The drizzle lifted this morning for our Autumn Safari Cruise, starting off the trip well with a Great White Egret flying over Poole Quay. A second Great White Egret was also in the Wareham Channel, as well as 1 White-tailed Eagle on the Arne shoreline. Near the mouth of the River Frome, 2 Marsh Harrier and 1 Peregrine were active, and we watched 6 Bearded Tit lift high out of the reed bed before heading north. On Brownsea Lagoon during the late morning were 35 Spoonbill, c.100 Avocet, 200 Dunlin, 300 Black-tailed Godwit and 30 Grey Plover. Reported from the Middlebere Channel today were 5 Spotted Redshank, 1 Great White Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier and 1 ringtail Hen Harrier. There was 1 Great White Egret, 11 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 85 Wigeon, 1 Red-Breasted Merganser, 4 Grey Plover, 14 Lapwing, 98 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Greenshank in Brands Bay also this morning. An impressive count of 11 Ring Ouzels were feeding at Godlingston Gully early in the morning. The Glossy Ibis was seen again over Arne Moors this evening.

Ring Ouzel – Godlingston – Garry Hayman

The harbour was a tale of two halves this morning with low visibility and fog across the north of the harbour but the south basking in glorious sunshine. Another effort was made to log visible migration at a select few sites including Ballard Down and Challow Hill. The light WNW got a few finches moving, but there were certainly plenty of grounded birds along Ballard during the course of the morning feeding in the warm morning sun. Highlights along the top of the ridge included 7 Ring Ouzel, 36 Common Chiffchaff, 103 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Woodlark, 2 Firecrest, 5 Redwing, 1 Blackcap, 2 Yellowhammer and 8 Reed Bunting. In Studland Bay the first 2 Black-necked Grebe of the winter were just off Knoll Beach along with 1 Razorbill and 36 dark-bellied Brent Geese with another Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point mid-morning. Out over Studland Bay 2 Great White Egret were seen heading west over Ballard Down and another was in Brands Bay. This afternoon it was a raptor-fest in the Wareham Channel with 2 Red Kite passing over mid-afternoon, an Osprey was fishing in the Wareham Channel and later in Lytchett Bay, 6+ Marsh Harrier were around Swineham and Keysworth, the White-tailed Eagle pair were over the Wareham Channel and 3+ Sparrowhawk were hunting along the Holton Shore. A fly over Glossy Ibis was logged over the Wareham Channel, seen heading towards Swineham and a Yellow-browed Warbler was in and around the RSPB Arne car park. At Lytchett Fields the first Water Pipit of the winter was colour-ringed by Stour Ringing Group and released on site and there was a Spotted Redshank on site.

Sunny Ballard Down and Foggy Poole this morning

A very wintery picture is emerging across the harbour with a nice range of species now settling back for the latter colder and darker period of the year. What seemed to be a juvenile male Hen Harrier was active in the Wareham Channel along the Keysworth shoreline, viewed from our Autumn Safari Cruise this AM, along with 5-6 Marsh Harrier seen around the Swineham area and a Merlin dashed over Arne Moors towards Swineham Point. Around c20 dark-bellied Brent Geese are back with 6 at Shipstal, 8 at Newton Bay and 6 in Brands Bay. A Red-breasted Merganser was out in central harbour with another 3 in Brands Bay/South Deep. The first set of Spoonbill have de-camped to Shipstal Point with 6 on there this morning whilst 25 remained on the Brownsea Lagoon. The lagoon was also busy with waders on the high tide and included 1 winter plumage Curlew Sandpiper, c100 Avocet, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, c200 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover, c10 Grey Plover, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit and 4 Turnstone. At Lytchett Fields there was still a Great White Egret, also 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 adult Marsh Harrier, c30 Swallow , 5 Spoonbill and a drake Pochard (only the 2nd Lytchett Bay record this year). There were a handful of finches on the move up on Ballard, but not very many due to the strong southerly wind, but a sea watch from there produced 1 Red-throated Diver, 8 Kittiwake and 6 Common Scoter off Old Harry. Finally, the first Yellow-browed Warbler for the Poole harbour recording area this autumn was in Parkstone cemetery in a roving tit flock.

