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 

Today the Hoopoe reappeared again in the allotments at Upton and showed on and off throughout the day but did disappear for lengthy periods. Just a polite reminder that the allotment owners request that birders please stay at the car park area and not wander off around the allotment plots trying to find the bird. There was quite a bit of Marsh Harrier activity in the Wareham Channel with some birds expressing territorial behaviour plus there was a juv male Hen Harrier bombing between the Slepe Heath/Wareham Channel area. At Lytchett Bay a single Spotted Redshank was on the fields with 105 Dunlin. Also 12 Swallow passed over late afternoon. There was a sighting of 4 possible Bearded Tit rising from the reed beds at Holes Bay NW. At dusk 3 Cattle Egret flew of Swineham where decent numbers of Teal, Wigeon and Shoveler were on the ‘Stilt Pools’.

Hoopoe – Slough Lane, Upton – Ian Ballam

October is fizzling out fast and we’re yet to see any big thrush passages yet other than a bout two weeks ago when the first (small) rush pushed through. No Redwing, Fieldfare or Song thrush were logged on our Ballard walk this AM but and stunning adult male Ring Ouzel dropped out of the sky next to our group. Also up around Ballard were c25 Stonechat, 5 Skylark, small passages of c100 Linnet, 5+ Rock Pipit and out in Studland Bay there were 5 Black-necked Grebe, 7 Common Scoter and 3 Razorbill along with 7 Shag. There were also 2 active Peregrine up over Ballard and 13 latish Swallow. Bird of the day was a Hoopoe discovered in the allotments along Slough Lane at Lytchett Bay. Also at Lytchett Fields a new Water Pipit was colour ringed with the code ‘4k’ so please keep an eye out if visiting the site over the coming months. Also a new scheme has started to colour ring Rock Pipit in the harbour and the first was ringed today with the code ‘AA’, so also another series of birds to take note of and report if seen. There were 2 Great White Egret at Little Sea, Studland and the Scaup was still off Jerry’s Point. On Brownsea there were only 40 Spoonbill today and also a late Common Sandpiper. Out in the Wareham Channel a new Hen Harrier was working with a new Merlin to hunt out Meadow Pipit whilst a second Merlin was on Hartland. There are also up to 6 Marsh Harrier still preset in the west harbour area.

Hoopoe – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

A perfect autumn day weather wise, but a bit quiet on the bird front. The main highlight was the return of the Black Brant at Arne. What we assume is the same returning bird from the last couple of years was seen off Shipstal this afternoon with a small Brent Goose flock. The White-tailed Eagle was seen again briefly over the Wareham Channel but then disappeared. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 52 Spoonbill and there was more evidance of Bearded Tit dispersal with 2 seen along the Boardwalk at Holes Bay where there were also 605 Black-tailed Godwit. In Brands Bay 2 Great White Egret were seen again and a Glossy Ibis was reported over Middlebere.

Black Brant – Shipstal, RSPB Arne – Andy Millar

Another good day today with plenty recorded including several sightings of male White-tailed Eagle G461 firstly over Arne, then Middlebere, then Brands Bay and finally he was spotted from Poole Quay by some of our team as he circled over Brownsea before settling somewhere on the north shore. This is really encouraging that he keeps coming back. Will this just be an area of interest for him this winter, or is he already beginning to think a bit ‘longer term’? After moaning earlier in the week we didn’t have any Cattle Egret 6 flew over Swineham this evening heading over the Wareham Channel. Around mid-morning 5 Barnacle Geese entered the harbour mouth and headed inland and in Brands Bay there were 3 Great White Egret, 1 Scaup, 13 Red-breasted Merganser and 14 Great Crested Grebe. There are still at least 5 different Marsh Harrier around a Red Kite was over Middlebere. There was a single Black-necked Grebe off Middle Beach, Studland and 7 Bearded Tit were reported at Hatch Pond. At Lytchett Fields there was a Spotted Redshank but there was no sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper. At Sunnyside a Jack Snipe was flushed at the flooding in the Frome and Piddle Valley’s attracted good numbers gulls and to add to the wintery vibe both the seasons first Fieldfare were over Wareham Common and a Brambling was at Knoll Beach.

