Despite the forecast, it seems there were still plenty of people out, dodging the showers and hopefully trying to gather some data for our Big Poole Harbour spring count. Rain for parts of the day hampered a percentage of coverage, but dry spells certainly seemed productive. There were 13 Cattle Egret in the Frome Valley, 1 Great White Egret in the Wareham Channel and of course multiple Little Egret, meaning the ‘egret hat-rick’ was completed for the count. Cuckoo were calling on Slepe Heath (2), at Swineham (2), in the Frome Valley (1) and at Greenlands Farm (1). Up the Frome Valley and around Bog Lane the female Mandarin was seen and there was a female type Marsh Harrier too, along with 1 Hobby and c50 Swift with c100 Swallow and Sand Martin. In Shell Bay, Studland a Great Northern Diver circled the bay and there were also 2 Gannet and also 14 Sanderling on the beach. At Swineham 5 Common Sandpiper were around the edge of the main gravel pit and there were 4 Marsh Harrier off the end of the point. From our ‘Up with the Lark’ cruise this morning 6 Bearded Tit were counted in the mouth of the Frome, plus 2 Wheatear, several Bar-tailed Godwit and c30 Dunlin on the Brownsea Lagoon. The 3 Brent Geese in Brands Bay were a welcome addition to the day list, as were all the local breeding/singing records of Woodlark, Skylark, Tree Pipit, Blackcap, Reed and Sedge Warbler, Water Rail, Redshank, Lapwing and even potentially 2 Curlew nests too. The Peregrines on Barclays were active on and off throughout the day and it also looks as if female White-tailed Eagle, G801 may be on her way back south (to the harbour)? having ventured up to Yorkshire and Cleveland. Other new passerine arrivals included a Spotted Flycatcher in Lytchett Bay, a Lesser Whitethroat in the Frome Valley and Wareham high street had 11 Swift bombing up and down this evening.

Spotted Flycatcher – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Stunning day with good birds. Pulses were racing briefly from our Up with the lark cruise this AM when a ‘ringtail’ harrier was seen flying along Arne Moors, but only distantly before it disappeared. The date suggested it was likely to have been Montagu’s Harrier, but fortunately it re-appeared several minutes later high over Bestwall and showed all features of a ringtail Hen Harrier. There were also 4 Wheatear on the sea wall off Poole Quay. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were c50 Dunlin, 3 Avocet, c150 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ringed Plover and 3 Knot. In the mid- Frome Valley there were 12 Cattle Egret and also 2 Curlew were heard possibly suggesting breeding. There were 2 Hobby over Slepe Heath, one over Middlebere and 1 over Holme Lane. In Middlebere there were 4 Spoonbill and on Lytchett Fields there were 9 migrant Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover and a Whimbrel. There was a Red Kite over Upton and a pair of Mandarin around Bog Lane.

Mandarin Duck (female) – Bog Lane – OTBT Birder (Twitter – @BirderOtbt)

There was another decent arrival of Swift with good numbers now over Corfe, Wareham and Swineham, with decent sized groups moving high up the river valleys throughout the day. At the top of the Wareham Channel 2 Marsh Harrier were moving about and 2 Hobby were over Swineham GP. On the Swineham Pools there were 6 Ringed Plover this evening and a Cuckoo was calling. On Slepe Heath last night there were a minimum of 3 Nightjar and also 3 Cuckoo calling and moving about too. At East Holme 2 Spotted Flycatcher were logged and there was another at Greenlands Farm.

Spotted Flycatcher – East Holme – Rob Johnson

Another magical morning out on Morden Bog for our ID Course opened with singing Cuckoo and male Goshawk overhead before we’d even left the car park. Two pairs of Yellowhammer welcomed us onto the heath as Meadow Pipit and Skylark song flights dominated the skies. Ambling around the heath soon picked up numerous Dartford Warbler – at one point we enjoyed close views of the bird photographed below carrying food to the chorus of Tree Pipit and Cuckoo in the background it was hard to know which direction to look! Two Tree Pipits gave good views and even better vocalisations, offering brilliant comparisons between Meadow and Tree Pipits. A female Marsh Harrier made a couple of appearances during the walk which made for an unexpected, but welcome surprise! Throw in singing Willow Warbler, Blackcap, fly-by Raven, Swift, Swallow, Sand Martin, Stonechats feeding recently fledged young that narrowly missed a Sparrowhawk(!) and confiding Siskin, and the morning ended on quite the species list. We added more dates to the Morden Bog courses as the sold out in record time and you can browse our last remaining tickets here.

