Blashford Birds

Complete Bird List
(correct Aug 2021)

All maximum and other single counts refer to single dates only

Species	Status
Brent Goose	An extremely rare visitor. Ten mostly autumn/winter records. A flock of 40 flew south in 2005, and 4 of the form hrota (Pale-bellied Brent Goose) occurred together in 2016.
Red-breasted Goose	Three old records from the Avon Valley; at least one is known to have visited the lakes. Last in 1983.
Canada Goose	A common resident and breeder.
Barnacle Goose	A scarce and irregular vagrant, likely from feral populations. Some suspected of being truly wild.
Snow Goose	Similar status to Barnacle Goose, but much rarer. All of feral origin.
Greylag Goose	A common resident and regular breeder.
Pink-footed Goose	A very rare winter visitor. Five records.
Tundra Bean Goose	Two records, last in 2008.
White-fronted Goose	Once common in winter, but declined badly in the 1990s, and now a very scarce and irregular visitor. None since 2017.
Mute Swan	Common resident, but evidence of a recent decline.
Bewick's Swan	Once a regular roost visitor on the lakes (from the established winter herd in the Avon Valley), but now much declined and none since 2016.
Whooper Swan	A very rare visitor. Two confirmed records.
Egyptian Goose	Until c.2009, a very scarce visitor. Now abundant and increasing, with many pairs breeding locally.
Shelduck	Passage migrant and regular breeder, but numbers have been in steep decline recently.
Mandarin Duck	An often elusive resident, which breeds on the site in small numbers.
Garganey	A scarce passage migrant. 50 records.
Shoveler	A common and apparently increasing winter visitor. Triple-figure counts are regular in winter, max. 428 in 2003.
Gadwall	A common winter visitor and regular breeder. Numbers have fallen back since the 2012 peak of 1197, which was not exceptional at the time and represented over 5% of the UK population.
Wigeon	A common but steadily declining winter visitor.
American Wigeon	One winter record, 1984.
Mallard	A common resident with numbers boosted in winter, but as with some other wildfowl, a slow decline since the millennium.
Pintail	A regular and quite common winter visitor. Max. for many years was 400 in 2003; smashed in 2013 with 1190 birds present, about 3% of the NW European total!
Teal	A common winter visitor. Max. 2292 in 2003; scarcer since.
Green-winged Teal	Three records of two birds; last 2014.
Red-crested Pochard	A very scarce mostly winter visitor from British feral populations.
Pochard	Formerly very common in winter (max. 722 in 2003), but now rather scarcer.
Ferruginous Duck	Two verified records, one a returning bird from 2011-present.
Ring-necked Duck	Six records of (probably) five birds; most recent 2020.
Tufted Duck	A common winter visitor and breeder in small numbers.
Scaup	About 40 birds recorded, mostly in winter.
Lesser Scaup	The county's first was seen in 2017, and returned very briefly in the two subsequent years.
Eider	One winter record, 2016.
Velvet Scoter	One early spring record, 1985.
Common Scoter	About 15 passage migrants recorded, and apparently increasing in frequency. Several midsummer records.
Long-tailed Duck	Eleven recorded, most in winter, and many long-stayers.
Goldeneye	A formerly quite common wintering species (max. 64 in 1987), now much declined but probably stable. A few have summered.
Smew	About 87 records, but a recent severe decline, with none at all during 2014-20.
Goosander	A rare winter visitor until the 1980s, now a common winter visitor, and breeds locally. Max. 231, 2010.
Red-breasted Merganser	About 23 birds recorded, all in winter.
Ruddy Duck	Common and breeding during 1981-2010, rapid decline with DEFRA culling, none since 2016.
Pheasant	A regular visitor and may breed.
Red-legged Partridge	Formerly regular, now rare and less than annual.
Nightjar	Six dated records of seven birds, but reported regularly by crepuscular ringers, and doubtless severely under-recorded.
