Highlights...
This month's best birds were a Purple Sandpiper and a (heard only) Richard's Pipit (the former actually rarer at The Swannery than the latter!).
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| Purple Sandpiper, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Charlie Wheeler |
Also noteworthy (less than annual in the last few years) were up to eight Mandarin Ducks, three Black-necked Grebes, a Hen Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, a Siberian Chiffchaff, three Water Pipits and eight Lesser Redpolls.
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| Mandarin Ducks, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Charlie Wheeler |
The Month's Bird News In Full...
More details of the above highlights and the rest of this month's sightings...
Russian Brent Goose... One on the 23rd was the first of the season.
Canada Goose... Present throughout, with over 500 present on the 19th.
Barnacle Goose... Twelve briefly on the 2nd were the first since May, whilst singles were seen on the 4th and 19th.
Black Swan... One from the 24th to the 30th was the first since September.
Mute Swan... Present throughout, with 330 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 10th.
Whooper Swan... The resident (presumed escape) was present throughout.
Common Shelduck... Present throughout with a peak count of at least 40 on the 16th.
Mandarin Duck... One on the 3rd and an unprecedented seven on the 7th, were the first since December 2019.
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| Mandarin Ducks, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Steve Groves |
Shoveler... Present throughout, with a peak count of at least 150 on the 26th.
Gadwall... Three to four were present on the 14th/15th.
Wigeon... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of at least 100 on the 10th.
Mallard... Present throughout, with 380 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Pintail... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of at least 170 on the 9th.
Teal... Present throughout, with peak counts of at least 600 on two dates.
Pochard... Present throughout, with a peak count of 250 on the 15th/16th.
Tufted Duck... Present throughout, with a peak count of 200 on the 15th.
Scaup... Last month's adult female and first winter (which proved to be a male) remained throughout the month.
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| Scaup (ad. female), Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 (Phonescoped) © Steve Groves |
Goldeneye... A first winter was present from the 12th to the 19th, the first since March.
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| Goldeneye (1st winter) with Tufted Ducks, Teal & Pintail, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Steve Groves |
Goosander... A "redhead" on the 5th was the first since January 2020.
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| "Redhead" Goosander, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Charlie Wheeler |
Red-breasted Merganser... Two on the 22nd and one on the 24th were surprisingly the only records of the autumn.
Red-legged Partridge... Three seen on the 26th were presumably last month's birds.
Pheasant... Present throughout.
Domestic/Feral Pigeon... Present throughout.
Stock Dove... Some westerly movement was seen sporadically with a peak of at least 100 on the 17th but many were probably missed among the thousands of the following species.
Woodpigeon... Present throughout. Visible migration was observed on several dates with a peak of at least 5,000 on the 2nd.
Collared Dove... Regularly encountered.
Water Rail... Present throughout, with the four noted on the 15th probably being the tip of the iceberg!
Moorhen... Present throughout, with 18 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Coot... Present throughout, with 70 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Little Grebe... Present throughout, with 22 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Great Crested Grebe... Present throughout, with six counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Black-necked Grebe... At least one but often up to three were seen regularly.
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| Black-necked Grebes, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Steve Groves |
Oystercatcher... Noted on four dates, with a peak of three on the 29th.
Avocet... Two on the 27th were the first since June.
Lapwing... Present throughout much of the month, with a peak count of at least 150 on the 21st.
Golden Plover... At least two were noted on the 2nd and one was heard on the 22nd.
Grey Plover... One was heard on the 4th.
Black-tailed Godwit... One or two were seen regularly through the month.
Knot... One lingered from the 27th to the 30th.
Dunlin... Regularly encountered in single figures through the month but a flock of at least 30 was noted on the 22nd.
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| Dunlin, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Steve Groves |
Purple Sandpiper... One seen briefly on the 26th was the first since 2011 and only the fourth in my 33 year tenure!
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| Purple Sandpiper, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2021 © Steve Groves |
Snipe... Regularly encountered through the month, with a peak count of eight on the 8th.
Common Sandpiper... The wintering individual was seen regularly.
Redshank... One to three were seen regularly.
Black-headed Gull... Present throughout, with 50 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Mediterranean Gull... Regularly encountered in single figures, with the only double figure count being of at least 10 on the 12th.
Common Gull... Regularly encountered in single figures, with the only double figure count being of 10 on the 30th.
Great Black-backed Gull... Present throughout, with at least 50 present on the 22nd.
Herring Gull... Present throughout, with at least 100 present on the 28th.
Yellow-legged Gull... One (a first calendar year) was seen on the 9th.
Lesser Black-backed Gull... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of at least 20 on the 2nd.
Cormorant... Present throughout, with 10 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Cattle Egret... Present throughout with, a peak count of at least 37 roosting on the 17th.
Grey Heron... One to three were noted on virtually a daily basis.
Great Egret... One was seen on the 2nd.
Little Egret... Present throughout, with 10 counted during the Wetland Bird Survey on the 7th.
