Another blissful late autumn day with bright sunshine and autumnal tones to set the scene. Redwing were arriving at dawn, along with the first real passage of Fieldfare with several groups over Hartland, the Piddle Valley and Arne. The Snow Bunting was still near Redhorn Quay, Studland and a redhead Goosander was in Shell Bay. An incredible total of 8 Long-tailed Duck flew into the harbour at dawn which is we believe one of the highest totals for this species in several decades. They could be just be on passage but really hope they stay for the winter. At Lytchett Bay a ringtail Hen Harrier was logged and also at Middlebere where there were 3 Marsh Harrier. A dawn watch logged 11 different Marsh Harrier depart the west harbour roost and in Brands Bay the Scaup was still around with 2 Goldeneye and 9 Red-breasted Merganser. In Holes Bay NE there were 1094 Wigeon. Red Kite were seen over Fleetsbridge and Hartland. No sign of male White-tailed Eagle G461 today.

Goosander with Brent Geese – Shell Bay – @BirderOtbt on Twitter

White-tailed Eagle on Brownsea Lagoon yesterday from Bird boat – Stuart Pentland

Well, where do we start today? Plenty around the harbour to whet the appetite. Lets start early doors where someone seemed to order some Goosanders with a drake in Shell Bay which later moved into the harbour, another off Arne and one photographed over Lytchett Bay. At Sandbanks 13,750 Wood Pigeon passed over SW. Only one Hen Harrier was seen today which was a ringtail (young male) seen near Hartland and up to 7 different Marsh Harrier were logged around the Wareham Channel, Middlebere and Lytchett Bay. The Snow Bunting was off Redhorn Quay again, Studland as were 2 Great White Egret. At Lytchett Bay the late Whinchat was still in the Arable field and a Jack Snipe was flushed. A Common Sandpiper was in Holes Bay and in Middlebere there was a great range of species including 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 Great White Egret, c200 Avocet, c50 Redshank, 100+ Black-tailed Godwit, c100 Lapwing, c10 Dunlin, 10+ Shelduck, 40+ Curlew, 100s Wigeon & Teal plus Shoveler, several Pintail. A Scaup was still present in Brands Bay and a Common Scoter was off the Houseboats.

Finally, the highlight of the day was the reappearance of male White-tailed Eagle G461. He was seen in the Wareham Channel this morning trying to take a Canada Goose off the water before later being seen over Middlebere and then over Arne. However, at 1pm our Low-tide cruise departed Poole Quay with 50 guests, hoping to see a whole range of waders and wildfowl across the harbour. With an initial stop off at the Brownsea Lagoon to have a sneaky peek in the lagoon before the tide dropped, we were thrilled to find that G461 had also decided to visit the lagoon at exactly the same, giving stunning views at he flew low across the water before then settling on a small post in the middle of the lagoon.

This was a very special moment, one we had never even considered just 5 years ago, and here we are now, being able to show big groups of people wild White-tailed Eagles in Poole Harbour……just amazing. A few weeks ago we wrote about these exciting changes, whilst also providing some context around how this new feature fits into a much wider, exciting narrative. You can read the article HERE.

Goosander – Arne – Mark Wright

White-tailed Eagle – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

Poole Town Eagle – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle – Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland

Snow Bunting – Redhorn, Studland – Garry Hayman

Without doubt, the best day of the autumn so far weather-wise, just stunning. Frost and ice on the ground at dawn, followed by a blast of late autumn warmth by mid-afternoon prompting Common Darter dragonfly, singing grasshoppers, both Red Admiral and Peacock Butterfly to all appear and Common Chiffchaff to be in full song in a few places.

Wood Pigeon were on the move, possibly pre-empting a big push over the next couple of days? Flocks of several thousand were logged elsewhere in Dorset and with northerly winds and clear sky’s forecast for the next few mornings, there could be many more on the move. The Snow Bunting was again on Redhorn Point, Studland where 2 Scaup were on the water with 2 Goldeneye, 44 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe and a Great White Egret over Brands Bay. A Marsh Harrier was over Little Sea, Studland and both the ringtail Hen Harrier and the adult male were seen in Middlebere. Off Middle Beach, Studland there were 5 Common Scoter and a Black-necked Grebe. In Holes Bay the Barnacle Goose was still with the Canada Geese. Redwing were on the move this morning with birds arriving from the north and a couple of Brambling were heard over the Piddle Valley. A couple of ringing sessions were carried out at dawn at a couple of sites in the harbour with 13 Redwing ringed along with Cetti’s Warbler, Stonechat, 3 Blackcap and 3 Chiffchaff. At dusk 98 Magpie entered the Hatch Pond roost.