Swift	A sometimes abundant passage migrant. Max. 1000 2017.
Cuckoo	A scarce passage migrant and possibly occasional breeder.
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon	Regularly recorded.
Stock Dove	Scarce, but possibly increasing and now breeds.
Woodpigeon	Abundant and breeds. Heavy autumn passage noted on a few occasions.
Turtle Dove	Once regular in the area, but only five recorded since 1999, and none since 2015.
Collared Dove	Still quite common, but apparently declining significantly.
Water Rail	A not uncommon winter visitor, and breeds regularly.
Moorhen	Regular, but not common. Max. only 39, 2014.
Coot	An abundant winter visitor, and common breeder. Max. 2019 in 2007.
Little Grebe	A resident breeder (mean 13 pairs), supplemented by migrants in autumn/winter. Max. 80, 2013.
Red-necked Grebe	Two records, last in 2007
Great Crested Grebe	A resident breeder (mean 17 pairs), supplemented by migrants in autumn/winter. Max. 111, 2008.
Slavonian Grebe	Seven records of single birds, last in 2019.
Black-necked Grebe	Formerly bred, and may do so again. A regular passage migrant and winterer in very small numbers.
Oystercatcher	A scarce passage migrant. Has bred on and off since 2000, and regularly since 2008.
Black-winged Stilt	One record (2008).
Avocet	Fourteen records of 20 birds, with a wide spread of dates.
Lapwing	Breeds in very small numbers with low success, and an increasingly scarce winter visitor and passage migrant.
Golden Plover	Once a common winter visitor, now very rare indeed. Max. 1250, 1990.
Grey Plover	Eight records of single birds, mostly in spring. Last in 2019.
Ringed Plover	Formerly bred in very small numbers, now a scarce passage migrant.
Little Ringed Plover	A scarce passage migrant and regular breeder - typically 2-3 pairs nest, with poor success. Max. 26 (!) in 2005.
Kentish Plover	One record in 2003.
Whimbrel	At least 130 recorded, almost all in spring.
Curlew	72 passage migrants recorded, and apparently increasing.
Bar-tailed Godwit	About 45 recorded, largely in spring.
Black-tailed Godwit	A scarce passage migrant and very intermittent winter visitor, sometimes in large numbers. Counts depend on the state of the Avon floods - max. 2000 in 2021, after several years of almost none.
Turnstone	77 passage migrants on record, split quite evenly between spring and autumn.
Knot	About 12 recorded, last in 2019. Spring and autumn, with one midwinter record.
Ruff	About 90 birds recorded, at all seasons, but mostly spring and late summer in recent years.
Curlew Sandpiper	Seven records, all but one in autumn.
Temminck's Stint	7-8 recorded, all in May bar one in July.
Sanderling	A rare migrant but near annual in recent years. At least 48 on record, mostly in May.
Dunlin	One of the commonest passage waders, more regular in spring. Flocks of 34 and 33 have been recorded.
Little Stint	52 recorded, including some multiple records - e.g. 7 together in 1993, 4 together in 2007
Pectoral Sandpiper	Two records of long-staying autumn birds in 1981 and 2003.
Long-billed Dowitcher	One in 2009.
Woodcock	A rare but probably under-recorded winter visitor.
Jack Snipe	Another very rare but doubtless under-recorded species.
Snipe	A regular but perhaps declining winter visitor, with occasional hard weather influxes. Max. 105 in 1984.
Red-necked Phalarope	Two records of (typically) very late spring migrants, June 2015 and June 2021.
Grey Phalarope	Six singles in autumn and winter, 2005-21
Common Sandpiper	A fairly common passage migrant; has overwintered. Max. 17 in 2003.
Green Sandpiper	A regular passage migrant with single figures wintering.
Redshank	A scarce passage migrant with occasional breeding attempts.
Wood Sandpiper	About 34 records, the majority in autumn
Spotted Redshank	Seven records of single birds, all bar one in autumn.
Greenshank	Over 60 recorded, mostly on autumn passage. Max. 5 in 2006.
Collared Pratincole	One in 1987.