Male White-tailed Eagle G461 – Brownsea Island – Nicki Tutton

More strong winds, but at least some bright sunshine…for a while! The strong winds didn’t seem to force too much into Poole Bay other than 2 Arctic Tern which entered the harbour mouth at dawn along with 71 Shag. At Lytchett Fields the Pectoral Sandpiper was still there and a showy Jack Snipe was near the viewpoints. A late Whinchat was also at Lytchett fields as was a Barnacle Goose which was with some Canada Geese. In Brands Bay the Scaup was still there as were 4 Red-breasted Merganser and 2 Great White Egret.

Pectoral Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

A poor day today with not much out there….well, not reported any way. The truth, who knows what is out there after the weekends discovery of a dead Whites Thrush in a Weymouth cul-de-sac. It was incredibly mild at dawn with 19 degrees showing on the car dashboard, prompting no chance of any thrush passage as the SW wind built. The Scaup was still in Brands Bay, 2 Great White Egret were in Middlebere but despite there being 40+ Cattle Egret either side of the harbour split  Weymouth and Mudeford, it seems Poole Harbour is a Cattle Egret free zone currently. Firecrest were at Middle Beach, Arne, Middlebere, Upton CP and 1 was in Poole Park.

Great White Egrets – Middlebere – Mark Wright (Twitter @markwright12002)

Winter has arrived. It seems like months and months since we’ve had a day like today. A strong SW wind bellowed across the harbour by midday and it was pretty grim. A few snippets of interest produced the Pectoral Sandpiper still Lytchett Fields with a high count of 23 Greenshank and 2 Marsh Harrier. In Middlebere there was a Great White Egret and another Marsh Harrier and off Jerry’s Point the Scaup was still present. Definitely the most noteworthy news from the last couple of days was that yesterday, Paul Swann photographed a colour-ringed Water Pipit at Lytchett Fields which showed the code ‘1k’ on the yellow ring. Water Pipit are a scarce winter visitor to the UK with only 150-200 present across the UK each year and little is known about their habits and behaviour both here in the UK and exactly where our UK birds head to to breed. A BTO scheme was set up last year with the aim of colour-ringing Water Pipit across the UK to try and understand more about their movements, faithfulness to certain sites, longevity and perhaps even migration routes….perhaps even breeding grounds. Yesterdays Water Pipit ‘1k’ was actually ringed at this same site (Lytchett Fields) last year on November 7th 2020, and although seeing the same bird at the same site (one year apart) doesn’t seem that incredible, this does prove winter site (or certainly passage site) fidelity for Water Pipit in Dorset which we don’t know has ever been proven before? It will be interesting to see if ‘1K’ stays faithful to Lytchett Fields over the coming weeks or see if it ventures off elsewhere until late in the winter? A great record which highlights the value of colour-ringing projects such as this. Please, if anyone sees any colour ringed pipits at Lytchett Fields, Holton Lee, or anywhere for that matter, please report all sightings to us.

Water Pipit ‘1K’ – Lytchett Fields – Paul Swann

Today was going to be the last good day for at least the week with strong winds and rain moving in from Monday. The glorious mid-October sunshine provided excellent WeBS count counting conditions for Poole Harbour today. Highlights included 2 Red-throated Diver off Jerry’s Point with 12 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Great White Egret was on the edge of Furzey Island, the Pectoral Sandpiper was still at Lytchett Fields and the Little Stint was relocated on the Swineham Scarpes. Brent Geese are now back in low numbers with 51 in the Wareham Channel and a minimum of 3 different Marsh Harrier were see including a near full adult male. Off Middle Beach 3 Black-necked Grebe were back and c50 Spoonbill were at Shipstal mid-morning. There was also 2 Firecrest at Middle Beach, Studland, a Spotted Redshank on Lytchett Fields and 2 more Great White Egret in Middlebere.

Dartford Warbler – RSPB Arne – Alison Copland

Great White Egret – RSPB Arne – Alison Copland