After being away for a week it was nice to return today and host our second ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ public bird boat. A fully booked trip saw us head out in snow and finish with numb fingers and toes but that certainly didn’t hamper our enjoyment. A strange sight of a Sandwich Tern through dollops of snow got the trip underway and we were soon in to numerous Red-breasted Merganser and a few Great Crested Grebe. The lagoon was fairly busy giving good views of Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Shoveler, Wigeon, Gadwall and Brent Geese. Near the harbour mouth 2 Great Northern Diver passed close and then a fly by Common Scoter zoomed by. Round the back of all the islands more Mergansers and Brent Geese were feeding and in central harbour 5 Black-necked Grebe were bobbing around on the choppy waters. At Shipstal the over-wintering Spoonbill flock of 16 remained faithful to their usual spot and in the mouth of Middlebere Curlew, Avocet, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin were feeding in the draining channels. In Holes Bay the redhead Smew remained faithful to the NE corner and the Lesser Yellowlegs was out in Lytchett Bay on the low tide. At Greenland’s Farm a Firecrest was at the end of the track and on the drained Poole Park boating lake Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and a Turnstone were feeding close to the road on the mud.

Full species list from BoPH bird boat trip