It’s been a better than average winter for Brambling this year, not necessarily all around Poole Harbour, but at inland sites that can often host several birds, flocks of 30-50 have been logged, meaning several are now turning up in the harbour area including the male that was on the feeders again at Lytchett Bay view point, at the end of Slough Lane, plus there were 2-3 in Upton CP too. As birds are also now beginning to move around due to springs fast approach, it would be well worth keeping an eye out on garden feeders as wandering Brambling could turn up anywhere. At Swineham the redhead Goosander was on the main pit again with several Cetti’s Warbler calling. The Cattle Egret is still on the opposite side of the valley in the cow field, viewable from the bottom of the Bog Lane footpath and there were 3 Egyptian Geese in the Valley along with 4 Green Sandpiper. Off Middle Beach, Studland there were 11 Common Scoter and 2 Slavonian Grebe with a scattering of Black-necked Grebe. The 3 Scaup were still off Redhorn and a Common Guillemot was off Poole Quay again. A Marsh Harrier flush 12 Spoonbill off Shipstal and in Brands Bay there were 2 Spoonbill 2 on the very far side of the marsh, 25 Grey Plover, 344 Black-tailed Godwit and Knot. Finally, the warmth of the sun this AM also made Woodlark active again up around Hartland.

Woodlark – Hartland area – Rob Johnson

There seemed to be a weekend lull with todays grotty weather obviously preventing/deterring folk from getting out birding. The only news from daylight hours were of a Spotted Redshank at Lytchett Bay, 1 Slavonian Grebe and 8 Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay and a Merlin off Shipstal.

However, some fascinating news last night from Stour Ringing Group who were out around the Sunnyside area where they caught several Jack Snipe, 1 Common Snipe and a Woodcock. Thats not unusual for anyone thats been on one of our Sunnyside ringing demos, in fact thats quite a typical catch. However, one the Jack Snipe and the Woodcock were in fact birds that had been caught and ringed at exactly the same spot in previous years by the group. Terry Elborn has kindly provided the details of each bird below.

• The Jack Snipe was first caught in March 2017, so was born at the earliest in 2016.
• The Woodcock was first caught in Nov 2016 and was aged as an adult then, so was born at least 2015 and so in its 8^th calendar year at least! How many miles has this bird done so far and how many gun shots avoided!!

We’re learning more and more about these nocturnal species and that winter site fidelity (reliance on the same site each winter) is key for birds like Woodcock and Jack Snipe, sometimes even being caught in the same 3m square patch of grass the following winter having (likely) flown to Russia and back in the mean time! Just incredible.

Woodcock (above) and Jack Snipe (below) – Terry Elborn

It was a bit quiet for sightings today, but 2 more Red Kite passed over Lytchett Bay and the male Brambling was on the feeders in the Pools Field again. The male Goshawk was once again seen over Middlebere and 2 Spotted Redshank were with the c200 Avocet. At Lytchett fields there was 1 Water Pipit.

Brambling – Lytchett Bay (Pools Field, end of Slough lane) – Peter Moore

Winter kicked back in today with a cold NW setting in after the mornings brief wet spell. Another bird boat headed out on the big high spring tide and saw the Brownsea Lagoon looking it’s best with c800 Dunlin, c200 Avocet, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, c100 Bar-tailed Godwit, c40 Grey Plover, 7 Greenshank, plenty of Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler, c100 Oystercatcher, several Sanderling and  Turnstone plus the rest! Elsewhere around the harbour 2 Guillemot were off Poole Quay, 1 Great Northern Diver was in central harbour, there weren’t too many Red-breasted Merganser but plenty of nice close fly by’s, at Swineham 2-3 Marsh Harrier were active and the Swineham scrapes had Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew and Dunlin on. At Lytchett fields a Brambling was on the feeders plus the ringtail Hen Harrier was seen in the bay and a female Merlin was over the fields too. On Baiter there were 5 adult Med Gulls and off Baiter 2 Goldeneye, whilst at the top end of the PCW Drain there were 7 Common Chiffchaff. 

Black-tailed Godwit – Brownsea Lagoon

Brambling – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Much of the same today, although it’s feeling more and more like (early) spring as each day goes by, with Common Wasp, Red Admiral Butterflies, daffodils and carpets of Snowdrops all reported and seen today. The ‘standard’ birds were once again c10 Black-necked Grebe off Middle Beach with 1 Great Northern Diver, off Jerry’s Point there were 4 Goldeneye with another 2 off Baiter. 19 Sanderling were in Bramble Bush Bay and the ringtail Hen Harrier was seen at Middlebere late afternoon.

Maybe some sea watching this weekend will produce a few late winter/early spring goodies seeing as it’s going to be blowing a hoolie!

Curlew – Arne – Mark Wright

We apologise for the late sightings post, but last night we hosted our last public ringing demo at Sunnyside which once again was a great success and was finished off perfectly with our first Lapwing caught during a demo. Although the birds seemed ‘jumpier’ last night and reluctant to stay still, we still managed to catch 3 Jack Snipe, 1 Woodcock, 1 Pied Wagtail and the Lapwing. Interestingly, one of the Jack Snipe was a re-trap from January 2020, and aged as a 1st winter back then, meaning it made it’s first migration to Poole Harbour in autumn 2019! And here we are in late winter 2022 and it’s returning to exactly the same area of fields. In total a minimum of 10 Jack Snipe were seen across the site, along with 8+ Woodcock, with 6 more seen up near Scotland Farm. At Swineham 2 Great White Egret now seem to be semi permanent on the pits, at Holes Bay, the first ‘passage’ Red Kite of the spring drifted over. These will become more frequent now as we move into March and April with peak passage seeming to occur in late April/early May. The male Goshawk was once again seen to bomb it’s way down through Middlebere and a male Merlin was on Hartland whilst the ringtail Hen Harrier was seen briefly near Middlebere. From Middle Beach, Studland there were 15 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 7 Common Scoter and 1 Great Northern Diver whilst off Redhorn Point, there were 4 Goldeneye and 3 Scaup. 

