'More Autumn Arrivals'...

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

6th to 12th August 2012

Wildfowl highlights included the Common Scoter that reappeared on Monday and then lingered all week, the male Pintail that also showed up again, the summering male Goldeneye and the five Shoveler. There were no Wigeon but Teal reached twenty by the end of the week and the Greylag Goose still lingered.

As for other waterbirds a couple of Little Grebes are now back from nearby breeding territories, joining good numbers of Great Crested Grebes - some of which over-summered - but also include a few in-coming juveniles (no grebes breed at The Swannery probably due to the fact that high spring tides reach even this far up The Fleet). A dispersing Kingfisher, the first of autumn,  was also seen this week.

The male Marsh Harrier returned once again but the best raptor of the week was an Osprey on Thursday and Friday trying its' luck with the local mullet (which I have to say having barbecued a few for our lunch at work, with flavouring provided from the 'monks herb garden', are rather good).

The over-summering male Marsh Harrier (now in active primary moult) over the tank teeth.
Unfortunately I missed several good opportunities to get what would have been much better shots of the Osprey.

Wader migration was still in full swing with highest daily totals being ten Oystercatcher, one Little Ringed Plover, three Lapwing, one Knot, sixteen Dunlin, five Black-tailed Godwit, four Common Sandpiper, four Green Sandpiper, one Greenshank, two Redshank and last week's bird of the week the Wood Sandpiper still lingers this evening, eight days after its first arrival. Unfortunately the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, found at the other end of The Fleet at Ferrybridge on Thursday evening, didn't drop in at The Swannery despite flying off west from Ferrybridge shortly after dawn on Friday. A pity as it would have potentially been a new bird for The Swannery, although there is a previous record for The West Fleet but where on The West Fleet is not clear.



Adult and juv. Dunlin on meadow pool.

A closer shot of a juv. Dunlin.

The (Common) Greenshank (foreground) with the Wood Sandpiper, meadow pool.
For slightly better shots of the Wood Sand see last weeks post

The (Common) Greenshank again.
Unlike the Wood Sandpiper that lingered for over a week, singles of this more regular tringa were only present on Tuesday and again this evening,.

A rather late arrival of post-breeding Black-headed Gulls thankfully included many juveniles despite the awful spring and early summer and a couple more Mediterranean Gull juvs also accompanied them. The only tern though was a single Common Tern on Wednesday.

One of the juv. Mediterranean Gulls.

Of the landbirds a few Swifts still lingered with House Martins and now good numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins. Earlier in the week the first Yellow Wagtail of the autumn flew over and today three Wheatears were on the reed-barn track to add to last weeks first of the season. The roaming tit flocks this week again held numerous Willow Warblers and ringer Steve Hales pulled the first Garden Warbler of the autumn out of his withybed net, while his reedbed nets produced several Sedge Warblers. 

(Northern) Wheatear by the Reed-Barn Track.

Jersey Tiger Moth on my (dirty) living room window (check out my reflection).
Other notable insects this week included a Golden-ringed Dragonfly and a couple of Emperor Dragonflies in addition to last weeks species. A few other hawkers were also glimpsed but I failed to id them.

Above two photo's Portland Sheep.
Top a sheared ewe and below her un-sheared lamb that consequently looks bigger than her. This primitive breed is one of the few breeds where both sexes have horns. The Estates' Portland flock were once regularly grazed in The Swannery meadows but unfortunately their visits are now few and far between.

'Autumn Arrives!'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

30th July to 5th August 2012

This weeks wildfowl were little changed from last week with the reappearance of the Common Scoter (Monday to Friday), the two Wigeon still, a Gadwall, the five Shoveler and the Goldeneye among the usual resident and over-summering duck. The Greylag Goose lingers too (along with now up to six Greylag x Canada Goose hybrids - four of them white domestic types) amongst the Canada Goose flock.

Above three pics of the female (or juv.?) Common Scoter.
A scarce bird on The Fleet at Abbotsbury (but common off the beach) I usually manage one or two a year but still await my first Swannery Velvet Scoter (I have seen them on the seaward side of the beach, but that doesn't count!).

After its reappearance last week the summering male Marsh Harrier went missing again this week and no other noteworthy raptors appeared.

Waders were again in evidence with one of the two failed breeding pairs of Oystercatchers still lingering and the returning (non-local) post breeding Lapwing 'flock' struggled up to four. Surprisingly the single Dunlin on the meadow pool today was the only one all week but today's Whimbrel was the second. Also only one Redshank went into the log but up to seven Common Sandpipers were present daily, as were up to four Green Sandpipers. This weeks bird of the week award though (despite the presence of last week's Common Scoter) was the Wood Sandpiper on meadow pool yesterday and today.

