It’s now at that time of year where we begin (in partnership with the Stour Ringing Group) really ramping up our ringing activities around Poole Harbour. From mid-July to early November a whole variety of birds will be on the move with different species moving at different times. In this early phase of the ‘autumn’ we’ll begin seeing a few warbler species passing through and into early August chats and flycatchers will appear with a few other warbler species. By late August and into September pipits, hirundines, wagtails and a few crests will begin to move and then by October finches, thrushes and more crests will be the main focus. Today really heralded the beginning of passerine autumn migration with a ringing session at Lytchett Heath catching the first 2 juv Grasshopper Warbler and juv Garden and Sedge Warblers of the season, none of which breed locally to that site. Up at Ballard Down a number of juv Common Whitethroat are being ringed too and it will only be a few days until the first lovely lemon yellow Willow Warbler begin turning up. On Brownsea today 2 Roseate Tern were again on the ‘Boomerang’ out in front of the Lower Hide. This evening the Purple Heron came into roost again for the third night in a row and was joined by 55 Little Egret. Thanks Steve Smith for a nice sequence of shots of the Purple Heron coming into roost.

Purple Heron – Littlesea, Studland – Steve Smith.

Twitter – @StudlandBirder  Blog – http://birdingpooleharbourandbeyond.blogspot.com/

The heron purple patch seems to be getting well…purpler! This evening the Purple Heron came back into Littlesea, Studland late evening but was then joined by a Cattle Egret too which means today we had Great White Egret (Middlebere), Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Purple Heron and Grey Heron all in the harbour! It also seemed to be some wader passage took place last night as a newly arrived summer plumaged Curlew Sandpiper was on Lytchett Fields with c40 Dunlin, 7 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper and 8 Green Sandpiper there too. A Red Kite also passed over Lytchett Bay and an Osprey was over the Wareham Channel and in Middlebere.

Are we beginning to see a new mid-July trend? On Saturday we had 7 Great White Egret appear on Lytchett Fields, then a Bittern was seen dropping into the Frome Mouth on Sunday evening then tonight a juvenile Purple Heron was found at Littlesea Studland which is actually only the 3^rd ever Poole Harbour record. This is notable as it possibly highlights the early dispersal of either recently fledged young heron species or post breeding birds as they begin to move south. We’ve had returning/passing Great White Egret each July now for the last three years, so will other species passing through this time of year soon become the ‘norm’? Passage waders were still moving around with 23 Green Sandpiper on Lytchett Fields along with 4 Common Sandpiper and 6 Greenshank with 1 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 1 Spoonbill and both godwit species on the Brownsea Lagoon plus an Arctic Tern was seen off the SW corner of Brownsea. An Osprey was in Middlebere on and off for most of the day. In Holes Bay NE there were 3 Common Sandpiper, 102 Black-tailed Godwit and 38 Little Egret recently roosted there.

Today was our second summer ‘Up with the lark’ bird boat cruise which didn’t disappoint. It started with an Osprey out hunting in the north of the Wareham Channel which eventually caught a fish and as we crept up towards the mouth of the River Frome c500 Black-tailed Godwit numerous Little Egret, Curlew and 3 Greenshank were in the mouth of the Frome and in the mouth of the Piddle 2 Common Seal were hauled up onto the mud on the low tide. Up to 5 Common Sandpiper were along the riverbanks of the Frome as plenty of freshly fledged Sand Martin and Swallow skimmed low across the water. Strangely a Sedge Warbler was singing briefly (normally well finished by now) and a handful of Reed Warbler could still be heard and Reed Bunting were much in evidence. On Arne Moors 5 Yellow-legged Gull were settled with 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull and a few Herring Gull. Out in central harbour the oddest sighting was of a Common Scoter sat out on its tod! The Brownsea Lagoon was busy and a Roseate Tern was heard then seen leaving the lagoon with 2 summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, 4 Greenshank, 8 Avocet and 1 chick, c30 Bar-tailed Godwit and c100 Oystercatcher also present. Along the northern shore of Brownsea another 5+ Common Sandpiper and a Whimbrel were at Seymers. Later in the evening a Bittern was reported flying over the mouth of the Frome and settling in reed beds. At Arne an Osprey was seen on and off during the day on the Middlebere platform as it fed and there was a Spoonbill in Middlebere again too with 7 Greenshank.

Without doubt, today’s best sighting (albeit brief) was when 7 migrating Great White Egret landed on Lytchett Fields for a few minuets before setting off again and headed off high north. It’s quite something that we’re no longer just seeing single birds in the harbour but now whole flocks! Even as recently as 2014 Great White Egret were still a real rarity in the harbour but between 1-3 have now been regularly over wintering since 2015 and with flocks of seven now appearing, how long will be it be until they’re as common as Little Egret? There was also a Spoonbill on Lytchett Fields. Brownsea was also productive today with 2 Roseate Tern settled all day with 1 Spoonbill and juv Garganey and Little Ringed Plover also logged. In Middlebere there were 2 Spotted Redshank and 5 Greenshank and an Osprey was on the Middlebere platform again.

