July leading into August is Yellow-legged Gull season and even though Poole Harbour hosts the only pure bred breeding pair in the UK we see an influx of these birds every year from southern Europe. In Middlebere there were 9, at Brands Bay there were 6 and in Holes Bay 3. The adults are bigger and bulkier than Herring Gull with a darker mantle (back) and of course they have yellow legs. However, so do Lesser Black-backed Gulls but these tend to be a bit smaller and daintier. Also in Brands Bay were 32 Black-tailed Godwit, 47 Curlew and 2 Whimbrel. On the Brownsea Lagoon 8 Avocet were still present with 2 Spotted Redshank. On Lytchett Fields up to 10 Green Sandpiper were tucked up in amongst the grass and reeds with 500+ Black-tailed Godwit, 60 Redshank, 61 Lapwing, 4 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 5 Common Sandpiper, 2 Dunlin, 1 Ruff, 1 Garganey and a Hobby.

Garganey – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam