The Common Tern ‘showing characters of one of the eastern forms’ was present briefly again this evening but before I could get any pics, HeliOps promptly flushed all the terns out over the beach & into Lyme Bay 🤨 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The ‘Eastern type’ Common Tern at Abbotsbury this evening. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @therockinbirder.bsky.social

I haven’t been on site today bar a quick trip down this evening & there was no sign of the Bonaparte’s Gull. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Heavily cropped images of @luvaducksbutt.bsky.social Bonaparte’s at Lynch Cove & mine at the Swannery. Hard to tell regarding the rear head markings as his is alert & mine relaxed but the markings around the bill do look like a pretty good match 🤔 Hope you don’t mind me pinching your pic Brett.

The Bonaparte's Gull did the decent thing this afternoon and showed up at the 4pm feed, sumptuous views of a mighty fine looking gull. It was only a matter of time before myself or @swannerysteve.bsky.social turned one up, a much deserved find for a dedicated patch watcher!

Slightly better pic of the Bonaparte’s Gull at Abbotsbury yesterday. It turned up earlier this evening & @joestockwell.bsky.social was able to connect & no doubt has better pics. @luvaducksbutt.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

No sign all day then this evening bingo! Bonaparte’s Gull (2cy) at Abbotsbury again. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

At last, perseverance has paid off! Bonaparte’s Gull (2cy) this evening way out in the Swannery embayment. A nice addition to the Swannery list 😊 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Mareca type duck still present this morning. Clearly got either/&/or Gadwall/Falcated/Wigeon sp in it. Can’t personally see any Mallard influence but duck hybrids can be tricky. Call sounds identical to Falcated to my ear. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Possible female Falcated Duck or hybrid for 2nd day at the Swannery this morning. Relatively tame however and largely with Mallard 🤔 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Today along with Curlew Sand were 3 Barwits, singles of Dunlin, Common Sand, Greenshank & Whimbrel. Still good numbers of terns including 2 Little again. Osprey late afternoon. 100s of small gulls roosting this evening but as for the target for the last 2 weeks it was again… Not tonight Josephine! 🫤

Nice red Curlew Sandpiper at the Swannery this morning. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Grasshopper Warbler reeling in my Abbotsbury garden this morning… which is nice 😊

70+ Common Terns today, 80+ Sandwich Terns (120+ yesterday) & 2 Little Terns. 5 Common Sandpipers, 5 Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits & a Greenshank. A Wheatear & a Whinchat best of the passerines though 2 new in Coal Tits may have been ater. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Abbotsbury Swannery WeBS: lovely morning with highlights being a flock of 14 Common Sands (+1 singleton), 7 Red Kites heading west and 3 Whimbrel. @swannerysteve.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

My wife’s Merlin app suggested a Western Subalpine Warbler singing along New Barn Road, Abbotsbury this morning., just west of the Elworth turning… roughly what3words ///grinning.generals.hides Nothing but Whitethroat when I briefly checked in my coffee break 😅

🦫 Dead Beaver photographed at Butterstreet Cove on the Fleet yesterday! 🤯

Not on duty at the Swannery today but popped down for an hour or so… not a lot to show for it though, with 6 Whimbrel & a couple of Wheatears the highlights. No sign of the Little Gull. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Not the hoped for Bonaparte’s Gull at the Swannery today but a 3cy Little Gull was a nice surprise during my lunch break. Much pinker than the pic implies. No further sign of the Spoonbill. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Spoonbill over earlier but busy so didn’t see which way it went 😏

No show re the Blue-winged Teal nor the pair of Shoveler it was with so far… Rodden Hive? @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @joestockwell.bsky.social

Shocking distant pic but drake Blue-winged Teal at the Swannery this evening off Shipmoor Point. Swannery closed view only from rights of way. New Barn Road? Swannery opens 10am tomorrow. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @joestockwell.bsky.social

A lovely spring morning for WeBS count at Abbotsbury Swannery; nothing too unusual but GW Egret, Red Kite and Common Sand were the highlights. @swannerysteve.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Two year firsts for the Swannery today… Little Ringed Plover & Wheatear. The 1st Sandwich Terns arrived Monday & there’s been a few daily since. Not much else to report, a few of the usual wintering waterfowl & waders hanging on. No further Sand Martins since February’s! @joestockwell.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe still present at the Swannery this afternoon & now back in the western embayment by the tank teeth. But I couldn’t find the Garganey, Scaup or Long-tailed Duck. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe still present today in the Swannery embayment but the furthest east I have yet seen it, so not so close to the tank teeth. No sign of the Garganey, Long-tailed Duck or Scaup since the 4th but a pic of the latter from then. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Well, so much for that theory 😂… we had the 2cy ♂ Scaup and the 2cy♀ Long-tailed Duck together in the Pochard flock this morning. The ♀ Garganey is with the Teal still & the Red-necked Grebe is still near the tank teeth. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Red-necked Grebe,♀ Garganey & the Long-tailed Duck all present in the Swannery embayment today but no Scaup. It seems the latter 2 are on a timeshare. Alternating between the east & west Fleet but never together here! Ringtail Hen Harrier too. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe, the ♀ Garganey & the 2cy ♂ Scaup all present in the Swannery embayment today. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe was still present at the Swannery this morning,near the tank teeth; whilst the 2cy drake Scaup was back in the Pochard flock. I couldn’t find the over-wintering ♀ Garganey though that was with the Teal again on Friday. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Long-tailed Duck with the Pochard flock again today, it was last seen a week ago. The Red-necked Grebe is still present too but it’s a little more camera shy. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe is still present in the western Swannery embayment near the tank teeth this pm & @joestockwell.bsky.social picked out a 2cy Long-tailed Duck with the Pochard this am. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe still present this morning but no Scaup & not a great deal else, the two lingering White-tailed Eagles not helping matters! 😏 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Red-necked Grebe still in the western Swannery embayment late morning. Viewable from the tank teeth or distantly from Chapel Hill. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Not a bad day at the Swannery! First a 2cy drake Scaup. Then we heard, & @joestockwell.bsky.social eventually saw, a Spotted Redshank. Then lunchtime I found a Red-necked Grebe. Both the latter not annual here & the way it’s going, the former may soon go that way too! 🙁 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Drake Scaup (seemingly an ad.) with the Pochard flock mid-day today but virtually all the teal disappeared down the Fleet as I arrived. Presumably due to the W-t Eagle relentlessly bothering the Coot again 🙄 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

@swannerysteve.bsky.social Green-winged Teal from this lunchtime.

I couldn’t find the female Garganey this lunchtime but I did find a drake American Green-winged Teal! In the western embayment near the tank teeth. Couldn’t get even a half decent pic but @joestockwell.bsky.social has. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Female Garganey again in the western Swannery embayment this lunchtime, having been elusive for a couple of weeks. Probably regretting its decision to overwinter 🥶😰 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Not much to report from the Swannery this morning, largely down to constant flushes (I wonder why?) & dreadful light 🙄 A lot of Teal & Shoveler but impossible to check through them all. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The Fleet from Buller’s Cliff, Abbotsbury this morning. 12 Golden Plover with the Lapwings over the Swannery meadows but still no geese!😏

A rather unseasonal Garganey with the Teal in the Swannery embayment this lunchtime 🙂 @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Apparent 4cy Yellow-legged Gull on the beach opposite the Swannery this lunchtime. Actually darker mantled than it looks in this phone-scoped pic. Pretty quiet again otherwise. No Baikal Teal since the 4th & no Scaup since the 11th. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

My best ever views of an Otter at the Swannery today. It’s mum was around too.

1cy drake Scaup back in the Pochard flock this morning but still no Baikal Teal. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Cattle Egret pre-roost, 166 in this image and at least 15 that weren't! So a minimum of 181 currently roosting at the Swannery tonight @swannerysteve.bsky.social

No sign of today’s reported Slavonian & Black-necked Grebes either despite being on site most of the day 🤔

Portland Harbour North is now a vacant Wetland Bird Survey site. If there are any local birders willing to take it on, a couple of hours one Sunday morning a month. Then please let me know. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @webs-gsmp.bsky.social

There’s been no sign of the Baikal Teal since the 4th apart from an apparent erroneous report on the 5th. Really impressed with visiting birders re no access beyond tank teeth… until today 😡 Seems like some people feel they can just do what they like. Complete flush of duck and gulls along shore! 🤬

Baikal Teal in the Swannery Western Embayment this morning so pretty close to the tank teeth. Please note there’s no right of way SE along the beach beyond the fence there. @joestockwell.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social Digiscoped pic…