An excellent return of sightings today compared to previous days. The juv Goshawk at Lytchett Fields from a few weeks ago was likely seen again being chased off by a Raven from Lytchett Fields over towards Holton Lee. This then flushed c200 Lapwing, 5 Greenshank and 4 Green Sandpiper from Holton Pools. This evening 2 Cattle Egret flew over Lytchett Fields from the Lytchett Minster direction, heading towards their evening roost. In the Wareham Channel 10 different Marsh Harrier were logged plus the female Hen Harrier was seen again. At Baiter 229 Brent Geese were in Parkstone Bay and 4 Great Northern Diver were off the Northern Brownsea shoreline. The Brownsea Lagoon was packed and saw c3900 Dunlin, 40 Knot, 790 Black-tailed Godwit, 280 Avocet, 88 Bar-tailed Godwit, 210 Grey Plover, 22 Ringed Plover and 2 Spotted Redshank. Off Jerry’s Point there were 4 Great Northern Diver, 1 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Common Scoter, 3 Scaup, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 11 Goldeneye and 31 Red-breasted Merganser. A lone Purple Sandpiper was on the boulder groynes at Sandbanks this evening. At Swineham a single Pochard was on the pits with 110 Coot, 15 Great Crested Grebe and a Marsh Harrier was over Swineham Point. On the Swineham Pools the Barnacle Goose was present again with 140 Canada Geese, 12 Greylags and 250+ Lapwing. The male Merlin was on its usual post near the Middlebere entrance track this evening.

Barnacle Goose – Swineham Pools (yesterday) – Peter Moore

It wasn’t really a great day again for birding, with the harbour quite choppy and a damp yuck-ness everywhere! Still, there was a decent count of 7 Great Northern Diver in Bramble Bush Bay and 2 more in Studland Bay and the 4 Scaup were still off Jerry’s Point. On Sunday a Black-throated Diver was off Bramble Bush Bay. Blackcaps are now moving into urban gardens with up to 5 present in a central Poole garden today feeding on fat cakes. At the PC World drain 3 Common Chiffchaff were active and a Kingfisher was at the mouth of the drain. At Baiter there were 69 Brent Geese, 2 Med Gulls, 1 Goldeneye, several Rock Pipit, 3 Dunlin, 4 Turnstone and 20+ Oystercatcher and on the main Poole Park boating lake 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 male Goldeneye, 25+ Tufted Duck and 52 Oystercatcher.

Pintail – Brands Bay – Nick Gadenne

Wigeon – Brands Bay – Nick Gadenne

Brent Geese – Sandbanks Ferry – Nick Gadenne

Pretty bleak birding conditions for today’s Wetland Bird Survey for the BTO. Very few brave enough to venture out into the harbour this morning, although a juvenile male Marsh Harrier battling the winds around Swineham and Arne Moors made to trip worthwhile. A late night SRG ringing session at Sunnyside yielded nine new birds ringed, consisting of 3 Woodcock, 3 Common Snipe, 2 Jack Snipe and (quite remarkably!) a hadnsome first calendar-year male Gadwall.

Winter Pop-Up Event Announcement: Our next event will take place at Studland NNR in partnership with the National Trust Studland Team on Thursday 17th December, 10am to 1pm. Find our team stationed at Jerry’s Point and Shell Bay for another chance to gain an insight into these excellent winter birding hotspots. Learn how to bird the area, identify the local birdlife and discover why these sites are so important.

Mike Gould – Gadwall

An adult Pale-bellied Brent Goose was feeding with the Dark-bellied flock off the Brownsea shoreline this afternoon, as viewed from Jerry’s Point. Also recorded from the watchpoint were 4 Great-Northern Diver, 4 Scaup, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 5 Goldeneye, 28 Turnstone, 26 Sanderling, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Grey Plover, 3 Ringed Plover, Red-breasted Mergansers, Great-crested Grebe, Black-tailed Godwit. The Harbour entrance logged 2 Black-necked Grebes, with a further 2 Black-necked Grebe at Middle Beach alongside 3 Common Scoter.

A Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, 100+ Black-tailed Godwit, 120+ Avocet, 100+ Dunlin and 50+ Redshank all offered close views for an identification crash course during our Holes Bay Winter Pop-Up event this afternoon. It was great to see so many people out birding – make sure to keep an eye on the website and social media channels for upcoming events.

Yesterday’s Barnacle Goose was still in amongst the Canada Geese on Curlew Pools, Swineham today. Also of note were the 8 Lesser Redpoll feeding in birches near Stilt Pools, as well as 30 Curlew and 9 Black-tailed Godwit. Two Little Grebe were on the river, Redwing over and 10 Great-Crested Grebe on the gravel pit.

A visit to Bog Lane to the west of the harbour produced a Firecrest, Peregrine and Green Sandpiper. Middlebere channel supported 625 Avocet, 340 Lapwing, 6 Spotted Redshank, 67 Redshank, 41 Shelduck, 1 Sparrowhawk, good numbers of Teal & Wigeon, 12 Curlew, 1 Great-crested Grebe and 2 Brent Geese.

Grey Plover – Jerry’s Point – Garry Hayman

Beautifully calm conditions left the harbour flat as a pancake today, receiving good coverage today and producing the first Black-throated Diver for several years! The juvenile Black-throated Diver was in Whitley Lake off Shore Road with 3 Great Northern Divers. Overall, 8 Great Northerns were logged around Central Harbour, South Deep and North Channel. An equally impressive total of 4 Long-tailed Duck were present in the harbour today. Three remained distant off Jerry’s Point and the forth was 3 in Central Harbour.

