers from the 22nd to the 27th; up to four Firecrests were regular; two Ring Ouzels on the 21st were the first since 2016; there was a Whinchat on the 24th; a Yellow Wagtail on the 3rd; a Brambling on the 21st; and a Yellowhammer on the 22nd. 


Grey Phalarope, Abbotsbury Swannery, October 2019 © Joe Stockwell

Ring Ouzel, Abbotsbury Swannery, October 2019 © Joe Stockwell


November...

The month's highlights were the fourth and fifth Caspian Gulls for The Swannery on the 5th and 15th respectively (the first was as recent as April 2018); and a 'new' Whooper Swan that joined the resident bird on the 18th to the 20th. 


Caspian Gull, (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, 5th November 2019 
© Joe Stockwell
Caspian Gull, (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, 15th November 2019 
© Steve Groves
Whooper Swans, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2019 © Joe Stockwell


Other notable sightings were... A potential wild Barnacle Goose on the 1st; Scaup peaking at five on the 9th; a Long-tailed Duck on the 7th/8th; a Common Scoter from the 4th to the 17th; a Goldeneye (now sadly classed as noteworthy!) on the 1st, followed by two on the 17th; two Goosanders on the 13th; an Avocet on the 24th; a Jack Snipe on the 8th; an Arctic Skua on the 2nd; single Yellow-legged Gulls on the 9th and 11th; the now regular Cattle Egrets that peaked at twenty-four on the 19th; one or two Great Egrets throughout; single Merlins on three dates; single Siberian Chichaffs on the 4th/5th and 28th; at least two Firecrests throughout; a Water Pipit on the 5th/6th at least; single Yellowhammers on the 3rd and 17th; and the first Corn Bunting for at least fifteen years on the 6th. 


Long-tailed Duck (juv.),  Abbotsbury Swannery, September 2019 © Joe Stockwell
Yellow-legged Gull (adult), Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2019 © Steve Groves
Common Scoter, (first calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2019
© Steve Groves

December...

There were no official rarities this month but Red-necked Grebe on the 27th/28th at least was the first since 2005!


Red-necked Grebe Abbotsbury Swannery, December 2019 © Steve Groves


Other highlights included three Scaup that lingered to the 5th, with singles on the 6th and 20th to the 24th; a Long-tailed Duck on the 12th; a Shag on the 21st; the Cattle Egret flock peaked at twenty-four on the 9th; and two regular Great Egrets.

Scaup (two 1cy ducks, one 1cy drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, December 2019 
© Steve Groves
Scaup (adult drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, December 2019 © Steve Groves
Great Egret, Abbotsbury Swannery, December 2019 © Steve Groves


... So what a brilliant birding year The Swannery had in 2019... Four Swannery firsts... Stone-curlew, Dark-eyed Junco, Night Heron and White-winged Tern; two National Rarities... Dark-eyed Junco and Aquatic Warbler;  ten County Rarities... two Temmincks Stints, Ring-billed Gull, Glossy Ibis, Night Heron, White-winged Tern, three Caspian Gulls and a Whooper Swan. Here's hoping that 2020 will be at least half as good!

Finally I'd like to say a big thank you to my colleagues Joe Stockwell, Kev Butler and Charlie Wheeler for finding many of the above birds and allowing me to use their images. A big thanks too to visiting birder Clive Thompson for finding the junco and to John Wall for the use of his photo of it. Also thanks to Swannery WeBS volunteers Alan Barrett and Nick Urch and other work colleagues and visiting birders that reported Swannery sightings. 

January/February 2020 sightings to follow shortly I hope.

Steve Groves.