It felt more like summer today than spring with glorious sunshine all day, although the distinct lack of hirundines still seems quite concerning. Swallow and Sand Martin have been arriving and a few are being seen at various sites but House Martin still seem rarer than hens teeth currently and Swifts (although still early) have been incredibly sparse. At Swineham though there were 50+ Reed Warbler this morning, 20+ Cetti’s Warbler, 8 Sedge Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 Cuckoo and 1 Hobby. In the Frome Valley there were 4 summer plumaged Cattle Egret at Holes Bay a late male Wigeon with 5 Reed Warbler around the fringes of Upton CP and 2 Whimbrel in the NE section.

Sedge Warbler – Frome Valley – Garry Hayman

Lovely conditions for the Spring Safari Cruise this morning, with a steady stream of Sandwich Tern activity around the boat through much of the trip. Cruising along the Wareham Channel, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit were present on the Arne shoreline, as well as 2 Whimbrel seen and an Osprey visible soaring high over the far-end channel. A White-tailed Eagle (likely G801) was distantly visible through the heat haze moving along the treeline at Keysworth, as well as 2 Marsh Harrier interacting over the reeds. Moving up the frome, the reedbed was active with sightings of Bearded Tit, Reed Bunting and the songs of Cetti’s, Reed and Sedge Warbler. The highlight of the trip was a brilliant display from a Hobby directly over the boat as we lingered near the scrapes at Swineham. This evening at Swineham there were 3 Little Ringed Plover and at Lytchett Fields a single Garganey, 1 Swift, 3 Little Ringed Plover and 3 Whimbrel. There were dat roosting Nightjar found on Brownsea and in Wareham Forest. A sea watch out in Poole Bay produced a single Little Gull and an Arctic Tern with a flock of c40 Common Tern and c80 Herring Gull. In Middlebere male Osprey 022 dropped in briefly and there were 3 Spoonbill, 1 Whimbrel and 1 Cuckoo. There was also a drake Garganey on the Brownsea Lagoon.

Nightjar – Brownsea DWT reserve – Nicki Tutton

Another muggy day, that certainly felt ‘rare’ but nothing Mediterranean turned up……yet! That said, 3 Great White Egret heading down the Piddle Valley at dawn certainly provided a taste of further south. That begs the question, with multiple Cattle Egret (17 last week), 3 Great White Egret still around and up to 7 Spoonbill still present, are these species breeding secretly somewhere in some tucked away corner of the harbour or in the river valleys or perhaps starting to claim territories? There were 5 Spoonbill in Middlebere today, all showing black tips to the primary wing feathers, highlighting they’re all 2nd cal year birds so unlikely to be breeding yet. There was a male Common Redstart on the end of Redhorn Quay and there were 2 Little Ringed Plover at Lytchett Fields. Whimbrel were numerous with individuals at Lytchett Bay, Brands Bay, Holes Bay and in Middlebere.

Spoonbill – Middlebere – Alison Copland

A gloomy day, but some interesting sightings none the less. There were 2 Brambling at South Haven, Studland which is a great early May record. Whilst at Greenlands Farm there were 4 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat and a Cuckoo. At Swineham this evening a fascinating vigil produced no less than 53 species whilst just standing in one spot, including passage Greenshank, Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper leaving the harbour in the dark, heading up the river valleys, also 4 Spoonbill again heading north just after dark, suggesting they roost somewhere perhaps in the Piddle Valley. Also c300 Sand Martin and and c150 Swallow feeding before going into roost. 1 Barn Owl, 2 Tawny Owl, 4 Bearded Tit, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 1 Cuckoo and 2 Marsh Harrier all complemented the list nicely. The first Nightjar of the spring/summer was churring from one of the heaths in between the Hartland and Rempstone. On the Brownsea Lagoon there was a newly arrived flock of c30 Dunlin and a single Spoonbill was still there and an Osprey was fishing in Lytchett Bay briefly at a Cuckoo was at Lytchett Fields.

Cuckoo – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Todays drizzle downed a few migrants, mainly hirundines and this mornings ‘Up with the Lark’ saw some new additions to yesterdays list too. The still conditions made looking and listening ideal (apart from the wet), but our cruise this morning returned female White-tailed Eagle G801 and 2 Marsh Harrier, including one carrying a dead Water Rail in the Wareham Channel. At Swineham there was a single Swift again with a decent flurry of Swallow and a Common Seal popped right up next to the boat. There was a Common Sandpiper in the mouth of the Frome and the Cetti’s, Sedge and Reed Warbler were singing along the river edge leading to Swineham GP. On the Brownsea lagoon there were 6 Spoonbill, along with 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Whimbrel and plenty more Sandwich and Common Tern. At lytchett Fields the 2 Garganey were out in the bay and there were also 20 Dunlin and 18 Ringed Plover through. At least 4 Greenshank and 13 Whimbrel were also present with 2 Little Ringed Plover. Later in the day there were 2 Hobby over Swineham and yesterdays total for Reed Warbler clocked 70 individuals, counted by Peter Moore.