Kittiwake	Ten records of eleven birds, in various seasons.
Bonaparte's Gull	Following the first record in spring 2017, two further birds (all certainly different) occurred on near identical dates in 2019 and 2020!
Black-headed Gull	A common visitor all year, and has bred since 2007 (max. 663 pairs in 2016), but especially abundant in winter (max. 10,000 in 2016)
Little Gull	A scarce but very regular passage migrant, overwhelmingly in spring. Max. confirmed count 10 in 2010.
Franklin's Gull	One adult in late 2014.
Mediterranean Gull	Not recorded in the Avon Valley until 1990, now regular in winter roosts and on passage. Has bred since 2011. Max. 100 in 2017.
Common Gull	Very unpredictable, with large numbers usually only present after cold weather. Very rare outside the winter period. Max. 1100 in 2015.
Ring-billed Gull	Seven or eight recorded, all since 2009
Great Black-backed Gull	Generally just a very few present intermittently over the winter. Bred 2000-03. Max. 125 (!) in 1995.
Glaucous Gull	One record on New Year's Day 2015.
Iceland Gull	Eight records, all since 2009. One of the form thayeri (Hampshire first; 8th for Britain) was found in 2018.
Herring Gull	Common winter visitor (500-1000 typically roost), with a few lingering all year round.
Caspian Gull	Now a regular winter visitor in very small numbers.
Yellow-legged Gull	Unknown or unrecorded until the1990s, now present in significant numbers throughout autumn and winter. Max. 72 in 2004.
Lesser Black-backed Gull	A common and sometimes abundant passage migrant and winter visitor. Regularly 10,000 or so roost. Form intermedius regular, and fuscus strongly suspected but not yet confirmed. Breeding recorded three times.
Sandwich Tern	22 recorded, largely in spring, but a bizarre 8 together in September 2015.
Little Tern	17 recorded, all bar two in spring.
Common Tern	A fairly common passage migrant, and 20-30 pairs breed.
Arctic Tern	Upwards of 85 passage migrants recorded, max. 45 in one flock in 2014.
Whiskered Tern	Two together in spring 1988.
White-winged Black Tern	One in autumn 1991 (and another unsubmitted report in 1980).
Black Tern	Over 100 records of 320+ birds; sustained recent increase. Max. 49 in 2011.
Arctic Skua	One in 2007.
Long-tailed Skua	Three juveniles in September 2010.
Little Auk	A storm-blown waif in November 2016.
Red-throated Diver	Four records, most recent in 2003.
Black-throated Diver	Three records, most recent in 2016.
Great Northern Diver	Nine records - apparently increasing in frequency. Most records in November.
Leach's Petrel	One in November 2009, on the day of a major wreck.
Fulmar	One in September 1989.
White Stork	Two records of apparently wild birds (2008 and 2020) before the widespread occurrence of feral birds in southern England.
Gannet	One in flight only in August 2010.
Cormorant	A common visitor, especially in winter. Both carbo and sinensis have been proved, and breeding (presumably by sinensis) has been attempted in recent years.
Glossy Ibis	Two records of singles in 2010 and 2013, and a flock of nine in 2021.
Spoonbill	Three (or perhaps four) recorded.
Bittern	A regular winter visitor since about 2002, with a max. of four present, but has apparently declined again in recent years.
Cattle Egret	Six records of eight birds.
Grey Heron	A regular visitor in varying numbers - max. 125 in 2015. Formerly bred locally.
Purple Heron	One in summer 2014.
Great White Egret	First recorded in 2003, and now regular from late summer to early spring. One colour-ringed bird of known origin returned for 15 winters.
Little Egret	A frequent but erratic visitor, mostly in winter. Max. 50+ in 2011.
Osprey	A very scarce but regular and increasing passage migrant.
Honey-buzzard	15 records of a species which breeds in the nearby New Forest, but rarely wanders.
Sparrowhawk	Regular and probably breeds.
Goshawk	About thirteen records, and increasing.