Elsewhere around the harbour, yesterdays Red-necked Phalarope sadly seemed to move on over night but there were still 98 Sanderling on Studland Beach with a few Dunlin. Swift, Swallow and House Martin seemed to be arriving with decent groups passing high overhead and there was an Osprey later in the afternoon over Morden Bog.

Morden Bog Dawn Chorus ID Course

Dartford Warbler – Morden Bog Dawn Chorus ID Course

Rain in mid-May with a southerly airflow is always likely to ‘down’ a few birds and this afternoon a flock of summer plumaged Sanderling were located on Pilots Point, with a decent mix of Ringed Plover and Dunlin thrown in for good measure. Upon closer inspection this evening by Aidan Brown, the mixed flock of c100 birds was also found to contain a Red-necked Phalarope. A great Poole Harbour record. A sea watch from Branksome Chine produced 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Manx Shearwater, 9 Whimbrel and 3 diver sp, as well as an ‘asio’ owl species that headed from the Isle of Wight towards Studland but wasn’t identified. However, this evening a Short-eared Owl was seen in the dunes at Shell Bay, so was almost certainly this mornings mystery bird. A new Osprey was seen, this time over Morden Bog and was assumed to be a male due to the fact it had an identical underwing pattern to our male 022. He at the time was on the nest cam with CJ7, so we know it wasn’t him. From our Spring Safari Cruise this morning we managed to make the best of it before the rain set in with a decent number of Swift now back at Hamworthy along with c20 over Swineham GP. We also had multiple sightings of the local Marsh Harrier pairs, plenty of Common and Sandwich Tern, a distant Osprey caught a fish, and a flock of c30 summer plumaged Dunlin, 6 Black-tailed Godwit and 7 Curlew were in the Wareham Channel. At Middlebere there were 3 sum plum Cattle Egret on the mud with 4 Spoonbill also there and the first 2 Spotted Flycatcher of the year. There were also 5 sum plum Cattle Egret in the Lower Frome Valley.

Red-necked Phalarope – Pilots Point, Studland – Aidan Brown

Spotted Flycatcher – Middlebere – PennHillMan

Cattle Egrets – Middlebere – PennHillMan

Two new species for the year appeared today in the form of 2 Little Tern in lytchett Bay this morning and then 2 Roseate Tern on the Brownsea Lagoon this evening. In Brands Bay there were 3 late Brent Geese with 3 Whimbrel and more Red Kite were over the area with individuals over the Piddle Valley, Upton Heath and Slepe Heath. There were 4 migrant Knot including a summer plumaged individual on the Brownsea Lagoon and a summer plumaged Grey Plover.

Knot and Dunlin – Brownsea Lagoon – Clive Hargrave

With some cloud coming over by late afternoon there seemed to be a pulse of Swifts moving over the harbour, with several groups of 3-4 birds and then a flock of 10+ over Hartland. There were 4 Red Kite over Slepe Heath/Hartland and a Lesser Whitethroat in mid-Frome Valley next to the Bog Lane entrance by the Wareham bypass. A Nightjar was flushed from the ground next to Scotland Farm and there were limited numbers of waders at Lytchett Bay with 7 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plover, 5 Curlew and 4 Whimbrel. At Swineham this evening a Hobby was hunting over the gravel pit briefly and 2 Common Sandpiper were flying around, 2 Marsh Harrier were off Swineham Point as were 5 Bearded Tit.

