Swannery Bird Sightings - May 2020...

Rarities...

A Purple Heron (thought to be a second calendar year) was seen (but unfortunately not photographed) flying west on the evening of the 7th. This constitutes the third Swannery record following two seen in 1998 (a second calendar year in April and a juvenile in August).

 

Waterfowl... 

Three Garganey were the undoubted highlights, a drake on the 5th and a pair on the 28th.  

  

(Drake) Garganey & Coot, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves) 

A few each of Pochard, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and even Wigeon and Pintail were present, along with more expected (and nesting) Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Mallard and Tufted Duck. Also present was the resident Whooper Swan that (unfortunately for those birders that have year ticked it in the past) is now believed to have originated from a private wildfowl collection near Bridport!

(Drake) Teal, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves) 

Waders...

In addition to the four breeding pairs of Oystercatchers, at least two, probably three Avocets were seen on the 8th; two (failed breeding?) Lapwings were back from the 26th; single Grey Plovers were seen on the 10th and 14th; a Little Ringed Plover (a belated first of the year) was present from the 27th to the 30th at least; Whimbrels were noted fairly regularly from the 5th to the 19th, with a peak of at least eight on the first date; single Bar-tailed Godwits were present from the 17th to the 20th and on the 28th; Turnstones were seen regularly, with a peak of three on the 3rd; single Knot were present on the 13th and 27th/28th; four Sanderlings (the first of the year) were seen on the 20th; Dunlins were regular with a peak of over twenty on the 19th; Common Sandpipers were seen regularly from the 2nd to the 16th, with a peak of four on the 6th; Redshanks were regular throughout with a peak of three on the 28th; and singles and duos of Greenshank were regular from the 14th to the 27th.

Oystercatcher, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves) 

Avocet & Shelducks, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Little Ringed Plover, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Turnstone, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Dunlin, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Greenshank, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Gulls & Terns... 

Most noteworthy was a lingering adult Kittiwake on the 27th.

Kittiwake, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

The Tern Island played host to at least fifty pairs of nesting Common Terns, along with around twenty pairs of Black-headed Gulls.  

Common Tern, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Mediterranean Gulls, Common Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Sandwich Terns were also present (although not nesting) in varying frequency and numbers.

Other Water-birds...

Apart from the aforementioned Purple Heron, the highlight was a Spoonbill that was seen briefly on the 13th, before flying off west. It reappeared briefly the following day but then flew off east.

Spoonbill, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Cormorants are breeding again this year, following on from the first ever breeding last year; and also nesting were a few pairs each of Water Rail, Moorhen and Coot.  Seen daily but not nesting were Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Great Crested Grebes, the latter peaking at forty on the 18th.

On a 'red letter day' for seabirds a Fulmar overflew the embayment on the 27th (the same day that the Kittiwake was seen). 

Predatory Birds...

Red Kites were seen regularly but there was a pronounced movement on the 10th with at least fifty seen (although as some were lingering and many others moving through the actual figure may have been considerably higher!). Single Marsh Harriers were seen on five dates, whereas single Peregrines were only seen on two.

Red Kite, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl and Little Owl were all nesting within the recording area, or at least (judging by frequent sightings) in the very near vicinity.

Other Non-Passerines...

The highlight was the first and so far only, Cuckoo of the year, seen but not heard on the 5th.  

Swifts just reached double figures on several dates, with sightings no doubt including both passage birds and foraging breeders from the village. 

Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker were all present too and all nesting at least within the local area if not all in the actual grounds. 

Passerines...

Passage migrants included two firsts of the year... a Garden Warbler on the 2nd and a Spotted Flycatcher on the 28th, both the only ones of the month. 

Following earlier arrivals though were two Yellow Wagtails on the 8th, followed by another on the 11th; single Wheatears on the 12th and 16th; and a late Willow Warbler on the 13th.  Sand Martins were still regular in the first half of the month and just made it into double figures on two dates; whilst House Martins and Swallows continued to move through too, both peaking at over thirty on the 3rd, although some of the former were no doubt local breeders from the village and a few of the latter were nesting within The Swannery. 

No doubt Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler were still moving through too but as they were all nesting as well, it was not always easy too tell passage birds from those on territory. 

Breeding 'residents'  either in or foraging within the recording area, were Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Stonechat, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet and Reed Bunting.

Starling (juvenile), Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

Other Wildlife Highlights...  

The best sighting for me was a Sea Trout, the first seen at The Swannery during my 30 year tenure!

Sea Trout, Abbotsbury Swannery, May 2020 (Steve Groves)

And that's it for this post except for a thank you to my colleagues Charlie Wheeler, Kev Butler and Joe Stockwell for their sightings. 

June 2020 sightings to follow shortly. 


Steve Groves.

Swannery Bird Sightings - Highlights April 2020...

Wildfowl...

Along with the usual residents, all the regular winter wildfowl lingered, albeit in dwindling numbers. The only real surprise were three Barnacle Geese  (potentially of natural rather than naturalised origin) that flew in-off the sea, then east on the 16th.

Red-breasted Merganser (drake), Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves).
Just one of several species of wintering wildfowl that lingered to the end of the month.

Waders...

Having lost Lapwing, Ringed Plover and Redshank as breeders some years ago now, the only breeding waders were Oystercatcher with three pairs present.  However, a late Lapwing was present on the 20th to the 22nd; single Ringed Plovers were logged on four dates, with three present on the 2nd; and Redshanks were present throughout, with a peak of at least five on two dates. Other lingering winter or passage waders seen were Knot, with two on the 18th and one on the 22nd; Dunlin on seven dates with a peak of seven on the 25th; Snipe, with singles on the 3rd and 16th; Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit (form islandica), with near daily sightings until the 21st and a peak of nine on the 18th; Bar-tailed Godwit, with near daily sightings from the 10th and a peak of over seventy on the 23rd; Whimbrel, with near daily sightings and a peak of over twenty on the 29th; Common Sandpiper, with near daily sightings and a peak of three on several dates; and Greenshank, with six on the 15th and one on the 21st.  

