Merry Christmas from all of us here at Birds of Poole Harbour. It’s been a crazy year, one that I’m sure many of us will choose to forget. However, through the gloom we saw big advances in the Poole Harbour Osprey project with female Osprey CJ7 settling on a nest platform all spring and entertaining the masses through lockdown and we really can not wait to see what 2021 delivers…..with or without covid in our lives. As a charity we thrive on meeting like-minded nature and bird enthusiasts that we can share experiences with, either on our boat trips, at pop up events, on guided walks and even online. 2020 has hampered at lot of our people engagement work but we promise to still deliver whereever we can in what ever way we can next year and we can’t wait to see you all out in the field too in the very near future.

So, from all of us here at BoPH, thanks as always for all your kind support over the year(s), it really does mean so much to us. We hope you all manage to try and have some form of Merry Christmas and bird filled 2021 x

A cold and christmasy Bramble Bush Bay

Well, the big day is finally here and what a year it’s been! Todays finally produced some sunshine after what seemed like months of rain, but todays northerly blow certainly made it feel like a bleak mid winter. There was a nice selection from around the harbour with 6+ Spoonbill finally dropping into Holes Bay, a site they used to be fairly regular at. It always tends to be when the temperature drops that Spoonbill forage in Holes Bay NE as the temperature tends to be a bit warmer there and a pair of Red-breasted Merganser were in the SE section. Off Jerry’s Point there were 3 Black-necked Grebe, 4 Scaup and 2 Great Northern Diver. From Middle Beach, Studland, despite the wind a single Black-necked Grebe was found and 3 Ring-necked Parakeets were in Studland Village. Holes Bay had 171 Avocet, 1000+ Wigeon, 621 Black-tailed Godwit and 54 Shoveler as well as good numbers of other regular Holes Bay species. Firecrests were at Swineham, Arne, Holme Lane and Knoll Beach.

Firecrest – Swineham – Peter Moore

Sightings have been thin on the ground today, but still a few highlights from round the Studland Peninsula. Over from Jerry’s Point, 3 Great Northern Diver, 3 Scaup, 1 Great White Egret, 13 Red-breasted Merganser, 9 Goldeneye and 1 Grey Plover were reported. In Shell Bay, there was 1 Red-necked Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Mediterranean Gull and Sanderling.

If you haven’t been birding over at Studland so far this winter, we’re hosting our last pop-up event tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd) at Knoll Beach from 11am-3pm. We hope you can join us. Find more information here.

Great Northern Diver – Studland – Garry Hayman

A fantastic day for sightings across the harbour, with a number of highlights. The Studland peninsula was well recorded, with Middle Beach featuring 2 Great Northern Diver, 4 Common Scoter and 1 Black-necked Grebe. In Shell Bay, 3 Great Northern Diver, and a Red-throated Diver were seen. From Jerry’s Point, the 4 Scaup continued to be present, as well as 3 Great Northern Diver, 8 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Common Scoter, 5 Goldeneye, 45 Red-breasted Merganser, and 1 Razorbill and 3 Long-tailed Duck seen off the SW shore of Brownsea Island. A further 2 Great Northern Diver were reported in Brands Bay, along with a Black Brant present amongst the Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 3 Sandwich Tern and 6+ Goldeneye.

Elsewhere in the harbour, Holes Bay produced 65 Avocet, 250+ Black-tailed Godwit, 40+ Curlew and a Goldeneye. A total of 77 Greylag Geese were counted on Arne Moors. A nice record of an egret roost flying east over Lytchett Bay this afternoon featured 20 Little Egret and 1 Cattle Egret. The lone Purple Sandpiper was reported again today on the groyne in front of the Sandbanks Pavillion.

We will be hosting another Pop-Up event at Knoll Beach, Studland in partnership with National Trust on Tuesday 22nd, our last event before Christmas, 11am-3pm. You can find out more on our news page here.