Spoonbill – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

Common Seal – Wareham Channel – Alison Copland

Reed Bunting – Swineham – Alison Copland

April ended with a bang and a great range of spring species including another (different to earlier in the week) Black Kite which lingered on the southern harbour boundary near Corfe Castle/Church Knowle before drifting off NW towards Soldiers Road. At Lytchett Fields a Wood Sandpiper was on the fields and the Garganey pair re-appeared too, with 4 Whimbrel, 1 Ringed Plover and a Green Sandpiper also seen. Our ‘Up with the Lark’ cruise this morning saw a perfect dawn allow us to focus almost purely on bird sound for the first few hours with Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warbler all incredibly vocal along the Frome (totals from Peter Moore saw 52 Reed and 23 Cetti’s Warbler) as were multiple Bearded Tit at Swineham, 7 Cattle Egret, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Egyptian Geese, singing Redshank and Med Gulls passing over. White-tailed Eagle G801 was on the Holton shore and a Marsh Harrier was over Giggers Island. On Brownsea there were a few newly arrived summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit and c100 Black-tailed Godwit, along with 1 Spoonbill, 1 Greenshank and decent totals now of both Sandwich and Common Tern. There were also multiple Swallow and a single Swift over Swineham GP. There were 7 Whimbrel in Holes Bay along with a Common Sandpiper.

Oystercatcher – Brownsea – Dorothy Windall

There’s been a hive of Osprey activity today, with 1 hunting in Lytchett Bay this morning, and another seen in the Wareham Channel. Excitingly, CJ7 laid a third egg at 08:57, which is most likely going to complete the pair’s clutch. An unringed Osprey with a fish also put in an appearance on the livestream nest during the afternoon, before being warded off by 022. Otherwise, 5 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat and 1 Redstart were present along with a steady stream of Swallow at Greenland’s Farm in the late morning. Swineham also felt like spring, with 1 Swift, several Sand Martin and Swallow passing through during the morning.

Osprey – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

CJ7 after laying this morning

Another lovely spring day, with the birding highlight definitely being the appearance of a Black Kite, first identified in Langton Matravers at 08:30 this morning, before being refound entering the harbour area through the Ulwell Gap at around 10am. It was last seen heading east over the golf course, before being lost over Glebelands. The steady Swallow arrival has continued at Studland, as well as reports of 1 Hobby, 1 Swift and 4 House Martin over the harbour entrance. Further along at Greenlands Farm, 2 Whinchat, 3 Wheatear and 1 Cuckoo were present. 1 Cuckoo was also heard on Brownsea near the church, as well as a nice report that the Sandwich Terns are starting to settle on the islands. c.30 Common Tern are now also present on the lagoon, as well as the single Spoonbill seen again today. A great total of 17 Cattle Egret were reported south of the River Frome.

Black Kite – Rob Johnson

A real sense of migration today as no fewer than 5(!) different Osprey were logged in the harbour today, with 3 seen from today’s Spring Safari Cruise (and likely the same 3 seen later in the afternoon in the Wareham Channel) along with 1 Hobby, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Marsh Harrier and the first Swift of the season over Swineham. All adding to an impressive boat list that included 1 White-tailed Eagle, 1 Spoonbill and Avocet, several singing Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warbler. There was also a decent stream of Swallow passing low over the water during the whole trip along with a few House Martin and Sand Martin too. Meanwhile Lytchett Bay produced female Redstart tail flicking in Pools Field, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Wheatear, Whimbrel and re-appearance of the Garganey pair – not bad going at all! A further 2 Swifts were seen passing north over the Poole Harbour mouth, as well as 9 Swallow, Gannet, 10 Sandwich and 10 Common Tern.

As we cruise into May, Birds of Poole Harbour are running an exciting series of events to help learn about, experience & enjoy spring migration at its very best. Our Up With The Lark cruises offer a unique opportunity to tour the inaccessible areas of the harbour whilst bathing in bird sound. Learn how to separate singing warblers as we meander up the Frome Valley listening out for the beautiful songs of Cuckoo and Skylark.
Our Morden Bog Dawn Chorus ID Courses aim to unpack bird sounds, separating those tricky confusion species like Meadow and Tree Pipit, by combining vocalisations with field skills and breaking down of diagnostic plumage characteristics so you can head out this spring and approach bird ID with a newfound confidence and enthusiasm.

Unringed Osprey – RSPB Arne

Firecrest – Holme Lane – Peter Moore

Another stunning spring day with the great news that we’re pretty sure that at around 11:40 female Osprey CJ7 laid her second egg. Her behaviour and body movement indicated she was going through the motions before she then settled and started incubating again. This is fantastic and leaves plenty of time to potentially see another one be laid later in the week. A clutch of three is common, but ones and twos are frequent too. We’re obviously now in it for the long haul, waiting until we see signs of life from within the nest, but until then, lets see how well 022 and CJ7 take their incubation duties. Another Osprey (possibly 022) was seen with a fish over Lytchett Fields at 8:30am. The Garganey pair was also still on Lytchett Fields this morning. Female White-tailed Eagle G318 was seen to leave the harbour over Keysworth before being seen over Morden too. In the Lower Frome Valley there were 5 Cattle Egret and 1 Great White Egret along with 2 singing Sedge Warbler and 3 Reed Warbler. Last night 3 Spoonbill flew low over Swineham GP heading north and today another was on the Brownsea Lagoon. There was a Red Kite over Lytchett Heath along with 2 Peregrine. 

Garganey pair – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam