'Mad March Migrants'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 18th to Sunday 24th March 2013

For one reason or another I wasn't actually at The Swannery for much of the week but with the bitter easterly winds still persisting that may not have been a bad thing. There was some fairly good birding to be had though despite the unseasonal weather.

The three Long-tailed Ducks still linger...

The three Long-tailed Ducks from 'The Fleet Pipe Hide' last week. © Charlie Wheeler

and the three Long-tailed Ducks from 'Helen Hide' this week.

The nine Scaup (and two x 'Tufty' hybrids) remain too, while other noteworthy waterfowl included a fly-through female Goosander (Monday) and a brief (though tame) Greylag Goose today.

 

Waders included the year's first Little Ringed Plover (on Saturday) that flew off east, as did two (Common) Ringed Plovers, several Dunlins and five Black-tailed Godwits. Another of the latter flew over today while two Curlew did so on Tuesday. With all the Lapwing departed the only lingering waders were half a dozen Redshank, up to four Oystercatchers (presumably the two returning breeding pairs) and the odd Snipe.

 

The male Marsh Harrier was joined by an adult female today and they indulged in much courtship behaviour so another breeding attempt may be on the cards later in the spring, although the chance of them being flooded-out again are high unless we get a warm dry spell soon (considering the exceptionally high water table).

 

The real highlight of the week though has to be the step up in numbers of arriving summer migrants... As well as the aforementioned 'LRP', the first Sandwich Tern was seen today, the first Wheatears on Friday (which I missed) and in the last few days Sand Martins and Chiffchaffs have been much in evidence, although all look like they are struggling in the unfavourable conditions.



(Common) Chiffchaff by the stream today. © Charlie Wheeler

 

Above two pics... female Reed Bunting today

And finally as I wasn't around much this week, work mate Charlie has kindly let me use a few more of his pics...




Fungi in the withybed © Charlie Wheeler.

Regular volunteer and blog member Dave Callaby found this attractive red fungi in the withybed and identified it as one of the  Scarlet Elf Cups, one of which is an endangered species.



Water Vole along the stream this week © Charlie Wheeler.  After keeping a low profile through the winter they are now being seen regularly again. There is still evidence of Otter too but still no sightings.

'Open For Business'

Abbotsbury Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 11th to Sunday 17th March 2013

After weeks of preparation The Swannery re-opened to the public for the 'Summer Season' yesterday (Saturday 16th March) even though it still felt very much like winter through much of the week, with bitter winds, driving rain, sleet and snow-showers.

A bleak view looking northeast from the Swannery nest site to Linton Hill this week.

The unseasonal weather put a virtual stop to any more obvious early migrant passerine arrivals, with no more Sand Martins and only the odd Chiffchaff and Blackcap while, despite reports elsewhere along The Fleet, there have been no Wheatears seen here as yet. The below average temperatures though may have encouraged the three wintering Long-tailed Ducks and the nine Scaup to linger...



Six of the (Greater) Scaup with three (Common) Pochard this week in a sleet shower.

Wildfowl numbers in general though were rather low as were waders but at least the latter group did provide a little more variety than of late. Up to twenty Lapwing lingered as did six Redshank, four Oystercatcher, a few Snipe and a typically elusive Jack Snipe, whilst ten Golden Plover flew through as did a single Grey Plover and a few Dunlin and brief visitors included two or three Curlew and two Avocet...



A rather distant (Pied) Avocet shelters from the cold wind.
One of the two seen this week, presumably the same two individuals that were seen equally briefly last week.

There were a few more gulls around with a small but notable increase in Lesser Black-backs for instance but I couldn't find anything unusual in their ranks... although it is always nice to see a smattering of Mediterranean Gulls amongst the Common and Black-headed Gulls and this despite their marked increase on The Fleet in recent years (though they haven't reached double figures this far up the lagoon for a month or so now).

The male Marsh Harrier still lingers and even appears to be indulging in some display, even though it only has the local Buzzards to interact with at the moment. Lets hope it attracts a mate soon. The local Tawny Owls are presumably already paired up and even nesting, although they have still been rather vocal over the last few weeks, whilst a Barn Owl seen one night on roadside posts above The Swannery meadows was the first I've seen here for a year or two.



A wintry seen in The Swannery withybed this week...

