More Storm Birds

Swannery Birding Highlights Of The Week...

Monday 6th to Sunday 12th January 2014...  



Despite being back at work after the Xmas & New Year break and therefore spending more time on the patch, I didn't manage to get much birding in.

The stormy weather continued for the first couple of days and so it was displaced seabirds that again featured highly. Several Kittiwakes were still around, some looking decidedly weak (or worst still, oiled).


Adult Kittiwake in The Swannery embayment.




Another two adult Kittiwakes also on The Fleet.



More unusual on the lagoon though was a Guillemot (more or less annual) and even more so a Razorbill (less than five Swannery records during my tenure).

The Kittiwakes had plenty of other larids for company but the only other species of any note were fifty plus Mediterranean Gulls most days.

Wildfowl numbers were still rather low but highlights were the eight Scaup still and a single settled Dark-bellied Brent Goose.

Waders were poorly represented with relatively few Lapwings, very few Snipe, a few Redshanks and a single Oystercatcher.


The male Marsh Harrier is still present but the local crows had something else to pester this week in the form of an escaped Harris's Hawk...



A rather poor shot of the Harris's Hawk.
Presumably the bird I saw over nearby Portesham a couple of months back.

There is nothing much to report on the passerine front either with the only 'new in' species being Siskin and Bullfinch (both having been absent for a month or so) but also perhaps worthy of note is the continued presence of at least one over-wintering Chiffchaff.


So Razorbill excepted a pretty poor week but as it is the WeBS count next week then at least expect a fuller report then... I hope!