Red-breasted Merganser – Central Harbour – Alison Copland

Spoonbill – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

The weather this morning was shaping up to potentially produce a decent sea watch out in Poole Bay, however a 3-hour stint watching from Branksome Chine produced nothing more than 1 Red-throated Diver, 12 Wigeon, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Pintail, 8 Common Scoter, 1 dark-bellied Brent Goose, 2 Curlew, 6 Dunlin and 46 Gannet. Within the harbour, with wind and rain throughout the rest of the day sightings of much else were pretty limited but there were 5 Spoonbill, 2 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Peregrine in Lytchett Bay.

Wigeon – Holes Bay

With the ENE wind continuing it was good to get some more vis-mig monitoring under our belt this morning with some pretty decent results. An amazing 17 Ring Ouzel were logged up on Ballard Down with 9 erupting out of one bush alone along the top of the ridge near Glebelands. The first passage Fieldfares were also logged with 3 over Lytchett Bay and 1 over South Haven. Other South Haven Vis-Mig totals included 1 Brambling, 222 Starling, 168 Redwing, 256 Siskin, 146 Goldfinch, 233 Linnet, 25 Lesser Redpoll and 2 Red-breasted Merganser entered the harbour at dawn. There were still 2 Osprey kicking about with 1 in Holes Bay for most of the afternoon and another in Brands Bay. In Stoborough 2 Cattle Egret were feeding with cows, and in Lytchett Bay there were 3 Spoonbill with a single Curlew Sandpiper hiding in amongst 264 Dunlin. A ringtail Hen Harrier and a Merlin were in Middlebere this morning, the White-tailed Eagle pair were also seen over there.

Cattle Egret – Stoborough – Sam Ryde

Ring Ouzel – Ballard Down – Nick Hopper

The forecast was gearing up to possibly provide some more decent visible migration this morning, although the forecast light NE breeze soon turned into a very strong easterly wind meaning the vis-mig that did get going soon faded away. There was some passage though and up on Ballard and at South Haven some moderate returns were had. Up on Ballard there were 936 Siskin, 658 Goldfinch, 535 Linnet, 29 Lesser Redpoll, 92 Swallow, 1 Brambling and a Reed Bunting. Also seen up there were 2 Firecrest, 1 Merlin and 2 Ring Ouzel. At the harbour mouth at South Haven there was another Ring Ouzel, plus 5 Redwing, 11 Song Thrush, 363 Siskin, 104 Goldfinch, 95 Linnet, 92 Lesser Redpoll, 34 Meadow Pipit, 20 Swallow and 3 Reed Bunting. A Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl were seen at Swineham and at Lytchett Fields this morning a Spotted Redshank was on the fields and a Cattle Egret flew over Lytchett Bay View.

Sanderling – Studland – Mark Wright

There are lots of things people find glorious. The light of a sunrise, the light of a sunset, vivid flower displays…God!? But what about the glory of finch migration?! When the end of the autumn migration period starts creeping into sight, many birders begin prepping themselves for cold early morning starts, and tuning their eyes and ears for an exciting and final passage of birds along our Dorset coastlines before winter takes grip. This final passage of birds is referred to as the vis-mig (visible migration) season and having looked at the forecast for the coming weeks we could be in for a treat. Northerly winds often provide the passage of birds we’re seeking, but north easterlies are undoubtedly the best. The main bulk of birds tend to be finch species. Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Greenfinch, Crossbill, Lesser Redpoll and Brambling are all in the mix and they’re all being identified by sound. Often tagging along are good numbers of Skylark, Grey and alba Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, and as October progresses we can also be treated to some decent thrush movements with several thousand each of Redwing and Song Thrush and lesser numbers of Fieldfare, Blackbird and occasional Ring Ouzel. Then, there’s the scarcities and rarities with birds like Snow and Lapland Bunting, Hawfinch, Twite, Little Bunting and Richards Pipit on all our radars. All in all is an exciting, although often tricky birding discipline to learn, but when you do finally strike lucky and witness and experience this magical birding phenomenon, then you too could become engrossed in the glory of finch migration.

These birds are often traveling through narrow, invisible migration corridors, and there are definitely hotspots to try. Durlston CP is one of the best places in the county (and country) along with Hengistbury Head. Here in the harbour our vis-mig hot spots are at South Haven, Studland and on the top of Ballard Down. Thats not to say there aren’t more, and in fact, we’ve recently learnt thats there’s likely another decent vis-mig channel off Swineham Point, between the mouths of the two rivers.