Well another week of below average temperatures and wintry showers is forecast but hopefully it won't be too long now until some warm spring weather arrives and the withybeds are transformed with freshly emerging foliage, flowers, buzzing insects and a chorus of migrant bird song! Ooh I can hardly wait!

 

'Two Seasons In One Week'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 4th to Sunday 10th March 2013

Despite some pleasant more spring-like weather early in the week most of the wintering wildfowl were still present including the three Long-tailed Ducks and the nine Scaup.

Whereas most of the commoner wildfowl were slightly down in number Tufted Ducks actually increased...Here six males are in company with the male Tufted x Scaup (Greater or Lesser?) hybrid (centre). The female hybrid was still present too.

The male Marsh Harrier still lingers and an adult female was seen nearby at West Bexington this week so fingers crossed.

Other birds of note were a Slavonian Grebe today but it was to the east of the Swannery Embayment and so not really on my patch, though it may well be the bird from a few weeks back. A Spoonbill dropped in briefly to the meadow pool on Wednesday but it was unfortunately camera shy and promptly flew off east and two Avocets too were only brief visitors on Friday. Despite the wintry weather in the latter part of the week there were further signs of early spring passage with several Curlews passing over along with a flock of around a hundred Lapwing (the wintering birds having disappeared last week), whilst struggling to find insects in the dropping temperatures were the first two Sand Martins of the year on Friday, with another eight today; a few more Chiffchaffs and a couple of newly arrived Blackcaps. I hope they all survive the mini cold snap forecast for early next week!



Today was this month's Wetland Bird Survey day and to give you an idea of what water birds are around the results of this morning's Abbotsbury WeBS count were...

Mute Swan - 403
Black Swan - 2
Canada Goose - 28
Shelduck - 27
Wigeon - 140
Gadwall - 6
Teal - 52
Mallard - 204
Mallard (domestic) - 7
Pintail - 3
Shoveler - 6
Pochard - 410
Tufted Duck - 364
Scaup - 9
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Goldeneye - 12
Red-breasted Merganser - 38
Little Grebe - 7
Slavonian Grebe - 1
Great Crested Grebe - 25
Cormorant - 2
Little Egret - 14
Moorhen - 4
Coot - 329
Oystercatcher - 3
Redshank - 6
Black-headed Gull - 80
Mediterranean Gull - 1
Common Gull - 130
Herring Gull - 56
Great Black-backed Gull - 25

Thanks again to all the WeBS counters for turning out on a cold damp dreary morning.

Hopefully the cold weather won't last and more summer migrants will be winging their way north soon!

Another sign of spring...a Common Toad at The Swannery this week. © Charlie Wheeler. Thanks for the photo Charlie!

'Too Far Over The Hill'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 25th February to Sunday 3rd March 2013

Well there is not much new to report this week, in fact there has been quite an exodus with many birds beginning to move off north and not yet being replaced by any significant numbers from further south. The three Long-tailed Ducks were present all week though, as were the nine Scaup but the pair of Goosanders were last seen on Monday and duck numbers in general were rather low. Waders too were poorly represented with the Lapwing flock dwindling to nothing by today, leaving only a few Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Snipe. Gull numbers too have been rather uninspiring with only the few Mediterranean Gulls worth mentioning. The male Marsh Harrier is still around but I only saw it on Tuesday and the only noteworthy passerines were two or three Chiffchaffs and a fresh in Grey Wagtail.

 

I actually saw one of my 'Steve's Most Wanted Swannery Birds (Official Non-rarities)' yesterday (yes I actually have a list)... a Grey Partridge...but frustratingly it was beyond Abbotsbury Hill on the coast road above West Bexington, a few miles to the west of my recording area. Once a common bird along the hinterland of The Fleet the resident population disappeared at around the time I began working and listing at The Swannery and therefore I never got it on my list despite some sightings elsewhere in Abbotsbury. This most recent sighting though, along with a few others tantalisingly close to my patch, still gives me hope. Even if they are of dodgy origins they are no more dodgy than some species on my (and other's) lists such as Red-legged Partridge and Pheasant! Incidentally others on that most wanted list (all non-rarities seen at The Swannery before my tenure but not since) include Eider (very rare on The West Fleet last recorded in The Swannery embayment in 1985) and Dipper (once regular on The Abbotsbury Mill Stream and even bred under Grove Lane bridge but last recorded 1982). The irony of the last one is not lost on me but one day!

Sorry I digress, going back to the Scaup I thought for a moment that all ten were back again this week until I realised that the regular Scaup-like hybrid female had returned for her third spring...