Jack Snipe – Sunnyside – Brittany Maxted

Lapwing – Sunnyside – Brittany Maxted

One down, two to go! January is now officially over. We’re never wanting to wish our lives away, but already spring can’t come soon enough. Plus, with news yesterday that one of our translocated Ospreys, female 019, was seen in the Gambia again, for a second winter in a row then the thoughts and dreams of returning spring and summer migrants will soon become a reality.  February definitely heralds the start of change with wader and waterfowl numbers often dropping considerably by the end of February. We lose a third of our Avocet during February, half our Spoonbill, and generally a third of all our wildfowl. So, if there are species you still need on your winter year lists then February is the time to get them.

Today 2 Hen Harrier were logged, with an adult male clocked in the Wareham Channel and a ringtail in Middlebere. The Common Sandpiper was in the mouth of the PCW Drain at Holes Bay, a Great White Egret was at Littlesea along with a Firecrest, a Spotted Redshank was in Holes Bay SW, in Middlebere there was another Great White Egret, 2 Spoonbill, 2 Spotted Redshank, 105 Avocet and 1 Marsh Harrier.

Finally, we have some numbers for you! The Big Poole Harbour Bird Count brings together the community to carry out an in-depth census of the birdlife in Poole Harbour, and we are excited to announce that the results are in! The Birds of Poole Harbour team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that got involved on the big day. Thanks to you, we have generated another incredible harbour-wide dataset, providing a fascinating insight into Poole Harbour’s important wintering birdlife. Explore the results and comb through the data from the record-breaking big day on our interactive webpage.

Join us for a virtual presentation exploring the data and run through of the highlights from the big day delivered by Birds of Poole Harbour on Thursday 10th February, 7:30PM to 8:30PM. Gain a deeper understanding of some of our most charismatic species, hear about the species that have fluctuating populations locally, and discover which species put in an unexpected appearance during the count. Register to watch the talk by booking a free ticket below. As always, donations are welcomed and hugely appreciated.

We’re keen to make this a quarterly tradition, dedicating one day during each season throughout the year to monitoring the birds in and around Poole Harbour. Hot off the press, the next Big Poole Harbour Bird Count will take place on Sunday 17th April 2022 and you’re all invited to join in! Get the date in your diaries.

Poole translocated female Osprey 019, photographed yesterday in the Gunjar Quarry area of the Gambia – Joanna Dailey

Everything aligned for today’s Low Tide Cruise, magical light and staggering abundance of birds. Most of our boats take place in the morning, so it was a real treat to watch the sun setting from the Wareham Channel as Spoonbill, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit fed frantically on the expansive mudflats and thousand’s of Common and Black-headed gull began their commute into the harbour to roost. Unusually, the best views of Marsh Harrier were picked up on Brownsea working the reedbeds that fringe the lagoon. The 3 Scaup put in an appearance in South Deep, and 2 Black-necked Grebe featured in the Central Harbour.  Two of the recent Tundra Bean Goose dropped into Lytchett Bay early doors before becoming unsettled by wildfowlers and reappeared in 13 Acre Field, Upton CP. Looking out into Studland Bay from Middle Beach offered 23 Black-necked Grebe and 12 Common Scoter. Continuing down to South Beach added Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe, 123 Dark-bellied Brent, 10 Mediterranean Gull and 1 Ring-necked Parakeet. Goshawk put in another fleeting appearance through Middlebere and the Holes Bay Common Sandpiper continues to show along with 3 Turnstone in Holes Bay SE. Small numbers of Knot, Grey Plover and Lapwing broke up the impressive carpet of Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit. A Peregrine caused a commotion while 4 Goldeneye and 22 Red-breasted Merganser observed offshore.

Sunset over Arne from today’s Low Tide Cruise – Brittany Maxted

Despite the low pressure system that came through, and the building wind, some goods were still delivered today in the shape of the 3 Tundra Bean Geese reappearing, this time on Lytchett Fields. Looking at bill and feather patterns it looks to be the same 3 from Upton CP, but the quaetion is, have they been around since the early New Year, but just hiding in a local field somewhere, or are they now passing back through en route to somewhere else? This is a first record for Lytchett Bay and a welcome return for many year listers that missed them on Jan 1st before they then disappeared.

We also hosted a low-tide cruise today which (despite the wind) produced good numbers of birds out across the mud, however open water species remain ‘scarce’ with only 1 Great Northern Diver logged, along with 3 Black-necked Grebe and only 5 Great Crested Grebe! Red-breasted Merganser were still well represented with c80 seen along with 2 Scaup and c15 Goldeneye. The Black Brant was seen round the back of Green Island along with c800 Brent Geese in total. Wildfowl numbers seemed reasonably high with Wigeon, Teal and Pintail all in good numbers along the tideline of the southern shores and in the Wareham Channel 10 Spoonbill were feeding, 2 Marsh Harrier were active and wader totals consisted of c400 Lapwing, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, 26 Grey Plover, c300 Dunlin and c80 Great Cormorant. In Middlebere on the high tide c500 Avocet were roosting.

Eurasian Spoonbill – Wareham Channel – Seb Haggart

Black Brant (central) – Southern Shore – Garry Hayman

Tundra Bean Geese – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam