Some nice coverage today with a decent list of birds from around the harbour. It started at dawn where a Short-eared Owl was found hunting up on Ballard Down. Migrant wise up on Ballard it was fairly quite with a few Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler and 1 Blackcap. Its great to see so many Yellowhammer about though with c10 seen. Off Middle Beach there were 3 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Common Scoter, 1 Gannet and 3 Sandwich Tern. At Challow Hill it was much of the same with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer, Dartford Warbler, Linnet and a couple of Swallow through. The Swineham flood still had the Little Ringed Plover on it with another 3 on another flooded pool near by and many Cetti’s Warbler singing in the area. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen briefly in the Corfe River Valley. The Soldiers Road and Hartland area displaying Greenfinch and singing Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. At dusk an Osprey flew over South Haven, Studland whilst at the same site during the morning just Willow Warbler and Blackcap were the only new arrivals in with just a single Sanderling on Shell Beach. At Lytchett Bay the Green-winged Teal was on Sherford Pools and a Marsh Harrier passed through with ‘Storkwit’ (the albino Black-tailed Godwit) still feeding in the bay on the low tide. In Poole Harbour west the Hen Harrier was still present. 

Lesser -spotted Woodpecker – Corfe River Valley

Yellowhammer – Challow Hill

Short-eared Owl – Ballard Down

Adder – Hartland Moor