Above two pics the Wood Sandpiper on meadow pool.
This northern breeding wader is just about annual at The Swannery

The Wood Sandpiper with a Green Sandpiper (foreground).

A Green Sandpiper on meadow pool (being more obliging for the camera than it's scarcer cousin).
Green Sandpipers are regular early autumn migrants at The Swannery with a few in the spring and occasional in winter.

There were only four brief Common Terns all week so the 'breeding' birds have now moved on and there were no other tern species seen and no gulls of note (not even a 'Med').

Of the land birds a few Swifts still linger feeding along with seemingly reduced numbers of Swallows and both House and Sand Martins but the first returning Willow Warblers and a Wheatear truly signify the start of autumn.

As for other fauna... Dragonflies and Damselflies have been much more in evidence this week...

Male Beautiful Demoiselle - meadow path.

Male Banded Demoiselle - Decoy Pond drain.

Male Black-tailed Skimmer - meadow path.
Broad-bodied Chasers and Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies have also been seen this week.

Oh and just for the record...

Despite what it says on Dorset Bird Club's sightings blog a Cory's Shearwater did not fly past The Swannery this morning (Sunday 5th August). It was seen by mate Paul Harris and it flew west past Abbotsbury Beach and was therefore not viewable from The Swannery. I suppose you could argue that if it flew past the beach it also flew past The Swannery but as it couldn't be seen from The Swannery that's just silly, it flew past the beach so say it flew past the beach!

'A Ray Of Light'

Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week -

23rd to 29th July 2012

 Just glancing back through my notebook for the past week, things are definitely on the up as several pages are almost full! Nothing major you understand but lots of interesting stuff all the same.

A rainbow over Chesters Hill yesterday evening.

Starting with wildfowl the over-summering Goldeneye and Greylag Goose are still present and the few returning Teal and Shoveler have already been joined by a couple of early Wigeon. The bird of the week award though has probably got to go to a Common Scoter present on Friday evening only. Commonly encountered off the seaward side of the beach of course, these seaduck are only just about annual on my patch in The Swannery embayment. It was too distant for a photo unfortunately but it was presumably and adult or first summer female assuming it's too early for a juv. yet.

The regular male Marsh Harrier is still very much in evidence if no other noteworthy raptors were.

A rather distant shot of the Marsh Harrier over a recently cut hay field.

As I feared the remaining pair of Oystercatchers do indeed appear to have failed for the second time after their nest became waterlogged a few weeks back. They persevered with the incubation but to no avail. The only plovers of the week were the two Lapwings lingering from last week but sandpipers were fairly well represented with several Sanderlings (two Tuesday, four Saturday), single figures of Dunlin and Common Sandpipers most days (but with thirteen of the former on Thursday and a peak of seven of the latter on Tuesday), four Black-tailed Godwits on Saturday (seen by Charlie but not me) and a couple of single Green Sandpipers in the week but with four together on the meadow pool this evening.

Another distant shot this time of one of the Green Sandpipers.

A much better shot by workmate Charlie Wheeler of his four Black-tailed Godwits
(with Mallard and Pochard).

A few juv. Black-headed Gulls have at last appeared along with the juv. Mediterranean Gull and a second calender year Common Gull was an early surprise. There were still thirty plus Common Terns and the occasional Sandwich Tern but the formers numbers were declining by the weeks end (in fact I couldn't see any from Chapel Hill this evening).

One of this weeks juvenile Black-headed Gulls.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull.

Second calender year Common Gull.

If wader passage is now in full swing there is not too much evidence of passerines moving through just yet but there were at last small flocks of Sand Martins joining the numerous family parties of Swallows.Two Grey Wagtails were new in too, as gone are the days when they nested on my patch on the mill stream under Grove Lane bridge. This stream and bridge was once too the haunt of Dippers and although I recall 'Grey Wags' breeding until the mid 1990's the last Dipper was seen in 1982, seven years before my tenure. I love Dippers (having spent most of my childhood holidays exploring Dartmoor's streams and rivers) and I still check that bridge every day just in case, as a Swannery Dipper would mean more to me than a first for Britain!

Two of the many juv. (Barn) Swallows around at the moment.
At least they seem to have had an ok summer

A 'Tern' For The Worst

Weekly highlights 16th to 22nd July

I was on leave from Monday to Friday this week and as I had lots of chores to catch up with in and around the home I had very little time for birding. I did pop down to The Swannery on Wednesday though and the first thing I noticed was a severe lack of terns! There had been forty plus around the island the previous week, so something had obviously gone drastically wrong. When I left work on the previous Friday there was at least one chick on the point of fledgling and possibly more from the first five pairs that settled, then there were another ten pairs that settled later that were all on eggs and then another even later five pairs that were just settling. It would appear that the poor weather just got too much for them, and their chicks and eggs presumably became chilled. When I returned to work this weekend though I was relieved to see around thirty Common Terns still present but they were plainly no longer nesting despite bringing in plenty of fish (which they were just hanging on to as if not sure what to do with them)! On the plus side though there were at least two juveniles present so I'm hoping they are 'our' birds as opposed to wanderers from Lodmoor. If that is the case then at least there has been some success here this year (as last year despite the slightly better weather, there were no chicks at all).

