'Déjà vu (trios Guifette noire)?'

Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week...

Monday 12th to Sunday 18th August 2013...

No it wasn't my brain playing tricks today... I apparently really did miss three Black Terns for the second time in just over a month! I saw the report late morning on the RBA website and having done a thorough round of the hides just before and found nothing of note, I was rather bemused. We also hadn't had any birders in as far as I was aware. Then I remembered that while I was cutting the overflow car park earlier, I had seen the regular two Sunday morning birders scoping the meadow and embayment from New Barn Road, so it was they, presumably, that saw the terns while I was otherwise engaged.



Last month's three Black Terns that I also dipped on by minutes.
© Charlie Wheeler.wheeler-photography



It was a pity I missed the terns as there was little else of note in the week...

 

Wildfowl...

Nothing 'new in' to report... The variety and numbers of duck were basically the same as last week, while the feral goose flock, although dispersing now that their moult is complete, still contained a couple of Bar-headed Geese and the Barnacle Goose...

Two of the four Bar-headed Geese remain, along with the Barnacle Goose...

The Bar-headed Geese often keep close company with two Domestic x Canada Goose hybrids.



The three surviving Tufted Duck'lings' from our only brood this year.
 

While on the subject of Diving Ducks it looks like my hybrid from last week may have been just a pure Pochard after all... In my defence I have just never seen such a young juvenile before, they're usually well on the way to first winter when they arrive... Whoops!


Waders...

This group were again a bit more inspiring than the former... The odd Oystercatcher was around; a few Lapwings lingered; there were two Ringed Plovers (on Tuesday); a single Whimbrel (today); a few Black-tailed Godwits including the first juvenile of the year...

The first of this year's juvenile Black-tailed Godwits (apparently of the race islandica).

...also one or two Sanderlings; several Dunlins...


One of this week's Dunlins, a juvenile.

... Common Sandpipers were seen daily, with at least seven on Tuesday...


One of this week's Common Sandpipers.

... Green Sandpipers reached three on a couple of days; whereas Greenshanks peaked at six...


Greenshank in the meadow, now that the water level has dropped.

... Redshanks peaked at ten and one or two Snipe were seen most days.

Gulls & Terns...

Apart from the aforementioned Black Terns there was little to write home about... There was still around fifty Common Terns in evidence, including one or two late unfledged young, whilst the only gulls of any note were Mediterraneans, with single figures most days.

 

Other Water Birds...

A Kingfisher was unusually the first since June and much less expected, on the landward side of the beach, were singles of Gannet over The Fleet and Fulmar over Chapel Hill!


Passerines...

A rather quiet week for this category although having missed the Black Terns a Pied Flycatcher was most definitely my bird of the week. The only other obvious migrants, excepting those that bred in the near vicinity, were a few Willow Warblers, several Wheatears, fewer Sand Martins than of late and only one or two fly-over and heard only, Yellow Wagtails.



'Pishing' (yes pishing) by a stand of reed produced this Reed Warbler. If the winds had only been south-easterly we could have been looking at an Aquatic Warbler. Ah well there's still time!