A Couple Of Classy Calidrids

Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week...

Monday 23rd to Sunday 29th September 2013.......

Waders...

As the best couple of birds of the week fall into this category then this is where I'll begin... With the Semipalmated Sandpiper back in Dorset at Brownsea Island again the previous week (and possibly still present on Monday 23rd) a reappearance at The Swannery was high on my radar. So when on Tuesday (24th) the little fella below arrived on the meadow pool my expectations were high...



It soon became clear however that it was a juvenile Little Stint (here with a juv. Dunlin & a Teal)



And a closer cropped shot of the Little Stint and one of the accompanying Dunlin.

The stint lingered until Thursday when it was joined by the other main highlight of the week an adult male Ruff...

 

 

Above three pics the Ruff (with Lapwing, Teal & Pintail).

Both of the above Calidris sandpipers are only just about annual at The Swannery but more expected members of their genus seen this week were a single Knot and daily sightings of Dunlin with over twenty present most days. Oddly the only Tringa sandpipers seen were a couple of Greenshanks (actually technically just outside my patch) and singles of Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper. The other members of the Scolopacidae that went into the log were singles of Bar-tailed Godwit and Snipe whilst the family Charadriidae were represented by a peak of fifteen Lapwing and two single Grey Plovers.

Five of the twenty plus juv. Dunlin on the meadow pool.

Wildfowl...

There were no surprises in this group with all the same species present as last week in varying numbers although mostly all a bit up on last week. The only addition was the 'feral' Barnacle Goose that reappeared after being absent for a week or two (the Bar-headed Geese though have now moved on).

Miscellaneous Water Birds...

Ditto the above really but it was nice to clinch a 'Continental' Cormorant...

An immature Cormorant of the form sinensis commonly known as 'Continental Cormorant'. A regular visitor, many are overlooked due to the close views required to positively identify them.



And by way of comparison an immature Cormorant of the nominate form carbo colloquially known as 'Atlantic Cormorant'. The clincher is the shape of the gular patch (the bare skin on the throat), ending in a near vertical line on the former, while much more angled on the latter. There are also subtle structural differences and on adults in the breeding season, slight plumage differences too.

'Atlantic Cormorant' race carbo is the common British default form of Great Cormorant (the official international English name of 'Cormorant') which is found around the coasts of the North Atlantic but also penetrates inland, while 'Continental Cormorant' is the form found on continental Europe right across to the Pacific coast of Asia. It occurs mostly on freshwater but also occurs on the coast and has recently colonised Britain where it forms mixed colonies inland with carbo and is reported to also form mixed pairs (potentially making racial id even more tricky).

 

 Gulls & Terns...

Of the former the only species worthy of entry in the log this week was a solitary Common Gull (not even any 'Meds' were seen) and of the latter only a few Sandwich Terns were noted.
 

Raptors...

The Osprey was present again all week, often favouring it's bespoke bough strapped to the fence by Cuckoo Coppice...

The Osprey making use of the newly installed Osprey perch.

The male and at least one juvenile Marsh Harrier were regular too and following last weeks sightings (the first for weeks), two juvenile Peregrines were seen together, although not amicably so! A Red Kite over the nearby Subtropical Gardens on Sunday could no doubt have been easily seen from The Swannery too, if I had been there to see it, so I'll put that one in the log. The Hobby though, also seen over the said gardens would have been harder to pick up at such a distance so I'd better let that one go.
 

Passerine Migrants...

At last a Garden Warbler was pulled out of the bag, literally as it was trapped and ringed... The first on the patch since last autumn I wasn't there to see it unfortunately so I'm still staking out those Elderberry bushes! There were no other nocturnal migrants of note and indeed several regular species were noted by their absence. Chiffchaffs were by far the commonest warblers and in fact the only other species that were seen were Blackcaps, Reed and ever present Cetti's. Diurnal migrants though were better represented with good numbers of Yellow Wagtails early in the week but 'wag-tailing' off toward the end. The Pied Wagtail roost continued to increase though and still attracted a few White Wagtails, whilst there were still several Grey Wagtails along the streams and pond edges. Meadow Pipits were still numerous and as last week they held at least one Tree Pipit, while the  first Rock Pipit of the autumn also went into the log. There were thousands of Swallows either moving through or roosting (with two thousand plus over the reeds on Sunday evening for instance) but I can't actually remember seeing any martins... I'm sure there must have been a few though! Linnets were on the move too and as last week, a few Siskins were heard, if not actually seen.
 

Stonechat...one of the only two chat species seen this week (the other being Robin), with no Wheatears, Whinchats or Redstarts nor any flycatchers!

Also Of Note...

One of last week's Barn Owls was seen again and the AWOL Lady Amherst's Pheasant continued to visit my adjacent garden.

Other Wildlife...

Work colleague Charlie installed some Reptile Refuges (corrugated iron sheets) around The Swannery a few months back and instantly they began to attract Slow worms. A few weeks back though we had our first Grass Snakes, at least two individuals...

Young male Grass Snake with adult female Slow worm.© Charlie Wheeler   wheeler-photography
Thanks Charlie.

We have been setting camera traps to try and capture an Otter on and off since early spring and at last we have been successful, albeit not a perfect image...



A rather poor picture of an Otter in Helen Hide.
Thanks to Radipole RSPB for the loan of their camera traps.