Coot & hybrid female Tufted Duck x Scaup?

She can easily be overlooked as a Scaup but has several pro Tufted features too, such as a reduced white 'blaze' and a pronounced peak (though no hint of a crest) on her rear crown (which Scaup show in certain postures but never as much as this individual does). Today I discovered she was not alone as I picked out this individual too...

Hybrid male Tufted Duck x Scaup?

This male hybrid looks superficially like a 'Tufty' but only has a stumpy crest, has dark-greyish upperparts and a more Scaup-like bill pattern. 

 

So careful scrutiny of the Aythya flock has revealed a couple of hybrids but will my perseverance pay off in the next few weeks with the finding of a Ring-necked Duck or maybe even a Lesser Scaup? Watch this space!

'Winter Returns!'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 18th to Sunday 24th February 2013

Although arguably spring already, it was hard to believe this week with the low temperatures and bitter north-easterlies... Not very good timing to have a weeks leave, or was it! 

 

As I was trying to have a bit of a break from my workplace and spend some quality time with Suz (despite the risk of missing something!) I only got a few hours birding in at The Swannery on Thursday (at lunchtime when all my colleagues were fast asleep!) and again (while I was on feeding duty) yesterday and today. Even so I managed to confirm the continued presence of most of the usual recent highlights...

 



The three Long-tailed Ducks were still present. The first year male (top) progressing nicely with it's moult.

 

But I could only find nine of the ten (Greater) Scaup (above), although typically it was the first time I had managed to photo them all together all winter.

Avoiding my camera though were the pair of Goosanders (far too distant), the male Marsh Harrier (distant and mobile) and a Jack Snipe (far too quick). And that was about it as I failed to find either the Black-necked or the Slavonian Grebe and bird numbers in general seemed to be dropping off with no gulls or passerines of note. My garden though which I count as part of my patch (being so close) held a Chiffchaff and unusually my feeding station continues to attract a pair of Nuthatches (always a bit hit and miss here) and up to three Jays (left-overs from the autumn influx no doubt). A few Redwings added to the wintery feel even if decreasing wildfowl and wader numbers didn't. The Lapwing flock for instance is now only about fifty strong, there were however around twenty Redshank, a few Common Snipe and a single Dunlin but very few dabbling duck.

The meadow only held a few (Eurasian) Wigeon, Gadwall, (Eurasian) Teal and (Northern) Shoveler including this first winter male (above). They always seem the last of the male dabblers to reach adult plumage...

 

Adult male (Northern) Shoveler.

Despite the cold weather the Mute Swans are now gathering in the embayment with thoughts of nesting. There seems no  immediate let up in the weather next week though despite relatively warm (migrant bearing?) southerlies being tantalisingly close just beyond the western approaches...

Oh if only!

'Spring Has Sprung!'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 11th to Sunday 17th February 2013

 

Snowdrops in The Chapel Withybed.



Now there are those that consider spring starts on the 1st March and there are those that believe spring starts with the vernal equinox, around the 21st March, but I maintain, as in the Celtic tradition, that the vernal equinox is mid-spring (as the summer and winter solstices are mid-summer and mid-winter respectively and the autumnal equinox is mid-autumn). Therefore spring actually starts sometime in early February...well that's my belief and if it was good enough for the ancient Britons then it's good enough for me!

If you needed further proof that spring has already arrived then a couple of early migrants dropped in on Tuesday... a pair of Red-crested Pochards...

The Red-crested Pochards on The Fleet at Abbotsbury.
Completely ignoring the morning feed, unlike the hundreds of wild Common Pochards and keeping a wary eye on things.



The drake Red-crested Pochard...

 

and the duck Red-crested Pochard.



Now you could be cynical and say that they are just escapes or wandering naturalised birds but early spring is a very good time for migrant ducks. Garganey are well known early migrants and of course The Swannery has previous with rare early spring migrant ducks, such as the March 2010 Bufflehead and the March 2004 Lesser Scaup (both of which passed muster with the British Birds Rarities Committee) not to mention last March's Wood Duck (which may or may not be a good example)!

The only other noteworthy ducks at The Swannery this week were the three Long-tailed Ducks and the ten Scaup still...

Five of the ten over-wintering (Greater) Scaup with Tufted Duck this week.
All far more approachable than their Red-crested cousins that dropped in on Tuesday.

