Sighting of the day has to go to a Great White Egret on the main Poole Park boating lake this morning. Admittedly they’ve become a regular species across the county in the last couple of years, but for them now to just be ‘turning up’ in the centre of Poole is quite incredible. It didn’t stay too long and soon flew up and off towards Holes Bay. At Holton Lee there was a Marsh Harrier and on Holton Pools 1 Green Sandpiper and 4 Black-tailed Godwit. Off Poole Quay a Common Guillemot was bobbing around on the water and in Bramble Bush Bay there was 5 Eider, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 28 Red-breasted Merganser, 10 Ringed Plover and a Peregrine. There was a report of a Long-eared Owl flying around at twilight on top of Hartland which if confirmed would be the first for the harbour since April 2013! In Lytchett Bay there were 100+ Avocet along with good numbers of Teal and Wigeon with a Green Sandpiper and 40+ Lapwing on Lytchett Fields.

Common Guillemot – Poole Quay – P Brown

Great White Egret – Poole Park – Ian Ballam