Lovely start to the day with our first Bearded Tit Ringing Demo of the autumn. Just the 2 Bearded Tit ringed this morning amongst a steady stream of other passerines, including Sedge, Reed, Cetti’s, and Grasshopper Warbler, and Goldcrest. 1 Marsh Harrier was active over the reedbed during the demonstration, as well as a Sparrowhawk amongst a large movement of Meadow Pipit. At Lytchett Fields, a White-tailed Eagle was present this morning, as well as a juvenile Peregrine putting in a few appearances, flushing the waders, though a Little Stint was later seen dropping in and later in the day the sites first Ruff of the autumn finally appeared

Numbers of Spoonbill are still steadily climbing with 61 counted on the Brownsea Lagoon this morning. 70+ Avocet were also reported, along with large numbers of Redshank, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and Black-tailed Godwit across the lagoon. An Osprey has been seen over Holes Bay today, landing on Pergins Island both this morning and later this afternoon. Finally, 2 Whimbrel were spotted at the base of Old Harry rocks earlier this afternoon.

We still have some spaces available on our Autumn Safari tomorrow morning, if you want to make the most of the recent weather. Tickets can be booked through our website here.

Goldcrest – Lytchett Bay Nature Reserve

Bearded Tit (female left, male right) – Lytchett Bay Nature Reserve

It felt really autumnal today and very birdy, with the sky full of Swallows for most of the day as well as smaller numbers of House Martin and Sand Martin. It’s impossible to estimate the true total of hirundines passing through today but it was many, many thousands. At dawn 12 Marsh Harrier  left the west harbour roost, the Hobby family (2 adult, 2 juv) over Arne were active just after sunrise and one of the White-tailed Eagles was active in the Wareham Channel. A Red Kite drifted high over the north of the Wareham Channel and 4 Cattle Egret headed west just after dawn. On the Swineham scrape the Wood Sandpiper, and Little Stint were both still present until a Peregrine came through and took a Black-tailed Godwit off the pool. Osprey sightings were thinner on the ground today but individuals were still seen over Lytchett Bay, the Wareham Channel, 1 in Holes Bay and 2 were in Brands Bay. Male Goshawks were logged over the Piddle Valley and Hartland. On Lytchett fields 2 Spotted Redshank were feeding and there was at least 1 Curlew Sandpiper. The Spoonbill group of 53 were moving between Brownsea, Middlebere and Shipstal and there was a Green Sandpiper in front 0f the Middlebere Hide.

Green Sandpiper – Middlebere – Phyl England

A magical Autumn Safari Cruise departed from Poole Quay at 9am this morning. Within minutes of leaving the urban sprawl of Poole Town behind a juvenile Osprey was seen perched along the Arne shoreline before offering stunning views around the boat, beautifully illuminated by clear blue skies. This was the first of 5(!) Ospreys that went on to be seen through the duration of the trip, with 3 juveniles and 2 adults logged, one observed catching a fish before our gaze was diverted by a White-tailed Eagle over the Wareham Channel being mobbed by one of the juvenile Ospreys, then later two Raven! The cruise navigated the Wareham Channel on a low tide, taking in breath-taking views of the 300 Black-tailed and 5 Bar-tailed Godwit accompanied by singles of Avocet, Greenshank, Knot and Yellow-legged Gull. A couple of Marsh Harriers quartering the western fringes of the harbour, Common Buzzard and Sparrowhawk rounded off the raptor count while a Red-rumped Swallow was picked up by a few on the cruise, buzzing around with the impressive clouds of hirundines (Swallows, House and Sand Martins) around the Wareham Channel and Swineham Point. Given that there was one seen on the Isle of Wight yesterday, it’s possible it could even be the same individual, and although mobile and elusive, keep an eye out for and work through any hirundine flocks over the coming days and weeks! A (cautious) meander up the River Frome on the low tide yielded excellent views into Swineham Gravel Pit where numbers of Coot, Gadwall and Great Crested Grebe are all increasing as birds stage and arrive in the harbour. We enjoyed numerous close views of a Kingfisher before reaching the Stilt Pools to catch up with the Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, Green and Common Sandpiper. The fringes of the pool also supported Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and 2 Egyptian Goose.

Elsewhere, 14 Marsh Harrier roosted in the harbour, a Bittern headed into the harbour along the Piddle Valley and Lytchett Bay joined in on the acton with Osprey and Marsh Harrier both logged over the Bay while a second White-tailed Eagle was spotted heading towards the Wareham Channel, viewed over Hyde’s Heath, Arne. A Hobby was sitting in the top of the pines on the edge of Arne and a walk around the Two Rivers Walk near Wareham to the Lower Piddle Valley pool produced 2 Ruff, 2 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and 6 Cattle Egret headed up the valley towards North Bridge. Holes Bay clocked up some more impressive totals with Osprey, 557 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 152 Redshank, 23 Dunlin, 211 Wigeon, 5 Knot, Common Sandpiper, 2 Water Rail and 83 Teal all seen from the edge of Poole Town. Cattle Egret were logged heading up the Piddle Valley at dawn and at the Ballard Gap a Merlin, 1 Redstart and a Garden Warbler were logged. This evening a Wood Sandpiper was back on Lytchett Fields, as was a Curlew Sandpiper. The Brownsea Lagoon had c50 Spoonbill, 10 Knot, 3 Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Grey Plover and 18 Bar-tailed Godwit. 

All our Autumn Safari Cruise dates, times and booking information can be found here…

Juvenile Osprey – Autumn Safari Cruise – Mark WrightGreenshank – Autumn Safari Cruise – Mark  Wright

The recent stream of Osprey activity has continued today, with (at least) 2 seen at Lytchett Fields, 1 reported early this AM over the Wareham Channel and a further 2 from Coombe Heath also this morning.  Also from Lytchett Fields, the raptor activity continued with 1 White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Kestrel and Common Buzzard all logged. 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 7 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Cattle Egret and 1 Spoonbill also added to the activity on the fields.

After the 5 White-tailed Eagles were reported in the harbour yesterday, at least 2 have been seen today both over Coombe Heath and at the top end of the Wareham Channel. 12 Marsh Harrier were also seen leaving the roost in the west of the harbour this morning, with numbers steadily rising. 5 Cattle Egret were reported at Swineham early this morning, with a 3 further down in the Piddle Valley, and 2 Great White Egret were seen in the Middlebere Channel from Coombe Heath. Also from Arne, 1 Pied Flycatcher  was seen on the path to the Middlebere Lookout near the gate late this morning. Also this AM, 18 of the now 50+ Spoonbill in the harbour were seen feeding in the Wareham Channel. In the lower Piddle Valley 2 Honey Buzzard passed over later in the afternoon and another Osprey was seen heading south with a Goshawk also logged.

Spoonbill – Lytchett Fields – Martin Wood

Osprey – Middlebere Channel – Kate Plater

Another perfect day which saw the White-tailed Eagle count rise from 3 yesterday to an amazing 5 different individuals present at different times during today. The highlight was when 3 were seen togther circling above the Wareham Channel and the Middlebere with later sightings of other individuals around the Wareham Channel and Arne area. The individuals consisted of four 2nd calendar year birds (released individuals from last year) and one 3-year old individual which was released in 2019. The fine weather has obviously got them active and seeing them keen to explore and it’s hoped that now they’re all meeting regularly in Poole Harbour that this soon becomes a permanent meeting and feeding site (and nesting in a few years). Lets see what happens over the next few days.

Also around the harbour today were several more Osprey sightings with individuals seen in Middlebere and Brands Bay. At Swineham the Wood Sandpiper was there again with 1 Green Sandpiper and 2 Common Sandpiper and there were also 5 Cattle Egret. There were Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin moving all day and the Brownsea Spoonbill flock reached 53. Chiffchaff are now already nearly in every bush, especially at dawn, and once again Meadow Pipit were making good use of the conditions with small flocks moving across the harbour for most of the day. On Lytchett Fields there were 4 Curlew Sandpiper and a Wryneck was in Wareham Forest near Woolsbarrow Hill. On Baiter there were 25 Ringed Plover and 19 Turnstone.

White-tailed Eagles over Middlebere – Alison Copland

Another fine, autumnal September day which prompted not, 1, not 2 but 3 White-tailed Eagles to visit the harbour. Female G801 returned with her on/off ‘friend’, male G816. However around midday, another female G318 turned up, which was one of the eagles that arrived into the harbour earlier this year, originally with G801. They seem to be moving around a lot, so who knows how long they’l be around for but hopefully longer than 24 hours this time. A September record number of Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost this morning with 11 present and in the Frome Valley 7 Cattle Egret were with cows. Osprey were seen hunting in Lytchett Bay and the 3 were in the Wareham Channel and a Goshawk was over the Wareham Channel late afternoon. This evening there was 1 each of Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper on the Stilt Pools at Swineham and 7 Cattle Egret were roosting on the gravel pit island. On Brownsea there c45 Spoonbill, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 summer plumaged Grey Plover, c40 Avocet and 6 Greenshank. There was a Pied Flycatcher near the NT Middlebere hide and 3 Whinchat on top of Hartland. From the Middlebere lookout there were 18 Spoonbill feeding out in front and a Marsh Harrier put up c400 Black-tailed Godwit.

