Steve Groves
@swannerysteve.bsky.social
540 followers 370 following 290 posts
Swanherd & patch birder. Posting only Abbotsbury Swannery bird sightings & other wildlife news.
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swannerysteve.bsky.social
Cheers, yes, wouldn’t swap it for the world 👍🏻😊
swannerysteve.bsky.social
So technically the answer is only one really. The Sooty, Stilt & Egret don’t count. The goose & gull are only forms, the Teal & Bunting are yet to be accepted (& the Brownsea bird may be reviewed) and the Bufflehead & Forster’s were first seen elsewhere. That just leaves the possible hoax Plover! 😂
swannerysteve.bsky.social
I saw the Weymouth Black-winged Stilt record in The Birds Of Dorset but it said reported so wasn’t sure if it was accepted. Incidentally it also mentions that Mansel-Pleydell (1888) mentions the first Bearded Tits in Dorset we’re of some shot at Abbotsbury, so that might count 😬 🤔
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Well I only ever saw the Forster’s off the seaward side of Abbotsbury Beach not at the Swannery. I’m not aware that anyone else had it at the Swannery either, although back at the time I believe you said a tern sp. was reported at the Swannery not long before you first found it at Lynch Cove.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Well excluding dodgy 19th C stuff & including distinctive forms I make it 8… but I only found 3!
Sooty Tern 1935
Little Egret 1940
Black-winged Stilt 1956
White-tailed Plover 1979
Greenland White-fronted Goose
1992
Kumlien’s Gull 1995
Yellow-browed Bunting 2025
Baikal Teal 2025 if accepted.
Reposted by Steve Groves
Reposted by Steve Groves
Reposted by Steve Groves
Abbotsbury Swannery: no sign of Baikal Teal yet but only limited searching so far. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
swannerysteve.bsky.social
I believe @nickurch.bsky.social is on site & looking though 👍🏻
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Sorry I’m not on site today, & neither is @joestockwell.bsky.social . Not heard anything either.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Cheers Shaun, fast asleep for what seemed like ages, & couldn’t see the loral spot but there was just something about the super that looked good. Then it flushed & didn’t see it go. Fortunately it came back 😁
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Cheers 👍🏻 I’ll have to check the list tomorrow…🤔 Just had a few celebratory beers 🤪👌🏻
swannerysteve.bsky.social
No captive ducks at Abbotsbury Swannery. Behaving like a wild bird. Nothing from it’s behaviour to suspect otherwise.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
And no, that’s not a piece of bread at the beginning!😁
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Baikal Teal at Abbotsbury Swannery this afternoon with 500+ Teal. Flock very mobile. Swannery open 10am tomorrow. No entry before 10am. Doubtfully viewable from rights of way other than grounds. There is no right of way SE of tank traps on beach. If you walk beyond fence there everything will flush!
Baikal Teal, Abbotsbury
Reposted by Steve Groves
joestockwell.bsky.social
126 Cattle Egret left the Swannery roost just before sunrise this morning - a new record for us and presumably a new highest for the county
Reposted by Steve Groves
joestockwell.bsky.social
Yellow-browed Bunting trapped, ringed and released at the Swannery. It's flown to the hedge which runs alongside the Swannery grounds and the bird may be viewable from the permissive path heading west from Grove Lane.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Pastel Call Ducks. A domestic Mallard breed, originally bred to attract wild ducks into decoy pipes.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
The Pink-footed Goose reappeared mid-day in the Swannery grounds. Obviously in one of the outlying fields somewhere this morning. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
Pink-footed Goose & Greylag Goose, Abbotsbury.
swannerysteve.bsky.social
No sign of the Pink-foot at either of its favoured localities so far this morning 👎🏻 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
swannerysteve.bsky.social
The Pink-footed Goose & it’s Greylag companion are in the lower meadows (Ditchmoor) west of the Swannery this evening. Viewable from either of the paths going west from behind the Swannery cafe. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
swannerysteve.bsky.social
Caspian Gull (1cy) at the Swannery. @joestockwell.bsky.social will have better pics 😁 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social