The harbour has enjoyed a beautifully sunny, calm day with the occasional Northerly gust. Today we are celebrating World Migratory Bird Day and we have seen a few migratory species along with some interesting residents. At Brownsea Lagoon we are still seeing high numbers of breeding Sandwich Terns with c75 pairs nesting alongside c20 pairs of Common Terns. The lonely Spoonbill is not so lonely, having been joined by another individual, likely to be a juvenile. 3 pairs of Avocet, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, c5 Gadwall, 2 Grey Heron, c30 Dunlin and 1 Knot were amongst todays visitors. Down at Baiter Park, 6 Turnstone, 1 Little Egret, 10 Oystercatcher and 2 Swallow were seen. 2 Cuckoo were spotted down at Swineham Gravel Pits while Poole Park hosted 6 Tufted Ducks. Holton Lee Camera caught glimpses of Dunnock, Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

With a gentle Southerly breeze Brownsea Lagoon has been busy providing shelter for a wide number of species. Over c60 Oystercatcher, c150 Common Tern, c200 Sandwich Tern and c100 Black-headed Gull have been busy nesting on the Islands. The lonely Spoonbill is still present, along with 2 knot, 1 Redshank and 1 Greenshank. Swineham Gravel Pit has had 4 Great-crested Grebe, a Cuckoo and Gadwall. There were 5 Turnstone feeding at Baiter Park. Lytchett Fields saw 20 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper and an Oystercatcher. Visitors to the feeder at Holton Lee have been Chaffinch, Starling and Goldfinch. There have been 2 Hobby feeding high over the Piddle Valley and 3 hobby interacting over Middlebere that were joined by a drifting Osprey. At Lytchett Fields a flock of 41 Whimbrel circled high above the bay and on the fields there were 23 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Little Ringed Plover. 

The mid-week doldrums were in full affect today. Luckily the weather looks to be settling down over the coming days with a few easterlies, so will we see any eastern treats over the weekend? We could really do with just one (or maybe 6) good birds this weekend. It would be worth keeping at eye out for Black Tern at sites like Swineham GP with the big arrival that took place this week. The only birds of note this AM at Swineham were c70 Swift, 1 Cuckoo, c10 Reed Warbler, 4 Sedge Warbler, 1 Bearded Tit and at dusk a flock of 10 Cattle Egret flew east. At Lytchett Bay just 3 each of Black-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel were out on the mud and on the fields were 7 Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Greenshank.  At Bog Lane 3 Cattle Egret were seen flying towards the cows at dawn and a Hobby was high over Arne Moors. There were no sign of any Osprey today but Peregrine were logged at Holes Bay and Arne. On the Brownsea Lagoon c80 Dunlin were feeding out on the Boomerang and 4 Sanderling were out over towards the Tamerisk island. There was still an element of winter with a drake Wigeon on Littlesea, Studland and a Brent Goose in Brands Bay. In Middlebere there were 24 Dunlin, 5 Grey Plover, 1 Whimbrel and a fly over Cuckoo. 

A cool breezy day has produced some interesting species. Brownsea Lagoon is filling up with nesting Sandwich Terns with an estimated count of over 200 individuals. 30 Black-tailed Godwit, 80 Dunlin, 6 Common Tern, 1 Little Tern, 5 Avocet, 2 Knot, 20 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Oystercatcher, and 4 Redshank. Canada Geese have hatched Goslings on the lagoon today. 1 lonely Spoonbill is still hanging on. Lytchett Bay has seen 6 Greenshank, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Whimbrel, 3 Dunlin, and 2 Ringed Plover. 11 Cattle Egret have been hanging out at Bog Lane/River Frome flood Fields. Down at Holten Lee a Great Spotted Woodpecker visited the bird feeder for a quick snack as well as a few Chaffinch still and several Goldfinch. At Swineham GP this AM c200 Sand Martin and c50 Swift were hawking above it this AM and a Cuckoo calling whilst a short sea watch at Branksome produced 9 Gannet, 1 Fulmar, 1 Common Scoter and plenty of Sandwich and Common Terns. At Holton Lee a Whinchat was out on the heathland as was a single Woodlark.

Today we hosted a boat trip for several council representatives and local businesses with the aim of discussing possible future opportunities in promoting Poole Harbour and its birdlife. This is always made easier of course when an Osprey decides to sit in a tree close to the shoreline, filling up on a fairly large fish, before then lazily lifting off and circling right above the boat, which then drew in the attention of a Hobby which then mobbed it several minutes! We were also fortunate to pass/visit the Brownsea lagoon which yet again proved that an arrival of waders had entered the harbour last night including c80 Dunlin, 2 Knot, 3 Sanderling, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Turnstone, 8 Avocet, 9 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank and 1 Spoonbill plus 3 Little Tern arrived later in the day. Up the River Frome both Reed and Sedge Warbler seemed quitter compared to recent mornings, but seeing as the trip was later in the day compared to our recent excursions could explain the reduction in song. Later in the day big numbers of Swift had arrived with the building storm but no Black Tern Sadly, also 1 Common Sandpiper and 1 Marsh Harrier. In Lytchett Bay there were 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Whimbrel, 25 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plover and 1 Greenshank with a Cuckoo and 1 Spotted Flycatcher around Lytchett Fields. 

