A beautiful start to the day ended with more grey, wet murk, but that didn’t stop a good variety of birds being logged. A Woodlark survey in the south of the harbour produced several singing birds but a highlight was a small party of 9 Crossbill in conifers in the Corfe River Valley next to Wytch Oil Farm. There also seemed to have been a decent arrival/movement of Stonechat with males everywhere on southern harbour heathlands. On Upton Heath 10 Dartford Warbler were counted, 5 in full song and at Holton Lee there 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank and 3 Reed Bunting.

Other highlights included……..

Shell Bay saw 2 Red-breasted Mergansers and 1 Great Northern Diver.

Bramble Bush Bay; 3 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Jerry’s Point; 18 Red-breasted Mergansers, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Slavonian Grebes, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver, 2 Common Scoter.

Brand’s Bay; 102 Shelduck, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 157 Wigeon, 32 Teal, 33 Curlews, 136 Brent Geese, 3 Redshank, 6 Pintail, 10 Oystercatchers, 8 Grey Plover, 3 Turnstone, 13 Dunlin, 5 Great Crested Grebes.

Middle Beach; 2 Common Scoter, 3 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Great Crested Grebes.

Corfe Sewage Works, Norden; 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Siberian Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest.

Swineham; 10 Curlews, 10 Oystercatchers, 6 singing Cetti’s Warbler

Morden Bog offered good views of the Great Grey Shrike.