Common Tern with 'whitebait' and with nothing to feed it to!
There certainly doesn't appear to have been a shortage of food this year.

One of the Common Tern juvs.

A few Sandwich Terns are still around too, this one already moulting into non-breeding plumage.

The flooded out Oystercatcher pair are still sitting on their replacement clutch but I fear that these too have been chilled. A trickle of other waders are still passing through with single figures of Knot, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Common Sandpiper and Redshank, plus the single over-summering Lapwing all seen this week.

The summering Greylag Goose and Goldeneye are still present and a few more Teal and Shoveler have appeared but the Pintail has disappeared again. Three large broods of Shelduck are now in evidence so it's been a good year for them. There is so far only the one Little Grebe back but there was an outstanding eighty-five plus Great Crested Grebes in The Swannery embayment today, no doubt washed out breeders.

Two of a brood of seven Tufted Ducklings on Meadow Pool.
Only about the fourth time young have been seen at The Swannery

Nuthatches and Coal Tits have returned to the grounds from nearby woods, while a pair of Goldcrests have been present throughout but no young have been seen yet.

Another victim of the weather, the now lone male Marsh Harrier is still lingering and hopefully will remain with us to next spring when if it attracts a mate may make another more successful breeding attempt.

I forgot to post last months Wetland Bird Survey results for The Swannery but have remembered this month's which was carried out today with the help of volunteers Alan & Ian...

Mute Swan - 595
Black Swan - 2
Greylag Goose - 1
Canada Goose - 500
Hybrid Goose - 3
Shelduck - 3
Teal - 4
Mallard - 133
Mallard (domestic) - 3
Shoveler - 5
Pochard - 3
Tufted Duck - 97
Great Crested Grebe - 87
Cormorant - 24
Little Egret - 7
Grey Heron - 4
Moorhen - 4
Coot - 112
Oystercatcher - 2
Lapwing - 1
Dunlin - 3
Whimbrel - 2
Curlew - 3
Common Sandpiper - 5
Black-headed Gull - 21
Herring Gull - 50
Great Black-backed Gull - 4
Common Tern - 23

A walk around The Swannery this evening with Suz was very pleasant in the much improved weather and with all the visitors gone for the day. To add to the pleasant stroll there was a small pre-roost gathering of adult Black-headed Gulls (fresh in from breeding colonies in east Dorset and beyond) which included a juv. Mediterranean Gull but bizarrely no juvs of there own, in fact there have been none here so far this year, which is not surprising considering the conditions... At least one pair of 'Meds' have been successful somewhere though!

'Petrel Bunkering'

Weekly highlights 9th to 15th July.

The rare tern I craved did appear on Monday but it was rare in plumage only... a first summer Arctic Tern. Adults are not uncommon spring migrants at The Swannery and in the autumn juvs. are regular... First summers of this long distance migrant however, tend to stay in the species winter quarters in their second calender year, i.e. the South Atlantic, and only a few ever head north, so the odds were probably higher of me seeing a White-winged Black Tern this week than a first summer Arctic but such is birding! To rub salt into the wound the first summer Arctic then appeared at nearby Lodmoor RSPB the same evening that the White-winged Black there flew off. Did they swap places? Did they 'eck as like!

The first summer Arctic Tern. Note the short black legs and shortish bill.

At the same time as the Arctic Tern arrived so did a small influx of Common Terns, with forty around the tern island, some of these new arrivals were actually mating and nest scraping! A third wave of nesters? This late? Of the earlier nesters at least one fledgling was in evidence, with some of the slightly later second wave still apparently sitting despite the continual abysmal weather. Unfortunately the flourishing Sea Beet on the island is preventing me getting a good view of what is exactly going on but at least they haven't been washed out as they have been at Lodmoor. A few Sandwich Terns are still in evidence too.

The Oystercatchers that had their eggs swamped last week are still sitting but many waders (possibly failed breeders) are already heading south... there were four plus Common Sandpipers on Monday; a Black-tailed Godwit and a Dunlin through (and another Common Sand') on Tuesday and six Whimbrel between Wednesday and Friday; a single Lapwing throughout and another five Oystercatcher in addition to the nesting pair.