With a north wind kicking in last night, some of our team were out this morning to see what was on the move. At South Haven, Studland there were 124 Siskin, 2 Brambling, 11 Lesser Redpoll, 42 Linnet, 4 Redwing, 13 Chaffinch, 6 Goldfinch and 17 Meadow Pipit. Following the same flight line north across the harbour mouth was 1 Merlin, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Common Snipe. Through the harbour entrance were 27 freshly arrived dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great White Egret and 4 Little Egret and on Shell Beach were 7 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin and 16 Turnstone. Meanwhile, up on Ballard, also heading north were 63 Lesser Redpoll, 15 Crossbill, 177 Siskin, 2 Brambling, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Ring Ouzel and a nice bonus Short-eared Owl. No doubt we’ll be out more over the coming days and weeks to see if the passage builds during the month.

Elsewhere around the harbour today saw 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Spotted Redshank and a Great White Egret in Middlebere with the Forster’s Tern moving between Shipstal and Middlebere all day. There were c50 Spoonbill on Brownsea and an amazing 13 Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost with a Merlin. The White-tailed Eagle pair were in the Wareham Channel, a Wheatear was at RSPB Arne. It was also the Poole Harbour WeBS today and it was great to see the first Avocet ‘packs’ feeding together in their usual favoured feeding areas off Shipstal and in the mouth of Middlebere and Wytch Lake. There were already decent numbers of Wigeon and Teal across all sectors and there was a good count of 34 Knot off Round Island. At Lytchett Bay/Fields there were 7 Green Sandpiper, 1 Merlin and 2 Spotted Redshank. Finally there was a good candidate for an eastern/Siberian Lesser Whitethroat seen on Rempstone before WeBS but it soon disappeared unfortunately.

Avocet flock – Wytch Lake 

A colder but brighter day today made for an excellent Autumn Safari Cruise this morning. After the bad weather yesterday some birds were deciding to head on migration including an Osprey which came up off Brownsea and began circling high in the sky. Another was seen in the Wareham Channel heading towards Middlebere, presumably 511, which was seen later eating a fish at Coombe Heath. There were sightings of Osprey over Lake Pier and also in Holes bay so at least 3 birds still in the harbour today. Also from the boat this morning we saw 2 Marsh Harrier over Arne Moors and Swineham as well as 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Snipe and several migrating Meadow Pipit and Skylark. On Brownsea 5 Spoonbill gave a good flyover in addition to 45 being on the Lagoon. Also present were 5 Grey Plover, c200 Avocet, 7 Greenshank, 1 Kingfisher, and 1 juvenile male Sparrowhawk.

In the Middlebere Channel alongside Osprey 511 were 1 Great White Egret, 1 Goshawk and a flyover Red Kite. Lytchett Fields had 1 Marsh Harrier, as well as 16 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank and 1 Curlew Sandpiper. The Forster’s Tern was still at Shipstal point, RSPB Arne. The Cormorant roost is also building up in the harbour with over 300 coming in to roost in the Piddle valley.

Osprey 511 – Middlebere – Mark Wright

Great White Egret – Middlebere Channel – Mark Wright

Another excellent school bird boat round the harbour this morning with some very good species to show the kids. The first passage Red-throated Diver of the season was in the Wareham Channel and all the children got their binoculars on it with encouraging levels of enthusiasm! An Osprey also flew over the boat along the Arne shoreline, unfortunately it was while the kids were eating their snacks downstairs! Luckily good views of at least 2 Marsh Harrier around Swineham made up for this. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Spoonbill gave great views with 74 being present along with c150 Avocet, 10+ Grey Plover and c200 Oystercatcher. From Poole Quay 2 Ringed Plover were on the rocks and a Peregrine flew over the town.

Elsewhere in the harbour at Lytchett Fields there were 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank and 3 Greenshank. The 1 Red-breasted Merganser was still in Brands Bay along with 1 juvenile Osprey, 1 Peregrine, 5 Pintail, 1 Avocet, 6 Grey Plover, 2 Sanderling, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Red Knot and 1 Greenshank. In Holes Bay 1 Spoonbill and 1 Cattle Egret were present NW first thing, but they soon departed and a Peregrine was seen hunting in the area. A Ruff was on the scrapes at Swineham and the Forster’s Tern is still around, showing well at Shipstal from RSPB Arne.

One of two Sanderling – Brands Bay – @HargraveClive on Twitter