It almost felt wintery this morning with the cold still conditions seeing many pairs of gloves being deployed for the first time this season. That said, the birding was still great, meaning the cold was just an inconvenient side effect for those that made it out. There were an impressive 10 Glossy Ibis in the harbour today with 9 at Lytchett Fields and 1 in Middlebere. Theres a really good chance this flock size could continue to grow with nearly c1000 across the country currently. Also in Middlebere today were 3 Great White Egret, 1 Osprey, 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 White-tailed Eagle and 1 Marsh Harrier. At Swineham 2 Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Ruff and 10 Dunlin were on the Curlew Pools, 3 Marsh Harrier were off Swineham Point and Pintail are now appearing at multiple sites with 18 in Middlebere, 3 in Brands Bay and 10 in Holes Bay. Avocet numbers are also increasing with c400 in Middlebere and 200+ on Brownsea. On Wareham Common 14 Cattle Egret were feeding with the cattle, the Brownsea Lagoon held 82 Spoonbill, and later in the day 27 were on Shipstal.

Evolving winter scene with Spoonbills, Avocet and Teal – Middlebere – @dizzygirl66.bsky.social