William Legge writes:
Unsettled is the correct word to describe the weather this spring and early summer. A dull, wet and windy April was followed by a warm but unsettled May and an unseasonably cold but dryer June. There was a very welcome spike in heat towards the end of the month when temperatures reached close to 30°C on 26th.
Despite the conditions, spring migration proceeded like clockwork with a steady stream of expected migrants and arriving summer visitors cycling through Fleet Pond in April and early May before the birding focus turned to monitoring the Reserve’s breeding birds.
Spring Migration: April-May
Following on from my last report of first of season Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Sand Martin and Swallow being logged in the second half of March. Season firsts came thick and fast in April with the first House Martin logged on 5th April, Whitethroat on 8th, Reed Warbler on 9th (with nine singing by 14th), Common Swift on 20th, Garden Warbler on 22nd and Sedge Warbler on 26th.
Scarce migrant waders put in a particularly good show in April despite the Reserve’s lack of suitable wader habitat with four Oystercatchers observed dropping-in briefly on 14th April and subsequent singles sighted on 27th as well as 8th, 11th and 26th May. A Curlew that passed through low heading northwest on April 16th was followed by two excellent sightings; a resting Whimbrel perched on a post off Lions’ View on 19th April (illustrated above) and a Spotted Redshank, likewise perched on posts off Lions’ View on April 23rd. The latter was undoubtedly the highlight of the spring, being in full breeding plumage and representing the first record at Fleet Pond since 1996, a wait of 28 years and a very rare spring sighting indeed. (illustrated below)
Migrant Common Sandpipers were logged with four on 14th April, two on 27th, and singles on 28th and 3rd May. However, migrant gulls and terns were few and far between this spring with the only notable being a brief Arctic Tern on 23rd April. Common Terns were scarcer than usual with two present between 28th-30th April being the first of the year, a single on May 12th being the only one recorded in May, before one or two were seen regularly throughout June.
Other notable migrants included a singing Lesser Whitethroat (illustrated above) at the Hemelite Bay area adjoining the station car park, a single Yellow Wagtail passing over northwest on 27th April and single Cuckoos on 11th (female) and 12th May (male). Concerningly Hirundines were in lower numbers this spring with high counts limited to 50 Sand Martins on 25th April and 25 Swallows moving through north on 28th April.
The Breeding Season
With continued good water quality and plenty of aquatic plant growth within the main pond, it turned out to be another good year for breeding wildfowl, particularly for Tufted Duck (again) with 80 adults logged on 11th June and as at the time of writing a record with 26 broods with 135+ young reported. If previous years are anything to go by, the survival rate of these young should be between 50%-60% or more. It’s a remarkable turnaround story given that Tufted Duck only returned to Fleet Pond as a breeding bird in 2015 after an absence of 25 years, and now the Reserve is the top breeding spot for the species in Hampshire and perhaps Central Southern England.
Gadwall were also in good numbers with 86 adults sighted on 11th June and at least eight broods noted. However, survival rates of Gadwall young seem to lag those of Tufted Duck with only 11 raised to date. It was another good year for Mallard and Coot too, with 19 broods of the former logged and the latter on course for another record year with 23+ broods and a post-breeding flock of Coot numbering 200 by the end of June. Unfortunately, there is less good news to report on Pochard. While at least three pairs were present only one brood of four young was observed, all of whom now seem to have perished. (Pochard family pictured below)
A pair Shoveler were in residence throughout April and may have nested, but were not seen in May, before a another pair (or the same?) appeared from 3rd June onwards.
Two pairs of Mute Swan bred, one on the main pond with seven cygnets (down from eight) and a second pair with four cygnets on the Little Pond. Six pairs of Canada Geese are on course to raise 14 young while two pairs of Greylag Geese bred but no young survived. It was also a better year for Great Crested Grebe with two pairs out of three successfully raising broods of three and two respectively. A Water Rail was heard in song near Sandy Bay on 24th April, but the species wasn’t detected again until early July, so who knows. Estimates of the shrinking Black-headed Gull colony were down to 20-25 pairs this year with at least 20+ young raised, but thankfully no sign of Bird Flu this year.
Notable passerines territories included six Cetti’s Warblers in April and May (up from 4 in 2023) with confirmed breeding near Chestnut Grove, three Garden Warblers (about the average) and one Sedge Warbler heard on 14th May. Up to nine Firecrest were detected in early April but a similar survey in May yielded zero, suggesting April’s encounter may have comprised mainly migrants. Breeding success on land adjoining the Reserve included at least two pairs of Stonechats on the MoD Common along with a Linnet territory (pictured below) and a pair Grey Wagtail breeding at the Little Pond.
Oddities, Post Breeding and Early Autumn Migrants
The most exotic sighting during the period was an adult, Red-breasted Goose (pictured on the Pond above) seen on the main pond on 1st June. While ‘wild’ Red-breasted Geese do occur in the UK most winters (they winter in southeast Europe and breed in Siberia), the June date, inland location and its tameness sadly point to this individual being an escape from a zoo or wildfowl collection. Single Mandarin Ducks were logged on 24th April and between 13th-17th June. Roosts, post-breeding dispersal and early migrants included a male Teal on 16th-17th June, a circling Redshank and a roost of 320 Starlings leaving the Pond early both on June 17th and an impressive gathering of 220 Common Swifts feeding over the Pond on 28th June.
With the high numbers of breeding waterbirds at the moment and autumn migration starting to build steam there will be plenty to find over the next few months. Good Birding!
Photographs – William Legge
Illustrations – RSPB
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/
Contributing Observers: John Clark, William Legge, Rosemary McMillan, Graham Stephenson, Will Scott and H Tinson.