Marsh Harrier	About 20 records up to 2017, now regular year round, and especially in autumn/winter.
Hen Harrier	About 17 recorded, but none since at least 2014.
Red Kite	First recorded in 2004, and very notable until c.2015. Now regular and widely reported, with occasional 'passage days', max. 7 on two dates in 2016.
Black Kite	Two spring records in 2011 and 2016 (and one near miss in 2009, seen from the site, but not over it)
White-tailed Eagle	One in December 2018 was known to be a wild bird. Reintroduced Isle of Wight birds recorded 2-3 times since then.
Buzzard	A regular resident and breeds.
Barn Owl	A very rare visitor - only nine dated records.
Little Owl	Possibly once resident, now very rare, last in 2015.
Long-eared Owl	One record in very late 2010. Perhaps overlooked.
Short-eared Owl	Four records of three birds, last in 2018.
Tawny Owl	A scarce resident breeder.
Kingfisher	Regular along streams and around lakes; breeds most years.
Wryneck	Two 'modern' records (1977 and 1995)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Formerly regular in tiny numbers to 2001, then very rare indeed; recolonised in 2008-2016; now absent again.
Great Spotted Woodpecker	A common resident
Green Woodpecker	A regular visitor, sometimes breeds.
Kestrel	A regular but probably declining visitor in small numbers.
Red-footed Falcon	One in May 2008.
Merlin	A rare to scarce winter visitor, perhaps more frequent in recent years with the presence of a large Starling roost.
Hobby	A regular passage migrant, but a serious recent decline is apparent. Max. 19 in 2008, but only 14 records in 2015, and 8 in 2016.
Peregrine	A frequent visitor, having increased from extreme rarity in the 1980s.
Ring-necked Parakeet	One in 2008.
Great Grey Shrike	A very rare winter visitor - about four birds recorded.
Jay	A common resident with more in autumn/winter.
Magpie	A common resident.
Jackdaw	Common in the vicinity.
Rook	Common.
Carrion Crow	Common.
Raven	First recorded in 1998, now regular and breeding close by.
Waxwing	Upwards of 20 recorded in the winter of 2010/11.
Coal Tit	A regular visitor and breeds in small numbers.
Marsh Tit	About ten records.
Willow Tit	Formerly present, but no records since the 1980s.
Blue Tit	Abundant.
Great Tit	Very common.
Bearded Tit	Three records of four birds, in 2010 and 2015.
Woodlark	22 recorded.
Skylark	A scarce migrant visitor, with occasional large cold weather movements, e.g. 2000 in January 1979.
Shore Lark	One record in 2018.
Sand Martin	An abundant passage migrant, with the largest county counts every year - e.g. 3000 in April 2008. Has bred in an artificial colony since 2008.
Swallow	A common passage migrant, sometimes in very large numbers (e.g. 1010 in September 1999).
House Martin	A common passage migrant, but declining. Still 7000+ in September 2017. No longer breeds.
Cetti's Warbler	Resident and a regular breeder in small numbers.
Long-tailed Tit	Common resident.
Wood Warbler	Two spring records, in 2007 and 2008.
Yellow-browed Warbler	Five recent records in autumn/winter, all since 2013.
Willow Warbler	A common passage migrant, but now only a very rare breeder.
Chiffchaff	A common migrant and breeder, with a few wintering each year. "Siberian" Chiffchaff (tristis) recorded twice.
Sedge Warbler	A scarce passage migrant and a former breeder.
Reed Warbler	A fairly common passage migrant and regular breeder.
Grasshopper Warbler	Four dated records only, but doubtless overlooked; about a dozen ringing records.
Blackcap	Common migrant and breeder, with a few wintering.
Garden Warbler	Up to 31 singing males.
Lesser Whitethroat	Former breeder (until c.1982); since then, fewer than 20 migrants.
Whitethroat	A scarce passage migrant and summer visitor; breeding finally proved in 2021.
Dartford Warbler	Four recorded, three of them in October.
Firecrest	Twenty or so recorded up to 2015, now increasingly common and regular in autumn/winter.
Goldcrest	A common resident and passage migrant.
Wren	A common resident. Up to 29 territories.
Nuthatch	An uncommon resident.
Treecreeper	An uncommon resident.
Starling	A common resident with a few pairs breeding. Intermittent winter roosts peaked at somewhere near 300,000 in late 2013. Now, c.5,000 is more common.
Song Thrush	A common resident, with up to 15 territories recorded.
Mistle Thrush	Small numbers present year round.
Redwing	A common winter visitor. Max. 200 in December 2008.
Blackbird	A common resident, with up to 22 territories.
Fieldfare	An uncommon winter visitor. Max. 200 in November 2010.
Ring Ouzel	Four records, all in autumn.
Spotted Flycatcher	Possible former breeder, now a rare passage migrant, overwhelmingly in autumn.
Robin	A common resident; up to 18 territories.
Nightingale	Former breeder in tiny numbers until the 1980s. Now a very scarce spring migrant. One in 2020 was the first since 2015.
Pied Flycatcher	Four records, three of them in autumn.
Black Redstart	Three records, last in 2017.
Redstart	Only about 20 records, largely of autumn juveniles.
Whinchat	Four records, three of them in 2005, one in 2009.
Stonechat	A remarkably rare bird at Blashford - only 17 dated records, but a pair bred in 2005.
Wheatear	An uncommon double passage migrant, commoner in spring.
Tree Sparrow	Former resident, but lost probably prior to the 1980s.
House Sparrow	Strangely rare in much of the site, but breeds and not uncommon in one area.
Dunnock	A common resident.
Yellow Wagtail	Former breeder (lost c. 1988, possibly 1994). Now a very scarce and declining passage migrant.
Grey Wagtail	A very scarce resident, with migrants also recorded in spring and autumn.
Pied Wagtail	A common year-round visitor, occasionally breeding. Large roosts and passage movements sometimes recorded. "White" Wagtails (alba) regular in spring and autumn (probably overlooked in autumn too).
Meadow Pipit	Regular visitor in autumn and winter, with some passage detected (e.g. 101 SW in November 1991). Max. 250, March 2008.
Tree Pipit	21 records of migrants, all since 1994.
Water Pipit	Formerly a very rare migrant, now a regular winter visitor in tiny numbers.
Rock Pipit	About 16 recorded since 2005. At least two have been of the form littoralis.
Chaffinch	Common resident and winter visitor. Max. 600+ WNW in March 2012.
Brambling	An intermittently common winter visitor and migrant, max. 300 March 2011.
Hawfinch	Fifteen records, all since 2005. Apparently increasing.
Bullfinch	Uncommon but very regular in certain areas of the site.
Greenfinch	Still common but declining resident and winter visitor. Winter roosts formerly reached up to 300 (in 2014), but now far fewer.
Linnet	A very scarce migrant and winter visitor, with occasional substantial flocks appearing for a few days. Max. 150 for one day in April 1986.
Common Redpoll	About 14 records, 2008-14. One in 2009 was accepted as being of the Greenland form, rostrata.
Lesser Redpoll	A fairly common passage migrant and winter visitor. Max. 50, December 2010. Perhaps declining somewhat.
Crossbill	Over 100 recorded, overwhelmingly in flight only. Max. 12 in October 2015.
Goldfinch	A common visitor. Max. 150 in August 2015.
Siskin	A common migrant and winter visitor. Max. 300 in December 1999.
Snow Bunting	Two on one date in December 2010.
Corn Bunting	Historic former resident, now lost.
Yellowhammer	Three dated records since 2000; possibly formerly resident.
Cirl Bunting	Bred on the immediate boundary of the site as recently as 1982; none since.
Reed Bunting	A common resident and winter visitor. About a dozen territories; max. count 21 in December 2010.

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The Birds of

Blashford Lakes

Complete Bird List
(correct Aug 2021)

All maximum and other single counts refer to single dates only

The Birds of

Blashford Lakes

Complete Bird List (correct Aug 2021)

All maximum and other single counts refer to single dates only

Complete Bird List
(correct Aug 2021)