A fine day finished off the bank holiday weekend and was exceptionally mild compared to the icy start the welcomed us on Saturday morning. With the fine weather came a nice run of migrants including 3 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 1 Lapwing at Sunnyside Farm. At Lytchett Fields there were 8 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin, 6 Whimbrel, 84 Lapwing, 15 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Ringed Plover and 1 Wheatear. At Holton Pools there were 5 Reed Warbler around the edge of the scrape and 2 Greenshank on the pool. Kings Wood, along the top of the Corfe Ridge saw 1 Marsh Tit, 1 Cuckoo, 3 Whinchat (near Purbeck Golf Club), 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Yellowhammer. At the Wareham by pass a single Cattle Egret was on the back of a cow and a Garden Warbler was singing in scrub near the edge of the road. At Swineham an Osprey was viewed circling out over the Wareham Channel. A few Swift were over the main pit and an obliging Bearded Tit was food carrying at the end of the footpath at Swineham Point.

The wind had calmed down this morning and our second ‘Up with the Lark’ public bird boat enjoyed calm and settled conditions as we made our way up the River Frome. Without doubt the highlight was Osprey CJ7 hunting and catching a fish close to our vessel, before moving across low over the water and heading towards Arne. At Swineham Swifts, Swallows and Sand Martins welcomed us over the gravel pit and numerous Reed (57) and Sedge Warbler (10) were singing away in the reedbed and 20 Cetti’s Warbler  were logged from local birder Peter Moore with a Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit also present. Also at Swineham were 2 Cuckoo and 6 Reed Bunting. The first signs of wader passage the night before came in the shape of 26 Whimbrel feed out at Bestwall. Around Greenlands Farm there was 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Cuckoo, 5 Crossbill over and 1 Willow Warbler whilst at Middlebere there were another 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Cuckoo, 3 Willow Warbler and 1 Whinchat. There was more signs of wader passage on Brownsea with c30 freshly arrived Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, c30 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Whimbrel and the Spoonbill and a Wheatear were also on the lagoon. Sandwich Tern and Common Tern were back and fourth from the lagoon and a few Med Gulls were also dropping in. Next to the Wareham bypass 7 Cattle Egret were with the cattle again and from Slepe Heath 2 Hobby were logged.

An icy blast met our public bird boat this AM, but despite the cold wind a good selection of birds were logged. The Gull Islands were busy with thousands of Black-headed Gulls and several Med Gulls. 3 Hobby were zipping along the top of Arne Hill and in the mouth of the Frome, a Peregrine harassed a Lapwing for a good 5 minutes as 2 Marsh Harrier watched on, seemingly enjoying the Lapwings struggle. Over Swineham GP c10 Swift, c40 Sand Martin and a handful of House Martin and Swallow were feeding and in the reed beds both Reed and Sedge Warbler were singing. On the floodplain a couple of Whimbrel were up near Wareham. On the Brownsea Lagoon wader numbers were low but a single Spoonbill was present with c15 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Avocet, 2 Common Redshank and c30 Black-tailed Godwit. At Arne today 7 Brent Geese were still present and Osprey CJ7 was seen in Middlebere having been keeping a low profile recently, but with ‘Beaky’ now gone will she return to nest building? Cuckoo’s were at Middlebere, Hartland and Slepe Heath and 3 Swift were seen over Poole Old Town. At Lytchett Fields singles of Hobby and Swift were logged along with 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Greenshank.

Things are set to get cold tomorrow but with the Bank Holiday now underway we’re hoping people will still get out and about and get some birding done. Sadly, it seems there will be one noticeable absence over the weekend and that’s Osprey ‘Beaky’! Having filled up on fish early doors, she lifted off the Middlebere nest platform, only to be seen drifting off high SW never to be seen again….well, for the rest of the day at least…will she come back tomorrow?  Sightings from today included 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Lapwing and 2 Greenshank at Lytchett Fields. At Swineham 2 Cuckoo were calling and 3 Swift were over the main gravel pit.

Well, April didn’t produce any of our Osprey youngsters from 2017, but will we see any during May? Both the (currently) resident females are hoping so as they stay faithful to the two nesting platforms with the un-ringed bird (Beaky) only ever leaving the Middlebere platform to catch a fish before always quickly returning and then CJ7 making random visits to another harbour platform to just check in and see what’s going on? Along Bog Lane, 7 Cattle Egret were again in fields to the north. Passerines on migration have been relatively thin on the ground this spring so it was good to see a few warblers at Lytchett Fields including 1 Garden Warbler, both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge and Reed Warbler and 1 Common Whitethroat. There was also a mixed flock of 9 Ringed Plover and Dunlin, also 1 Greenshank and 1 Whimbrel. Holton Pools held 1 Greenshank, 2 Greenshank, 2 Redshank and 3 Shelduck. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Sandwich Terns are now moved on to the breeding islands and have begun nest scraping but the Common Tern that have arrived are still mostly flying about and prospecting. Also on the Brownsea Lagoon is 1 Spoonbill still, 2 Greenshank, 17 Bar-tailed Godwit and 5 Grey Plover.