Holes Bay saw quite a lot of focus, and a good number of people are really enjoying the urban Kingfishers. If you’re keen to see them, then now’s the time as they actually start heading back up the river systems in February and will be all but gone from the harbour fringes by late February. Holes Bay, Poole Park, even Shore Road, Sandbanks and Baiter all hold over-wintering Kingfisher. There seems to be 3-4 in Holes Bay north and south currently, and often shoot up the PCW Drain when the weather gets a bit wild. Also in Holes Bay there were good numbers of Shoveler, a Goldeneye and c30 Pintail with c10 Common Chiffchaff in the PCW Drain and the Siberian Chiffchaff. The/a Peregrine was back on the Asda building again. A pair set up a territory in this area last spring, commuting between the Asda building and the Barclays building. It seems they keen to breed somewhere in town, so we’d be really interested in any courtship/vocal interactions between the pair that anyone experiences over the next couple of months. Off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Slavonian Grebe and 7 Black-necked Grebe and a Great Northern Diver off Middle Beach. In Stoborough 2 Egyptian Geese were in fields near Sunnyside and there were another 2 along Holme Lane.

A frosty Siberian Chiffchaff – PCW Drain – Ian Ballam