There has not been much more evidence of dispersing passerines but a male Bullfinch and a juv. Nuthatch are still regular visitors to my feeders at the adjacent Grove.

Over-summering wildfowl still include the Goldeneye, Pintail and Greylag Goose but no new arrivals.

A Hobby flew over on Tuesday and after a couple of weeks absence the male Marsh Harrier is again being seen daily.

If it hadn't been for the first summer Arctic Tern the best bird of the week award would have probably gone to Fulmar.  I usually only see about one a year at The Swannery if I'm lucky (bearing in mind I don't include the seaward side of the beach as my patch) so the one that flew round and round the summit of adjacent Chesters Hill presumably prospecting for a future nest site, was a good record, though the only potential nest site there would be the WW2 pillbox perched on top!

Another shot of the first summer Arctic Tern.

Mega Summer Rarity!

Blue Sky!...

But then normal service resumed...

Seventeen Little Egrets feeding in torrential rain in the unintentionally flooded Decoy Field.

Weekly Roundup 2nd to 8th July 2012...

A feral Greylag Goose was the first new bird of the week, joining the 600+ feral Canada Geese, never exactly a common bird at The Swannery, one or two a year is average. The only other noteworthy wildfowl were the lingering drake Goldeneye and the reappearance of the drake Pintail (of dodgy provenance).

The feral Greylag Goose.

The (dodgy) drake Pintail, now moulting into eclipse.

A few more waders were on the move... four Common Sandpipers on 'The Bund' on Wednesday were the first of the autumn, as were two Green Sandpipers and an (islandica) Black-tailed Godwit on 'The Nest Site' on Thursday, when a Curlew also flew north. Lingering however were the single Lapwing and two Redshank joining the two pairs of breeding Oystercatcher (although the tern island pair have now lost all their chicks and the other re-nesting pair had their two eggs swamped on Saturday but are still sitting, so fingers crossed).



Common Tern on 'The Bund'...
Here's hoping that the White-winged Black Tern present today at nearby Lodmoor RSPB will be here tomorrow! 

Their are still thirty plus Common Terns on and around the tern island and the original five pairs have fast growing young and the later arriving ten pairs still appear to be sitting despite the atrocious conditions.

The only passerines worthy of a mention though were two Sand Martins, the first since May.

At last I managed to sneak up on a male Banded Demoiselle.

'Summertime And The Birding Is Measly'

Weekly Roundup...

Monday 25th June to Sunday 1st July 2012

Still typically rather quiet for the time of year...

New in were a Teal and three Shovelers (the first of the latter since April and yet more evidence of post breeding dispersal) and the 1st summer male Goldeneye still lingered (though there was no sign of last weeks Pintail). A few Gadwalls and Pochards are still over-summering along with the more abundant Mallards and Tufted Ducks and several Shelducks are still present including a now well grown family party. The moulting flock of Canada Geese now nearly outnumber the Mute Swans with over 600 hundred present and the two Black Swans remain.

Drake Shoveler (but I'm cheating this is from the archive).

The pair of Oystercatchers got at least three of their four young off the tern island (where the Common Terns now also have chicks) and onto adjacent Bum Point but now seem to be down to one, whilst the other pair are still incubating their replacement clutch on The Swannery Nest Site. Apart from the lingering single Lapwing I missed all the other waders this week... a Whimbrel by minutes on Tuesday whilst workmate Charlie had a Grey Plover, a Redshank and four Curlews on my day off on Wednesday.

Two of the Oystercatcher chicks after their 'sea crossing' from the tern island to Bum Point.
(Courtesy of Charlie Wheeler)

The (1st summer?) Grey Plover (Charlie Wheeler).

And again showing the diagnostic black axillaries (Charlie Wheeler).

A Cetti's Warbler was back singing in the Swannery grounds (in addition to the the territorial birds at the edge of the reedbeds at Ditchmoor and Knob End), the first there since early spring and a pair of Sedge Warblers were busy feeding fledglings after I had began to think they'd failed and moved on. The Reed Warblers too have now gone rather quiet but are still much in evidence.  Meanwhile up at the nearby Grove the juvenile Nuthatch was still visiting feeders and a vociferous Spotted Flycatcher perhaps suggested that this species is breeding on (or at least near) the patch this year after all. Another species only breeding on the perifery of The Swannery this year is Stonechat with the only pair being on the south slope of Chesters Hill (and therefore not seen during my daily ramblings of the grounds), thus a juvenile by Meadow Hide this week probably came from there.

Juvenile Stonechat Meadow path.

Fledgling Sedge Warbler (Charlie Wheeler)

Scarlet Tiger Moth...
One of a couple seen this week, this day flying moth has declined significantly here during the last 20 years... A couple of hundred would have been more likely in the late 1980's!