Red-breasted Merganser – Jerry’s Point – Garry Hayman

Studland Peninsula received a good grilling today in between the heavy downpours. Bramble Bush Bay welcomed the arrival of an Eider, along with 2 Great Northern Diver, 16 Great Crested Grebe, 35 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Scaup, 16 Turnstone and a single Sanderling. Shell Bay continued to support the Red-necked Grebe, 3 Great Northern Diver and 8 Sanderling scurrying around Pilot’s Point. Two Great Northern Diver, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 9 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Common Scoter settled off Middle Beach, with a trickle of Gannets, 2 Kittiwake and auk species south. South Beach harboured a further 2 Great Crested Grebe offshore, with 3 Firecrest flitting about nearby. Beyond Studland NNR, a ringtail Hen Harrier was observed by serveral birders across the Wareham Channel, at times joined by a Merlin.

Don’t forget Birds of Poole Harbour will be stationed at Holes Bay tomorrow morning to coincide with the rising tide. More Holes Bay Pop Up event information available here.

We’ve also announced a new fundraiser to help fund a festive treat for the birds at Livability Holton Lee, the stars of our online feeding station webcam. Livestream webcams have been incredibly important to us this year, providing us with a connection to nature as we’ve been tucked away in our homes. As the year comes to an end, we hope you can help us fill up the feeders at Holton Lee in the new year by raising £250 for bird seed. You can show your support here.

Holton Lee Feeder Cam

Yesterday we celebrated one Red-necked Grebe that appeared during our Shell Bay Pop Up event. Today, 4 Red-necked Grebe were picked up offshore during a Branksome Chine seawatch this morning, along with a Black-throated Diver which drifted west, 8 Kittiwake and 5 Razorbill. Jerry’s Point added an additional 1 Black-necked Grebe , 13 Goldeneye, 9 Red-breasted Merganser and 4 Great Northern Diver to the mix.

Incredibly, after the recent sightings at Sandbanks, 2 Purple Sandpiper were reported at Pilot’s Point on the high tide among good numbers of Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Turnstone. The bay held a further 3 Great Northern Diver and several Red-breasted Merganser. The Hartland Moor Merlin came to its favoured post this afternoon. Two Cattle Egret were associating with Little Egret flock in the A35 dual carriageway fields just beyond Bakers Arms roundabout. An stint at Holes Bay at dusk would surely pick up these birds coming in to roost! Nearby, a Red-breasted Merganser made its way to Poole Park boating lake.

Sanderling – Sandbanks (yesterday) – Jeremy Saul

The birds are coming thick and fast now with the discovery of a Red-necked Grebe settled off Shell Bay during our ‘Pop Up’ event at that site. Also 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe and a Common Scoter off there too. Off Jerry’s Point there were another 2 Great Northern Diver, 4 Scaup, 30+ Red-breasted Merganser and 6 Goldeneye. At Sandbanks the Purple Sandpiper was again on the angled groyne and a Short-eared Owl was seen near the Middlebere track at dusk. There was also a Great White Egret over Studland. Also 16 White-fronted Geese appeared at Silverlake, near Crossways….does this mean we could see them appear in the Frome Valley over the next week or two?

Another good day today despite the weather. A Branksome sea watch produced 6 Red-throated Diver, 2 Black-throated Diver, 16 Kittiwake, 21 Med Gulls, c200 Auks (mainly Guillemot) and c10 Gannet. In the harbour another Black-throated Diver was off the Brownsea north shore with up to 7 Great Northern Diver. From Jerry’s Point there were 2 Great Northern Diver, 3 Scaup, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Common Scoter, 6 Goldeneye and 2 Sandwich Tern and off Middle Beach Studland, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Scaup (odd here) and 2 Red-throated Diver. The Brownsea Lagoon was busy again with c3900 Dunlin, 202 Grey Plover, 2 Spotted Redshank, 84 Bar-tailed Godwit, 280 Avocet, 9 Greenshank and 2 Spotted Redshank.

Purple Sandpiper – Sandbanks (yesterday) – Ian Ballam

Little Egret – Bramble Bush Bay – Nick Gadenne