Knoll beach at midday featured 4 Black-necked Grebe and a Great Northern Diver offshore accompanied by a loose flock of Brent Goose and a scattering of Great Crested Grebes. An unseasonal Swallow over was also notable! A flock of Sanderling were also feeding along the beach.
Wednesday’s Yellow-browed Warbler was still present at Chad’s Copse, hopefully the bird will stick around and over-winter! Wintering Spoonbill numbers are currently at 15 individuals from Shipstal Point.
No Marsh Harrier were seen to leave roost across west Poole Harbour this morning. To compensate, the best was the female Hen Harrier on an Arne Moors – Swineham hunting circuit in the afternoon. A visit to Wareham Forest to search for the recent Great Grey Shrike this morning was unsuccessful but redeemed with a stunning male Hen Harrier flying east towards Woolsbarrow Fort.
A watch from Jerry’s Point at low tide produced 2 Slavonian Grebe, feeding separately. Further along, Middle Beach offered 10 Common Scoter and 9 Black-necked Grebe offshore. The Arable/Approach Field hedgerow at Lytchett Fields held 3 Firecrest in a Holly.
Last night saw the most recent instalment of our new Winter Ringing Demonstrations in partnership with Stour Ringing Group. The evening produced a superb haul of 6 Jack Snipe, 3 Common Snipe & 1 Woodcock ringed whilst sharing conservation stories. All three species were in the hand at the same time, offering a unique opportunity to compare and learn about these rarely observed nocturnal feeders. To add to the excitement, one of the Jack Snipe seen yesterday was a retrap originally caught in March 2017 in the exact same field, continuing to prove winter site fidelity of these hardy little migrants. Jack Snipe breeding range extends from north-eastern Europe to eastern Siberia. Their arrival here takes place from mid-September onwards, with numbers peaking in October and November. Hard-weather movements can provide further influxes during the winter. For an exclusive opportunity to learn about and see these wonderful nocturnal feeders follow the link below for our full programme this winter.
https://www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/sunnyside-winter-ringing-demo
The next demo on December 18th is already fully booked. However, spaces currently remain 8th & 22nd January and 5th Feb & 26th Feb 2020. Don’t miss out!
Woodcock – Sunnyside Ringing Demo
Jack Snipe – Sunnyside Ringing Demo
Jack Snipe in the hand – Sunnyside Ringing Demonstration
PC World Drain featured several Chiffchaff and a Kingfisher, and a pair of Blackcap were observed in an Upton garden feeding on the berries.
The 5 Spotted Redshank remain present along Middlebere Channel, meanwhile Swineham saw singles of Marsh Harrier, Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Kingfisher, Water Rail, Nuthatch, Treecreeper; Twos and Threes of Cettis Warbler, Reed Bunting, Bearded Tit; 7 Greylag, 100 Shoveler, and more than 20 Blackbird in the holly and apple trees.
Yellow-browed Warbler – Chad’s Copse – Ian Ballam
We’re loving these cold, still days. It’s making watching the harbour an absolute treat. Highlights today included 3 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 Firecrest and 8 Chiffchaff at the PCW Drain. Holes Bay NE looked INCREDIBLE and was full of birds with 700+ Wigeon, 400+ Teal, 4 Pintail, 2 Tufted Duck, 3 Coot (odd in Holes Bay), 300+ Dunlin, 132 Avocet, plenty of Redshank, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and Oystercatcher, 2 Rock Pipit and a party of c40 Redwing over. At Lytchett Bay 181 Avocet were logged along with 40+ Dunlin and 1 Greenshank. Off Middle Beach 6 Black-necked grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver were feeding and the Long-tailed Duck was off Jerry’s Point again.
Common Chiffchaff – PCW Drain – Ian Ballam
Shell Bay featured 2 Black necked Grebes. Bramble Bush Bay held 18 Turnstones, 21 Sanderling, 17 Oystercatchers, 1 Grey Plover, 8 Great crested Grebes and 2 Red breasted Mergansers. Jerry’s Point featured a further 19 Great crested Grebes, 5 Black necked Grebes, 5 Red breasted Mergansers, 1 Common Scoter, 1 juvenile Long tailed Duck, 26 Oystercatchers, 1 Slavonian Grebe. Brands Bay drew in 6 Redwings, 2 Little Egrets, 208 Black tailed Godwits, 3 Avocets, 123 Wigeon, 26 Dunlin, 42 Shelduck, 151 Brent Geese, 42 Curlew, 4 Red breasted Mergansers, 5 Great crested Grebes. An additional 3 Black necked Grebes, 80 Brent Geese from Middle Beach. Corfe Sewage Works, Norden harboured 2 Goldcrests, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Grey Wagtail. Middlebere channel attracted 22 Lapwing, 15 Curlew, 5 Oystercatchers, 183 Avocets, 1 Marsh Harrier, 177 Teal, 4 Spotted Redshanks, 33 Common Redshank, 4 Dunlin, 4 Grey Plover, 1 Little Egret, 2 Snipe, 44 Wigeon, 6 Mallard.