Redwing – Piddle Valley – Alison Copland

The highlight of today’s sightings was the Snow Bunting seen at Studland at Redhorn Point throughout the afternoon. The last Snow Bunting report in the harbour was in Feb/March of 2017 at Shell Bay, so we are long overdue another sighting! Studland continued to provide sightings today, with a count of Brands Bay from Redhorn providing 320 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 150 Dunlin, 30 Ringed Plover, 5 Pintail, 17 Turnstone, 20+ Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Knot and 1 Great White Egret and 1 Scaup. Later this afternoon, an increase with another 5 Scaup off Goathorn logged, meaning 6 in total.

Over in Holes Bay, a full wader count in the early afternoon reported 56 Avocet, 403 Black-tailed Godwit, 52 Curlew, 68 Dunlin, 1 Lapwing, 31 Oystercatcher and 207 Redshank, as well as the Barnacle Goose still being present. 13 Brent Geese were reported in Lytchett Bay, as well as the Whinchat still present in the arable field at Lytchett Fields. The Red-breasted Merganser was still present in Poole Park this morning. There have been plenty of harrier reports today, with Marsh Harrier sightings in Lytchett Bay, over Lytchett Fields and at Little Sea at Studland. A second ringtail Hen Harrier was present hunting over Arne Moors with the juvenile this morning, its slow and methodical hunting evidencing it was a female. 1 Hen Harrier was also reported in the Middlebere Channel this morning, as well as 3 Great White Egret. A scan of the Upton Allotments this morning provided no sightings of the Hoopoe, and with no further reports this afternoon, so it’s possible the bird has moved on.

Snow Bunting – Redhorn Point – @BirderOtbt on Twitter

A male Hen Harrier seen in the Middlebere Channel around 2:30pm, where a Ringtail individual was also present a couple of hours later. A group of 9 Spoonbill were feeding on the high tide, including one colour ringed individual trying to swallow a whole Dab! Feedback today from the Dutch group Werkgroep lepelaar identified another (or perhaps the same) ringed individual ‘NB97’ seen two days ago on Brownsea Lagoon as a juvenile ringed on 5th August this year at Vlieland. Now is also the perfect time to keep an eye out for other colour ringed species such as Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit as they move in from other populations for the winter!

Also present at Middlebere this afternoon were Marsh Harrier, Great White Egret, 1 Knot, 1 Ruff, 5 Spotted Redshank, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50 Black-tailed Godwit, 50 Avocet, 10 Oystercatcher, 20 Grey Plover, 30 Dunlin, along with a few each of Pintail, Gadwall and Wigeon in amongst approximately 300 Teal.

Swineham was decidedly more quiet this morning, with the only waders being 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Curlew and 6 Lapwing. The usual group of Greylag and Canada Geese had meanwhile moved across to Arne Moors. The Gravel Pit was also largely cleared out, with the number of Great Crested Grebe down to a single individual.

On the northern side of the harbour, 201 Oystercatcher were sheltered along the shore at Baiter Park and a female type Red-Breasted Merganser took refuge in Poole Park. Holes Bay held 2 Avocet, 3 Dunlin, and 1 Shelduck in amongst several hundred Black-tailed Godwit and Wigeon. The female Peregrine was also present on the Asda building.

Not to much to report from Lytchett Bay with the water levels exceptionally high, however the Whinchat was still present in the arable field. There have been no reports of the Hoopoe anywhere around Lytchett Bay, Hamworthy or Upton today, so perhaps it has finally moved on or is merely sheltering from storm in a nearby garden… Time and better conditions in the coming days will surely tell.

Juvenile Dutch Spoonbill ‘NB97’ (29/10/21) – Brownsea Lagoon – Martin Adams 

A count from Coombe Viewpoint this morning looking over the Middlebere Channel produced 24 Pintail, 88 Redshank, 100 Dunlin, 81 Wigeon, 1o Lapwing, 602 Teal, 101 Avocet, 12 Grey Plover, 1 Great White Egret, 1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk and 2 Marsh Harrier. 1 Spotted Redshank and 3 Spoonbill were reported from Brownsea Lagoon this afternoon, as well as the building numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, and Avocet. Over in Brands Bay, 5 Black-necked Grebe were seen this pm. On Baiter, 200 Oystercatcher were counted on the playing fields, as well as a feeding frenzy of 100+ Cormorant in Parkstone Bay. There was also a juv-1st winter Little Stint on the Brownsea Lagoon.