Jerry’s point also recorded an additional 17 Goldeneye, 4 Scaup, 3 Black-necked Grebe, 23 Sanderling, 3 Ringed Plover, 28 Turnstone and Grey Plover, as well as numerous Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested Grebe, Oystercatcher, and Dark-bellied Brent Goose. An excellent minimum count of Pintail at Brand’s Bay came to 140 individuals. As well as the wildfowl regulars, 280 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.700 Dunlin, 47 Knot, 31 Grey Plover, 67 Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 5 Avocet made for very enjoyable birding.

The best from Lytchett Bay this morning saw 72 Brent Goose, 38 Avocet, 2 Greenshank and 4 Green Sandpiper and another appearance from the Merlin. A Barnacle Goose was at Swineham this morning, feeding with c.50 Canada Geese. Three different Marsh Harrier in the area and 6 Chiffchaff were kicking around PC World Drain today.

Goldeneye – Garry Hayman – Jerry’s Point

Shipstal Point continued to support 29 Spoonbill roosting on the high tide. Littlesea, Studland featured 3 Mediterranean Gull, along with Mallard, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Black-headed,  Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. A Kingfisher provided a flash of colour at Poole Park.

Building on the success of our recent Studland Pop-Up event with the National Trust Studland team, Birds of Poole Harbour will be visiting Holes Bay this Saturday between 12.30pm and 3.30pm to help you bird this superb urban hotspot. Recent sightings from the site include great counts of Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin, as well as vast numbers of wildfowl, the odd Knot, Little Grebe and a Great Northern Diver in the South of the Bay.

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to share our optics at public events to limit risk of spreading Covid-19. Therefore, if you have your own binoculars and scopes, please bring them along, they will be really useful! Holes Bay is fully accessible with a cyclepath running along much of the shoreline. The closest pay and display car park is located at Upton Country Park.

Where to find us on Saturday (12:30-15:30): Creekmoor Drain – what.three.words / Google maps pindrop

We hope you are able to join us on Saturday, and keep a lookout on our social media and website for announcements of future locations and dates!

Spoonbill – Shipstal Point – Clive Hargrave

That’s more like it! Bright sunshine and a gorgeous blue sky. Although the forecast of thick fog this AM hampered any survey plans with other work arrangements made instead…doh!

Oh well, at least some people were out enjoying the birds and the sun! With the cold weather setting in again it forced 3 Spoonbill back into Lytchett Bay along with a decent count of 328 Lapwing on the fields, plus 1 Peregrine and Marsh Harrier in the area too. Raptors consisted of 2 different ringtail Hen Harrier and an adult male was seen yesterday too, mostly in the mouth of the Wareham Channel area, plus up to 6 different Marsh Harrier are still around including an adult male still being about. Off Baiter there were 2 Great Northern Diver but it was quiet off Jerry’s Point with mainly just Great Crested Grebe, 1 Great Northern Diver, 12 Goldeneye and a single Sanderling. At Holton Pools there were 2 Greenshank and 1 Peregrine with Stonechat and Dartford Warbler both active out on the heath. At Studland several Firecrest were along the peninsular at Knoll beach and Shell Bay. Off Shell beach 4 Black-necked Grebe were feeding with another 8 off Middle Beach. At dusk 19 Little Egret and 1 Cattle Egret flew over Lytchett Bay heading into roost.

We’re also starting a new ‘EYE D’ quiz on our website and social media leading up to Xmas to try and help with identifying birds up close. So, to explain a bit for and for the first days challenge visit the QUIZ WEBPAGE HERE.

Grey Plover – Bramble Bush Bay – Nick Gadenne

2020 has been a quiet year for Spoonbill records at Lytchett Bay, so 3 feeding birds were a welcome addition to the Bay this morning. Of the three Spoonbill, one was a Dutch colour ringed bird marked AE, which was first recorded at the site back in 2013. The recent cold snap also heralded an increase in Avocet to 156, as well as a general increase in waders and wildfowl. Other notable highlights for the site included a Spotted Redshank, 63 Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 2 Shoveler.

Studland peninsular is the place to visit at the moment. The ever-reliable Jerry’s Point continues to produce, today logging 4 Great Northern Diver, 4 Black-necked Grebe, 33 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Scaup, 3 Common Scoter and 20+ Red-breasted Merganser. Nearby, Brand’s Bay featured 109 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 4 Scaup, 163 Wigeon, 74 Teal, 56 Pintail, 9 Lapwing, 13 Grey Plover, 66 Black-tailed Godwit and a Kingfisher. Knoll Beach offered a further Great Northern Diver, 4 Black-necked Grebe and a Common Scoter. While Littlesea added to the species list with a Great White Egret, accompanied by 19 Teal.

Holes Bay continues to offer top quality urban birding spectacles, today featuring 143 Avocet, 244 Black-tailed Godwit, 18 Curlew, 403 Dunlin, 4 Knot, 8 Oystercatcher, 42 Redshank, 4 Little Grebe, 58 Mute Swan, 34 Pintail, 28 Shelduck, 67 Shoveler, 167 Teal, 937 Wigeon and Great Crested Grebe this morning. The Great Northern Diver remained close into the the shoreline opposite the Premier Inn, Holes Bay South.