With only nine days until November there certainly seemed to be a wintery vibe today, not so much the weather but the birds…..It could have easily have been mid December!!

The first Scaup of the ‘winter’ was seen off Green Island with 6 Red-breasted Merganser too. In Brands Bay/Bramble Bush Bay there were 6 Black-necked Grebe, 6 Common Scoter, 8 Red-breasted Merganser and 1 Great White Egret. There’s been a build up of dark-bellied Brent Geese with a minimum of 300 spread across the harbour with birds at Shipstal, Ower Bay, Middlebere and the Wareham Channel. There were 3 different Marsh Harrier at Swineham and ringtail Hen Harriers were seen at Godlingston and the mouth of the Frome near Swineham. Bearded Tit were also very vocal and active at Swineham with a minimum of 20 lifting in and out of the reedbed and on the gravel pit there were 8 Pochard. A Merlin and a Peregrine were sat on posts along the Keysworth shoreline and an Osprey was seen over Holes Bay briefly with a fish. Avocet were represented in good numbers with c100 on the Brownsea Lagoon and another c200 in the mouth of the Frome. Skylark seemed to be moving too with several over Swineham heading north. In total 187 Cormorant arrived into the harbour from the north and settled on the Brownsea shoreline. Off Hamworthy Beach 3 Sandwich Tern were feeding and several Kingfisher were seen. In total 37 Spoonbill were seen feeding around the Arne peninsular.

Spoonbill – Arne 

Scaup – Furzey Island shoreline