Sparrowhawk... Singles were seen on six dates.
Marsh Harrier... One or two were seen regularly but there were three on the 3rd and four on the 17th.
Hen Harrier... One ("ringtail") was seen on the 22nd, the first since 2018.
Red Kite... Two were seen on the 4th, one on the 22nd and two on the 23rd.
Buzzard... Present throughout.
Barn Owl... One was seen on the 1st and fresh pellets were found on the 16th and 20th.
Short-eared Owl... One was seen on the 2nd.
Tawny Owl... Heard on three dates but no doubt present throughout.
Kingfisher... At least one was seen regularly but there were three on the 7th and two on the 23rd.
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From the archive... Kingfisher, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2017 © Steve Groves |
Great Spotted Woodpecker... One or two were noted regularly.
Green Woodpecker... One or two were noted regularly.
Kestrel... Present throughout.
Merlin... Singles were seen on the 2nd and 20th.
Peregrine... Singles were seen on four dates but two were present on the 2nd.
Jay... Irruptive migrants were still arriving in the first few days, with at least 10 seen on the 3rd for instance, while for the rest of the month at least one to five were seen on virtually a daily basis.
Magpie... Present throughout.
Jackdaw... Present throughout with some westerly movement noted in the first week with peak of over 800 on the 2nd.
Rook... Present throughout.
Carrion Crow... Present throughout.
Raven... Up to five were noted regularly.
Coal Tit... One heard on the 2nd was oddly the only record.
Blue Tit... Present throughout.
Great Tit... Present throughout.
Bearded Reedling... Two were noted on four dates from the 2nd to the 17th.
Skylark... Present throughout. Some visible migration was noted, particularly in the first few days, with a peak count of at least 350 on the 2nd.
Cetti's Warbler... Present throughout, with at least 10 present on the 3rd.
Long-tailed Tit... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of at least 10 on several dates.
Common Chiffchaff... Virtually present throughout, with at least 10 noted on several dates.
Siberian Chiffchaff... One (the first since April) was present from the 16th to the 29th at least. It was heard singing on the 25th.
Firecrest... One was noted on the 30th.
Goldcrest... Present throughout, with at least 10 noted on several dates.
Wren... Present throughout.
Nuthatch... One continued to visit feeders in the adjacent Grove Lane throughout.
Treecreeper... At least one was noted regularly through much of the month.
Starling... Present throughout, There was some westerly movement apparent, with over 500 noted on the 2nd and 15th for instance. Also a small roost of around 10-20 early in the month eventually built up to over 150 by the month's end.
Song Thrush... Regularly encountered and no doubt present throughout, with at least 10 noted on several dates.
Mistle Thrush... Singles were noted on the 4th and 8th.
Redwing... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of 20 on the 18th.
Blackbird... Present throughout.
Fieldfare... Remarkably at least 350 flew west in several flocks on the 4th, whilst a flock of at least 10 was seen on the 18th.
Robin... Present throughout, with a peak count of at least 30 on the 30th.
Stonechat... Present throughout with a peak of at 4 on the 20th.
House Sparrow... At least five were seen regularly in the gardens of the adjacent Grove Lane.
Dunnock... Present throughout.
Grey Wagtail... At least one was noted regularly.
Pied Wagtail... Present throughout. Visible migration was noted in the first few days dates with a peak count of at least 50 over on the 2nd. Also around 100 roosted nightly.
Richard's Pipit... One was heard on the 9th (the first since the over-wintering duo in 2016/17).
Meadow Pipit... Visible migration was noted in the first few days with a peak count of at least 100 over on the 2nd. Otherwise a loose flock of between 10-20 was present throughout.
Water Pipit... Three were noted on the 3rd.
Rock Pipit... Regularly encountered with a peak of four on the 2nd.
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| From the archive... Rock Pipit, Abbotsbury Swannery, November 2016 © Steve Groves |
Chaffinch... Present throughout, with a peak counts of at least 50 on the 3rd and 9th.
Brambling... Noted on five dates between the 8th and 29th. Mostly singles but there were two on the 8th and at least three on the 19th.
Bullfinch... Singles were noted on the 2nd and 9th.
Greenfinch... Noted regularly, with a peak count of at least 10 on the 9th.
Linnet... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of at least 10 on the 3rd.
Lesser Redpoll... One on the 2nd (was the first since last November) and was followed by six on the 17th and one on the 18th.
Goldfinch... Present throughout, with a peak count of at least 20 on the 3rd.
Siskin... Regularly encountered, with a peak count of over 50 on the 3rd.
Yellowhammer... One was heard on the 16th (the first since last November).
Reed Bunting... Present throughout.
... And that's it for this post except to thank, Alan Barrett, Kev Butler, Steve Hales, Joe Stockwell, Nick Urch, Charlie Wheeler (and a few visiting birders) for additional sightings. Also an extra thanks to Charlie for the use of his photos.
December bird news will be published in due course.
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