Male Peregrine – Barclays House – Martin Adams

Today’s Spring Safari Cruise explored the harbour at low tide, creeping up the Wareham Channel until we ended up sat on the mud(!), enjoying 2 migrant Ospreys interact with the harbour as we reversed back into deeper waters. The first bird quickly caught a fish beyond the Gull Islands and surveyed the Arne peninsula in search of a suitable snag on which to feed. While being harassed by various Herring Gulls, a second bird soon appeared and began hovering over Rockley Channel before swiftly giving up and went in pursuit of the other Osprey. This new arrival of Ospreys into the UK is typical of immature, 3rd-calendar year birds returning en route to their natal sites, prospecting suitable nest sites/potential mates ahead of future breeding seasons. A Marsh Harrier then went on to flush the breeding gull colony off the Holton shoreline, creating an impressive spectacle as several thousand Black-headed Gulls took to the skies to mob the approaching raptor. The tour continued around the back of the islands and connected with c.10 Whimbrel scattered across the mudflats, with similar numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit on varying stages of their pre-breeding moult also occupying the southern shorelines. A couple of passes of Brownsea Lagoon to finish offered exceptional views of Common Tern, along with 3 late Turnstone, Wheatear and Sandwich Tern which were evident and vocal throughout the trip. As we returned to Poole Quay, a Mediterranean Gull flew low over the boat for all to enjoy. As the day progressed, 3 Red Kite skirted the Poole Harbour recording area airspace, picked up travelling SW from Lytchett Matravers.

Red Kite – Lytchett Matravers – Alison Copland

Red

With Night Heron having been logged in the harbour in two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) on almost exactly the same date in early May, we’ve placed several recorders out in areas with suitable habitat to see if we can find/log any Night Heron calls during the last couple of weeks. Yesterday we collected in the memory card from a recorder placed at Swineham and began analysing some files. We haven’t found Night Heron yet but have had several nice finds and have provided some examples below. firstly a Wood Sandpiper over the gravel pit on May 1st at around 9:30pm, also a pair of Common Sandpiper passing right over the microphone. Also logged so far has been a few Whimbrel, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, displaying Common Redshank and distant displaying Lapwing, a few Water Rail calls and a really annoying Sedge Warbler that decided to set up a territory right next to the mic, and sing all through the night! That said, we’ve purposely set the recorders to record the dawn chorus at each site too, and we’ve included a lovely five minute segment from early morning on May 2nd which comprises of mainly Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Cuckoo.

Talking of Reed Warbler, Holes Bay logged no less than 16 around the edges of the bay today. From the mouth of the Frome White-tailed Eagle G801 was seen flying around Keysworth, there were also 3 Marsh Harrier logged, and 1 Hobby over and 4 Cattle Egret were in the Frome Valley again. Below is a photo taken from one of our Spring Safari’s a few weeks ago, showing the plumage detail that the Cattle Egret are currently, which is just stunning.

Cattle Egret – Lower Frome Valley – Steve Laycock

Another beauty of a day, but some drizzle on it’s way tomorrow, possibly downing a few newly arrived migrants? We still haven’t logged our first Spotted Flycatchers yet, so well worth keeping an eye out on those fence lines and tree edges. Our early morning Morden Bog ID course was busy with birds, and even managed to find displaying/singing Common Snipe out on the bog. Also logged were 2 Cuckoo, plenty of singing Dartford Warbler, 4 Crossbill, 2 Yellowhammer, lots of singing Meadow Pipit, pass over Red Kite, Wheatear and Stonechats. On Brownsea today 3 Barnacle Geese plus a decent increase in tern numbers with 237 Sandwich Tern (2 eggs seen) plus 153 Common Tern and a possible Roseate Tern was reported. There were also 110 Black-tailed Godwit, 35 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Dunlin, 3 Knot, 1 Common Sandpiper & 4 Avocet. Yesterday evening there were 3 Cuckoo calling up on Middlebere/Slepe Heath and another Nightjar was heard near the entrance track of Middlebere. This afternoon there were 2 Swift over Corfe and at Swineham 1 Marsh Harrier, 8 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Cuckoo, 11 Great Crested Grebe and c20 Swallow. 

Barnacle Geese – Brownsea Lagoon – Martin Adams