Juvenile Cattle Egret – Swineham – Garry Hayman

This morning was our first Autumn Safari cruise of the season, and it provided the real sense of movement and migration we were hoping for. There were 2 Osprey hunting in the Wareham Channel, an adult and a juvenile, plus 3 different Marsh Harrier including a male on Arne Moors. We also managed to get the egret ‘hat-trick’ with 41 Little Egret on the Swineham gravel pit island, 1 Great White Egret near the mouth of the Frome and 2 Cattle Egret on Arne Moors. There was a juvenile Ruff on the Swineham scrapes and good numbers of wildfowl on the Swineham GP including 16 Pintail as well a smaller numbers of Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon and Shoveler. The top end of the Wareham Channel also held 40+ Spoonbill, 7 Greenshank, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Lapwing, c50 Avocet and 2 Little Grebe. Meadow Pipit were on the move all morning with small parties moving across the harbour on a broad front. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 8 Spoonbill, 1 Little Stint, 38 Avocet, 26 Ringed Plover, 212 Black-tailed Godwit and 22 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Greenshank and c60 Common Redshank. There were still small numbers of vocal Sandwich Tern around the harbour and in Brands Bay there was another Ruff. There was another Osprey hunting in Lytchett Bay this afternoon and at Lytchett Fields just 1 Curlew Sandpiper today but 27 Ringed Plover. In Holes Bay during the day 4 Spotted Flycatcher were logged plus a Redstart at Upton CP, plus the Osprey was on the Pergins Island nest platform again.

Ruff – Swineham Scrape (from Autumn Safari Cruise this AM) – Alison Copland

Great White Egret – Wareham Channel (from Autumn Safari Cruise this AM) – Alison Copland

Avocet – Brownsea Lagoon (from Autumn Safari Cruise this AM) – Alison Copland

Marsh Harrier – edge of Wareham Channel (from autumn Safari Cruise this AM) – Alison Copland

Grim today, but still a sense of lots of birds around. There were 5 Cattle Egret in fields next to the footpath at Swineham gravel pits. The main gravel pit was busy too with 10 Wigeon, 6 Pintail, 15 Gadwall, 4 Tufted Duck, 15 Little Egret on the island and there was 1 each of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper and the Swineham Scrapes. There was a blue ringed Osprey in Brands Bay which seemed to read ‘Z5 or Z2’ plus another un-ringed Osprey. In Holes Bay there were 10 Pintail and 177 Wigeon along with 2 Wheatear and 2 Knot. On Lytchett Fields there were 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Curlew Sandpiper, although there was an earlier report of 10 on the fields plus 3 Spotted Redshank, 2 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and 9 Yellow Wagtails. There were 2 Hobby still bombing around the lower Piddle Valley and one on Slepe Heath. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 50 Spoonbill, also 2 Little Stint, 3 Knot, 1 Spotted Redshank, 45 Bar-tailed Godwit and 30 Avocet.

Cattle Egret – Swineham

It’s still feeling really magic at the moment, with perfect autumn conditions. Ospreys were still present with the Holes Bay juvenile seen catching a fish, plus another 1 in Brands Bay, 1 over the Wareham Channel and 1 seen high heading south over Wareham Train station. But most amazingly of all, one was seen catching a fish out on Lytchett Fields, a scene that would have been impossible to predict ten years ago when the fields were just a dry set of fields. Also at Lytchett Fields were 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, 50 Dunlin, 1 Cattle Egret, 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Whinchat and several Yellow Wagtail. The Brownsea Lagoon still had 52 Spoonbill as well as 60 Avocet. There was also a decent push of Swallows throughout the day with decent sized flocks pulsing overhead.

Osprey – Holes Bay nest platform – Rene Goad

A fine day with once again, plenty going on. There was another Wryneck, this time at Wareham Common. At Swineham there were 3 Cattle Egret and there was a new high total of Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon with 52 present. At Lytchett fields there were 3 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Whinchat, 1 Redstart, 17 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Wheatear. In the fog this AM, 4 Marsh Harrier were seen to lift out of the west harbour roost and there were 2 Osprey hunting in the Wareham Channel, with 2 later seen fishing in Middlebere and in Holes Bay the un-ringed juvenile was on the nest platform on Pergins Island again. In Middlebere there were 2 Great White Egret and on the Brownsea Lagoon there was a Ruff, a scarce sight this autumn. Greenlands Farm saw 7 Wheatear, 5 Whinchat, 1 Whitethroat and 7 Dartford Warbler.

Osprey – Middlebere – Mark Wright