Great White Egret flock – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Great White Egret flock – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

This evening we hosted our second Nightjar ringing demo on Canford Heath in partnership with The Borough of Poole and Stour Ringing Group. After sadly drawing a blank on our last ringing demo, tonight was a totally different kettle of fish with 6 birds caught and shown to a delighted crowd. It was a magical evening with a great flying display prior to the demo, then followed by a detailed description of the scientific work being carried out by the team whilst being shown the birds. A truly one off experience. In Middlebere the Great White Egret was seen again heading over the channel at dusk and there were 2 Osprey seen, 1 Spoonbill, 10 Greenshank and 2 Green Sandpiper also in the channel.

Nightjar post release after public ringing demo – Canford Heath 

What can we say…it’s not often two majorly exciting events of this magnitude take place on the same day. First and foremost we’re thrilled to announce that our 14 Osprey chicks for this years translocation safely arrived this afternoon at midday and were quickly placed into their new 5 star luxury pens at a secret location within the harbour where our team will now feed and monitor them for 2-3 weeks before releasing them again back out into the harbour. We’d like to say a huge thank you to numerous folk including Jason Fathers at Wildlife Windows who put in place all the infrastructure for the project which was quite a task we can tell you! Poole based fresh fish supplier Seafresh who have again kindly agreed to supply fish to our project to make sure the birds get the best possible start here in Poole. Also Roy Dennis and Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation who were up in Scotland collecting the birds and Emily Joachim and Brittany Maxted who fed and cared for the birds whilst they were being collected. A huge thanks to those members of the public too who have supported either via donations towards the project or have sent us really kind emails of support. With 14 new birds its going to be one hell of a season but we have a great team behind us so we look forward to updating you on the project along the way. Here is the press release we sent out today which gives a fuller overview of the project – READ HERE.

Waders are still making up the bulk of the sightings with 6 Grey Plover, 2 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank and 58 Black-tailed Godwit in Middlebere along with 2 Spoonbill and a fly over Great White Egret. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 4+ Greenshank, the first returning Knot of the autumn, 1 Little Ringed Plover and a new pair of Avocet with a chick…how long will it last though? On Lytchett Fields 18 Green Sandpiper were spread across the site as were 9 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper and the 1^st Snipe of the autumn back on site. Near Wytch 2 adult Redstart were seen but it’s unclear whether they were early migrants or local breeders.

Oh yeah, the second majorly exciting event to take place today…a certain Football Match. Its all too much!

Osprey chick 006 being placed into its new pen by Tim Mackrill

As the summer of wonder continue and with footy fever in the air, a feeling of optimism seems to be lingering in the heat haze. We’re not sure if its hope to see good birds arrive, or for a certain football team to win a certain football game but either way this week is planned to be a good week. Today it was much of the same with an Osprey out over the mouth of the River Frome. At Holton Pools there was a Green Sandpiper and Greenshank and on Lytchett Fields 1 Little Ringed Plover and 2 Spotted Redshank were reported. We’ve encountered numerous Long-tailed Tit flocks in recent days and in late summer/early autumn these can be good places to find good birds. Already these flocks are containing Chiffchaff (both adults and juv’s), however within the next two weeks lovely lemon yellow Willow Warbler will also be in tow and by early August species such as Redstart, Garden Warbler and Whitethroat often tag along. So, if you hear the high-pitched zee-zee-zee of a Long-tailed Tit train chugging along, be sure you’re stood on the platform watching as it goes by as you never know what may be on board!

As autumn ‘presses on’ more signs of migration appeared today with the first juv Yellow Wagtail of the season found at Lytchett Fields. Through August and September Yellow Wagtail will become a frequent diurnal and nocturnal migrants through the harbour but Lytchett Fields has seen the first arrive in early July for a few years now, even possibly suggesting they could be nesting close by?  Also at Lytchett Fields today were 12 Green Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Common Sandpiper and 1 Grey Plover.  An amazing flock of 16 Bearded Tit also moved through the reedbeds along Lytchett Fields. At Holton Pools the first Kingfisher of the autumn was in front of the hide and a Hobby passed through. In Middlebere this AM a lone Spoonbill was feeding and the/a female Marsh Harrier went through. An Osprey was over the Wareham Channel mid-afternoon and one was seen over Morden Bog again mid-morning.

We also have a series of exciting announcements this week starting off with the news that on July 23^rd 2018 we’ll be hosting the end of the Chris Packham UK Bioblitz Campaign in our Birds of Poole Harbour HQ on Poole Quay between 8pm and 9pm. This important and necessary campaign aims to highlight how damaged and non-productive parts of our environment are across the UK with Chris and his team signing off the 10-day mission here in Poole. For full details about the campaign CLICK HERE. We also have two other announcements we’ll be making over the coming days so be sure to keep an eye on our Social Media pages.  

Bearded Tit – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam