As I have fallen behind in my posts this year I shall endeavour to catch up by just publishing the monthly highlights for the rest of the year.
Rarities...
The first County Rarity of April was the Crane that Joe Stockwell noted flying west on the 6th. This constitutes the third site record (during my 34-year tenure), with the previous records being six south on the 29th September 2021 (Joe Stockwell) and two southeast on the 20th April 2015 (yours truly). There is however an earlier record for 'Abbotsbury' of a single on the 14th June 1983.
There were potentially two National Rarities seen but neither are likely to be submitted as such...
On the evening of the 21st I had a frustratingly brief view of what appeared to be a female Blue-winged Teal, on the Decoy Pond, before it simply swam out of sight behind some reeds. Even though a thorough search was conducted it was not seen again. Despite getting some poor quality images, the likelihood of it being (an escaped) Cinnamon Teal can probably not be safely ruled out. Either way it also had a little brown along the 'cutting edges' on the base of its bill, indicating the presence of at least some Shoveler genes. The latter is a common hazard in Blue-winged Teal identification but if the only obvious flaw, then actually deemed acceptable by some. I doubt however that the British Birds Rarity Committee would agree, especially as the photographs leave a lot to be desired!
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| Female Blue-winged Teal? Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Steve Groves. |
Arguably the best bird of the month was the Bluethroat that I found in Bum Point Reedbed on the evening of the 29th. Although still present the following day, it was, as is the norm, very elusive. As it was a female (albeit a well marked one) it could not be reliably identified to form. A pity as the white-spotted Continental taxa is now considered a national rarity, while the red-spotted Scandinavian form is 'only' a county rarity. White-spotted Bluethroats actually nest in reedbeds but Red-spotted Bluethroats, although favouring willow scrub, still use reeds on passage and in winter. So habitat preference doesn't really help. This was only the second confirmed record of the species in the Swannery recording area, although not surprisingly for such an inveterate skulker, there have also been a number of extremely brief putative sightings.
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| Bluethroat, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Joe Stockwell. |
Other highlights...
A female Garganey was present on the 21st and 22nd (just to confuse the Blue-winged Teal issue even more!).
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| Female Garganey, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Steve Groves. |
The over-wintering Common Scoter lingered all month (not exactly a rarity but a noteworthy record for the Swannery, where they are less than annual).
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| Female Common Scoter, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Joe Stockwell. |
Single Little Gulls were noted on the 27th (3cy) and 28th (2cy); single Yellow-legged Gulls on the 11th (3cy) and 27th (2cy); and five Arctic Terns dropped in briefly on the 12th.
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| Little Gull (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Joe Stockwell. |
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| Little Gull (2cy), Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Joe Stockwell. |
Single Ospreys were seen on the 5th and 23rd; while a Merlin was noted on the 20th. Less common passerine migrants included singles of Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and White Wagtail, four Yellow Wagtails and at least five Garden Warblers.
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| Female White Wagtail, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Steve Groves. |
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| Female White Wagtail, Abbotsbury Swannery, April 2023, Steve Groves. |
And that's it for this post except to thank my colleagues, Joe Stockwell, Charlie Wheeler and Kev Butler for their sightings.
May 2023 highlights to follow soon...
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