by ReserveTeam | Jul 1, 2020 | Birds, News, The Fleet
In 2019 Cormorants successfully nested and fledged young for the first time on the Reserve and they have repeated their success in 2020. This aquatic bird has made use of an old Tern platform. Up to 50 individual Cormorants can be seen perched on these wooded beams at...
by ReserveTeam | Jan 7, 2020 | Birds, News
There were notable influxes of both Short-eared Owls and Cattle Egrets last winter, with at least ten of the former and up to fifty of the latter frequenting the fields around The Swannery and nearby Clayhanger Farm. The latter have only recently colonised Britain,...
by ReserveTeam | Dec 11, 2019 | Birds, News
Despite a slightly lower number of nests than the past two years, this year has still been a very productive one for the Common Terns on our island in the Fleet, at Abbotsbury Swannery. There were 70 pairs of terns nesting on the island, with 140 chicks hatching....
by ReserveTeam | Jul 25, 2019 | Birds, News, Scientific Research, Swans, The Fleet
This month saw the Swannery’s 20th Biennial Round-up. This is when Swannery staff, the Reserve team and over 100 volunteers, over a two-day period, push Mute Swans along the Fleet up to Abbotsbury. This is possible when non-breeding Mute Swans go in to moult, meaning...
by ReserveTeam | Jan 23, 2019 | Birds, Management, News, The Fleet
There are many environmental studies carried out all along the Reserve each year. In addition to this, volunteers carry out regular surveys, looking at a variety of different subjects such as geology, habitats, species counts and human usage. One resent count of birds...
by ReserveTeam | Nov 6, 2018 | Birds, Migration, News, The Fleet
Dark-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla bernicla arrive on the Fleet at the end of October. They spend the summer months on the Arctic coast of Russia, breeding on Arctic tundra. Throughout November their numbers increase with over 2000 flocking at Ferrybridge and...