Slavonian Grebe – Jerry’s Point – Rene Goad
Long-tailed Duck – Jerry’s Point – Rene Goad (28/11/19)
A loose flock of 26 Red-breasted Merganser (of which 13 male and 13 female) could be seen out over Whitley Lake, Sandbanks today. The groynes along Sandbanks beach saw up to 17 Sanderling. A Great Northern Diver was visible between Salterns & Parkstone Yacht Club during the afternoon. Another Great Northern Diver was observed from Jerry’s Point, as well as 4 Black-necked Grebe and 20+ Red-breasted Merganser.
Coombe viewpoint, Arne offered views of several birds of prey throughout the morning. A Merlin was hassling the Dunlin flock out on Middlebere channel while 2 Marsh Harrier were quartering. A Peregrine proceeded to make an appearance too shortly afterwards. Middlebere also held flocks of Lapwing, Avocet and Teal, as well as smaller numbers of Brent Goose, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank and Wigeon. A Sparrowhawk flushed the waders and wildfowl frequenting Holes Bay and the Little Grebe was still on Sunnyside scrape despite a drop in water levels.
A rising tide at Lytchett Fields saw 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, c60 Dunlin, c50 Redshank, c20 Lapwing and 1 Common Gull with Black-headed Gulls. Lytchett Bay held a single Grey Plover with c50 Dunlin, along with 129 Avocet, c60 Brent Goose, 2 Red-breasted Merganser and a Great Crested Grebe. A Further 2 Red-breasted Merganser spent the afternoon in Holes Bay South.
Sightings have been thin on the ground today. However, good report from Lytchett Fields featuring 1 Spotted Redshank, 3+ Water Pipit, 5 Avocet, 2 Curlew, 53 Dunlin, 3+ Green Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 25 Lapwing, 91 Redshank and 6 Snipe.
Holes Bay reports featured high numbers of Wigeon, c100 Avocet, 2 Tufted Duck, Pintail, Shoveler and Great Crested Grebe.
Good numbers of Common Redshank, c.150 Lapwing, Marsh Harrier and Peregrine over Middlebere this AM.
Not a huge number of sightings today, despite being relatively calm and dry. Along the Poole Harbour south-east shoreline, sightings included 1 Long-tailed Duck off Redhorn Point, 2 Great Northern Diver in South Deep, as well as 9 Black-necked Grebe, 5 Goldeneye and 12 Red-breasted Merganser off Jerry’s Point.
Studland Bay provided good sightings from Middle Beach, including 8 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Great Northern Diver, 5 Great-crested Grebe and 12 Brent Geese. A group of 17 Sanderling and 2 Ringed Plover were recorded on one of the groynes at Sandbanks.
Reports at Holes Bay were similar to yesterday, with of 3 Snipe seen flying over. A single Firecrest was reported at the south end of Grove Lake at Upton Country Park, as well as 59 Curlew and 2 Black-tailed Godwit. Another highlight from today, although outside of the BoPH recording area, is a Great Grey Shrike reported from Sugar Hill in Wareham Forest.
Our weekly Poole Town Birding Walk didn’t miss the bad weather, but it did produce some great birding. After enjoying the Turnstones along the Quay, a Great Northern Diver could be seen from Baiter car park. Feeding amongst the Oystercatcher flock on Baiter were 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Black-tailed Godwit and numerous Redshank. A single Greenshank was also feeding at the northern end, near the Skate Park. Parkstone Bay held several Great Crested Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser and Brent Goose. Poole Park was also productive, offering views of both female and drake Goldeneye, 2 Mediterranean Gull and 1 Sandwich Tern. A flock of c45 Brent Goose briefly dropped down onto Baiter Park to conclude the enjoyable walk.
The high tide Holes Bay roost featured 141 Avocet, 310 Black-tailed Godwit, 41 Curlew, 150 Redshank, 9 Shelduck, 15 Pintail, 60 Mute Swan, 15 Shoveler, 35 Teal, 460 Wigeon, 6 Little Egret, 6 Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Grey Wagtail, 2 Canada Geese, Lapwing, Raven, 2 Common Gull, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Oystercatcher, Peregrine, 2 Cormorant, c1000 Wigeon and 250 Dunlin.
Lytchett Fields produced 2 Water Pipit from French Pool’s Viewpoint, as well as 16 Curlew in Arable Field, 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Green Sandpiper and a Dunlin in Approach Field. Wareham town centre drew in c150 Black-tailed Godwit in the flooded fields near Saxon Roundabout. Elsewhere, Hartland Moor recorded a Merlin this evening.
© 2026 Birds of Poole Harbour Registered Charity No. 1152615