    

Black-tailed Godwit, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves)

Bar-tailed Godwit & Knot, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves)

Gulls & Terns...

Among all the usual commoner species there were singles of (second calendar year) Little Gulls, on the 12th and 19th;  around a dozen Mediterranean Gulls were seen daily; whilst the regular spring passage of Continental Lesser Black-backed Gulls (form intermedius) peaked at over twenty on the 5th. Following the arrival of the first Sandwich Terns of the year last month the first Common Terns arrived on the 5th.

Sandwich Terns, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves)

Other Water-birds...

All the regulars were seen with the only real noteworthy sightings being of Cattle Egrets, which, following on from at least sixteen at the end of March, presumably continued to roost nightly throughout but with increasing daylight hours their dawn and dusk comings and goings went unobserved. The only sightings during the 'day' on site were on the 5th (one), 10th (two), 18th/19th (two) and 28th (one). 

Cattle Egrets, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves).

Cattle Egret, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2020 (Steve Groves).

Predatory Birds...

In addition to the four regular breeding species Red Kites were logged on the 10th (two) and on the 13th (one); Single Marsh Harriers were regular but a pair were seen together on the 20th; Single Ospreys flew north on the 16th and 19th; Single Barn Owls were either heard or seen on the 4th, 5th and 7th; and a pair of Little Owls were present throughout, nesting for the second year in a row after a long absence.

Other Non-Passerines...

The first Swifts of the year were seen on the 26th but other than that only the usual resident species were present.

Passerines...

Joining the usual residents and following on from the first Blackcaps, Swallows, Sand Martins and Wheatears of the year last month (all of which continued to arrive this month), earliest dates for spring migrants were as follows... Willow Warbler on the 3rd, Sedge Warbler on the 8th, Reed Warbler on the 9th, House Martin on the 16th and Whitethroat on the 22nd.

Most noteworthy was a Nightingale, heard but not seen, on the 16th. Only the fourth seen or heard within The Swannery recording area during my 31 year tenure! Another species seen this month with less than ten previous Swannery records is Water Pipit... at least one was present from the 8th to the 11th but two were seen together on the 9th. These were presumably the same two birds, in the exact same location, that were present last April. Also of note single Yellow Wagtails were seen on the 23rd and 27th. 

As the Nightingale didn't show itself, above is the bird that frequented my garden, adjacent to The Swannery in April 2013, photographed through my bedroom window!

Unusually several regular spring migrants were absent with no Garden Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats, Grasshopper Warblers, Spotted Flycatchers, Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Whinchats, White Wagtails or Tree Pipits!  Hopefully they'll appear in May!

And that's it for this post except for a thank you to my colleague Charlie Wheeler for additional sightings. 

May 2020 sightings to follow shortly. 


Steve Groves.

Swannery Bird Sightings - March 2020 Highlights...

Wildfowl...

Nine Greylag Geese  flew east on the 6th, followed by two north on the 16th.  These may well have been true wild birds returning to Scandinavia from wintering grounds in Spain but a settled tame bird on the 26th however, was most definitely of 'feral' origin. With no Scaup or Long-tailed Ducks the duck highlight was  a  Goldeneye seen erratically from the 4th to the 18th. Formally a common winter visitor they are now unfortunately rather scarce here.

Goldeneye (female) & Great Crested Grebe, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 
© Joe Stockwell

Waders...

Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Redshanks and Snipe were regular but more noteworthy were a flock of around thirty Knots that were present briefly on the 31st (the first since October); a single Dunlin which was seen on the 25th; and a Jack Snipe seen even more briefly on the 30th. Black-tailed Godwits were seen on four dates, with eighteen on the 18th, twelve on the 19th and two on the 23rd and 31st; whilst also on passage were three Curlews on the 11th, along with a single on the 19th. The over-wintering Common Sandpiper was still present to the 28th at least.

Dunlin, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 © Steve Groves

Gulls & Terns...

Among all the usual commoner species there were two sightings of (second calendar year) Caspian Gulls, the first on the 6th and the second on the 18th (but possibly both the same individual) and there were three sightings of (third calendar year) Yellow-legged Gulls on the 2nd, 6th and 18th (probably all the same individual). The first Sandwich Tern of the year arrived on the 23rd and there were then single figures daily to the end of the month.

Caspian Gull (2nd calendar year), Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 

© Joe Stockwell

Other Waterbirds...

Cattle Egrets roosted throughout and peaked at sixteen on the 24th; whilst last month's lingering Red-necked Grebe remained until the 5th.

Predatory Birds...

Three Red Kites were logged on the 22nd and at least one on the 26th; whilst single Marsh Harriers were regular but the only Peregrine was seen on the 20th. A Barn Owl was heard overnight on the 16th/17th and at least one of last year's breeding Little Owls were back on territory (actually on the 28th February but it got left off last month's post).

Red Kite, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 © Charlie Wheeler

Red Kite, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 © Charlie Wheeler

Passerines...

Early spring passage began in earnest with the first Swallow on the 16th; the first Sand Martins, Blackcaps and Wheatears from the 18th and the first influx of Chiffchaffs on the 19th. The best passerine of the month though was a Black Redstart on the 18th.

Black Redstart, Abbotsbury Swannery, March 2020 © Kev Butler

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

April 2020 sightings to follow shortly.


Steve Groves.

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

A 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; a 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; a 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.