There was a good candidate for a 2nd winter Caspian Gull on the Stilt Pools as Swineham this AM, found by Phil Bentley. Despite their growing presence in southern Britain in recent years, they’re an incredibly hard bird to find in Poole Harbour, even more so one that sticks around for longer than 10 minutes! Sadly this bird didn’t stick around either, but there’s every chance it may reappear over the coming days? There’s also currently a big arrival of Yellow-browed Warbler into the UK cu due to the strong easterly airflow thats been bed in for the last week. Although none have been seen in the harbour recording area yet, a couple have already reached Dorset (Abbotsbury and The Fleet) which is pretty unprecedented to have Dorset records so early in September. Traditionally ‘YBW’ were always a late autumn arrival with most records coming in October. These early Dorset records show there’s good numbers in the UK already with the east coast currently covered in them! The last big arrival was in 2016 and Poole Harbour had it’s fair share with 15-20 individuals logged. One of the easiest ways to locate them is by their call. Below is an example from Knoll Beach, Studland on the 31/10/14. Be careful though as Coal Tit have a very similar call which can be confused with Yellow-browed Warbler. Elsewhere today, Ospreys were recorded in Brands Bay, Middlebere and the Wareham Channel. The Brownsea Lagoon held 73 Spoonbill, 115 Avocet, 23 Greenshank, c100 Dunlin, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit and c50 Ringed Plover. At Lytchett Fields the Curlew Sandpiper remained along with the Spotted Redshank. A Great White Egret was in Middlebere with 2 Marsh Harrier.

Potential Caspian Gull – Swineham Stilt Pools – Phil Bentley

Current UK Yellow-browed Warbler distribution – Birdguides