Cormorant – Shell Bay – @BirderOtbt  on Twitter

Here at Birds of Poole Harbour, we love this time this time of year. So many exciting species can be encountered as they pass through on their epic migrations. An adult male Hen Harrier is scarcely observed here in the harbour these days, however an adult male graced Hartland Moor today while a nearby male Merlin dashed around Soldiers Road chasing down migrant finch flocks. Lytchett Bay also weighed in on the action, attracting an un-ringed Water Pipit on Pool Field, a Jack Snipe in Approach Field and the (semi)long-staying Hoopoe putting on another performance. Moving into the urban sprawl, Baiter Park clocked 226 Oystercatcher and 15 Turnstone. Brownsea Lagoon held 339 Avocet, 381 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Brent Goose, 38 Ringed Plover, 9+ Greenshank, 4 Spoonbill and singles of Spotted Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Knot. To finish it all off, a White-tailed Eagle was seen perching on a distant fence line to the left of Middlebere hide around midday. This evening in Brands Bay there were 42 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Black-necked Grebe, 54 Brent Geese, 44 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Goldeneye and 1 Scaup. Brownsea Lagoon held 339 Avocet, 381 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Brent Geese, 38 Ringed Plover, 9+ Greenshank singles of Spotted Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit and Knot plus 4 Spoonbill.

White-tailed Eagle (yesterday) – Middlebere – Nigel Gidney

Merlin (yesterday) – Middlebere – Nigel Gidney

A great array of sightings today, with a Ring Ouzel at Hartland Moor this afternoon being one of the highlights. The White-tailed Eagle has stayed around again, being seen in the Middlebere Channel this morning, along with a count of 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Great White Egret, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 740 Avocet, 630 Black-tailed Godwit, 95 Redshank, 32 Grey Plover, 300 Dunlin, 26 Oystercatcher, 13 Curlew, 130 Teal and 65 Wigeon. A Merlin was also reported from the Shipstal Hide at RSPB Arne this morning.  Numbers of Wigeon surpassed 1000 in Holes Bay this morning, with a count of 1083, as well as 26 Shoveler, 15 Pintail, 39 Avocet, 2 Greenshank, 2 Spoonbill and the Barnacle Goose amongst the c.600 Canada Geese.

The Hoopoe is still present at the Upton Allotments, visible throughout the day. Please remember to stick to the guidance set out by the Lytchett Bay Partnership and the Allotment Association as to not damage the area and disturb the bird, as well as being respectful to the residents. The Allotment Association are happy for the bird to be viewed from the car park, and request that people do not go beyond that area and remember to close the gate behind them.

Curlew – Middlebere Channel – Kate Plater

A decent exploration around the harbour yielded some good returns including a Black Brant in the Wareham Channel 5-6 Marsh Harrier between Keysworth and Arne Moors. At Brands Bay there was a Great White Egret and a high count of 51 Spoonbill were between Shipstal and Brownsea. The first 3 Goldeneye of the winter were off Furzey Island and c15 Red-breasted Merganser and the Scaup were still in South Deep/off Jerry’s Point. In the mouth of the River Piddle there were 8 Little Grebe and 3 Kingfisher with 2 Green Sandpiper on Arne Moors and a flock of 21 Common Snipe were over Swineham with 3 Swallow too. There was also a Swallow and 2 House Martin logged at Lytchett Bay whilst searches went on for the Hoopoe which was seen a couple of times today around the allotment. Last night a lamping session near Sunnyside logged c10 Jack Snipe with 5 caught including two re-capturers from early 2021 and Feb 2020, plus the first 2 Woodcock of the winter were seen. The Brownsea Lagoon was looking decent with c20 Ringed Plover, c200 Dunlin, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, c12 Greenshank, c100 Avocet and 3 (of the 51) Spoonbill. A late Hobby was over Arne Moors and a Merlin was dashing about and both the juv and adult male Hen Harriers were both seen today at Middlebere. A new Water Pipit was seen at Lytchett Fields yesterday and there was a Cattle Egret there today too.

Hen Harrier – Middlebere – PennHillMan

Jack Snipe – Sunnyside