The two single scarcer grebes - the Black-necked and the Slavonian were seen off and on all week, the former more frequent than the latter.

 

The male Marsh Harrier was present Tuesday to Thursday at least but as you may have noticed from the comment on last week's post it does get around a bit, being seen as far east as Radipole RSPB Reserve and as far west as West Bexington DWT Reserve.

The Lapwing flock reached three hundred again mid-week and held a single Golden Plover and half a dozen or so Redshanks. There were a few gulls around but I can't even remember seeing a 'Med' this week let alone anything of more note. Passerines too failed to gain an entry in the notebook, a single Chiffchaff probably being the highlight.

So the birds of the week award will have to go to the Red-crested Pochards, whatever their origin...

 

Having spent Tuesday morning out in The Swannery embayment the Red-crested Pochards retired to the meadow pool in the afternoon to rest after their long flight from Southern Europe! Or should that be The Cotswold Water Park, I'll let you decide! Either way they were long gone again by Wednesday.

'WeBS Footed'

Swannery birding highlights of the week...

Monday 4th to Sunday 10th February 2013



Extremely low tides early in the week meant I had to feed the swans out on the mud rather than from the feeding ramps!

Above two photos © Dave Wheeler

The very low water in The Swannery embayment this week did not deter the Long-tailed Ducks despite the species having being recorded at the greatest depth (60 metres) of all the diving ducks. They would have struggled to get down to two feet let alone two hundred early this week but all three were present from Tuesday to today (but I only saw two on Monday). Likewise all ten Scaup were present on a couple of days at least but during today's Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) count only seven were seen. Both the Black-necked and the Slavonian Grebe were seen on Monday but the former was only seen again on Saturday and the latter not again until today. Dabbling duck numbers have been fairly low and the only goose of any note was a Dark-bellied Brent lingering on Friday. Gull numbers too were pretty poor with only the few 'Meds' seen worthy of a mention. Having dropped right off to around fifty the Lapwing flock doubled to around a hundred again yesterday but very few showed for the count today. Thirty plus Redshank were present on Wednesday, although only single figures were around the rest of the week, along with one or two Oystercatchers and a few Snipe. The regular (now third calender year) male Marsh Harrier was only seen on Thursday and there was no sign of any potential mates. The only new-in passerines were a few Siskins, the first since early December but a couple of Jackdaws amomg a flock of around a hundred showed a hint of a pale collar so may well have been of the Scandinavian form colloquially known as 'Nordic Jackdaw' although unfortunately I wasn't able to get close enough to photograph them.

The full results of today's Swannery WeBS were...

Mute Swan - 508
Black Swan - 2

Canada Goose - 13
Shelduck - 22

Wigeon - 57
Gadwall - 3
Teal - 39
Mallard - 230
Mallard (domestic) - 5
Pintail - 1
Shoveler - 68
Pochard - 510
Tufted Duck - 310
Scaup - 7
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Goldeneye - 20
Red-breasted Merganser - 55
Little Grebe - 3
Slavonian Grebe - 1
Great Crested Grebe - 10
Cormorant - 3
Little Egret - 5
Moorhen - 2
Coot - 323
Oystercatcher - 1
Lapwing - 3

Snipe - 3
Redshank - 4

Black-headed Gull - 22
Common Gull - 210
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 5
Herring Gull - 9
Great Black-backed Gull - 8

Thanks again to all the WeBS counters for turning out on a very wet and muddy morning. It's not always raining on count days of course...more times than not it's a brilliant morning spent birding in wonderful surroundings....err incidentally there is currently a vacancy for a volunteer counter on The Fleet, either for the Bridging Camp to Chickerell Hive section or possibly (if preferable) the Herbury to Rodden Hive section. If you are interested in doing a bit of counting during your birding on a Sunday morning once a month please either leave a comment on the blog or phone me at The Swannery on (01305) 871684. If it's in the evening then leave a message and I'll get back to you. Thank you in anticipation.
 

My camera didn't see the light of day this week so I'll leave you with a couple of shots of the 'Slav' Grebe that Charlie took last week...




The Slavonian Grebe with (Common) Pochard, Tufted Duck & (Greater) Scaup. © Charlie Wheeler

 

The Slavonian Grebe (or Horned Grebe if you prefer) with (Common) Pochard. © Charlie Wheeler

Thanks Charlie & Dave for the use of your pics. Hopefully I'll have a few of my own next week!