By far the most significant sighting today has been over 12,000 Wood Pigeon moving over the harbour, however this was halted when low cloud cover came in. Flying high over Brownsea c6000 were sighted whilst 2725w were seen over Lytchett around 09.20 and 7925 were also seen heading SW over Alum Chine Road between 07.15 and 09.00.  

A guillemot was also seen in Brands Bay, whilst a Firecrest was noted at Middlebere. A pair of Shoveler were also seen at Hatch Pond along with an increasing roost of 143 Magpie. Sunnyside is seeing a variety of species including a Snipe, 14 Lapwing and a Kingfisher.

There were plenty of Meadow Pipit seen at Holten Lee today as well as Little Egret. Clear visibility allowed sites of 2 Sandwich Tern and 2 Brent Geese over at Studland.

A count at Lytchett revealed 9 Avocet, 2 Dunlin, 7 Green sandpiper, 21 Lapwing, 8 Snipe, 120 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Greenshank, 100 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 34 Curlew, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 Little Grebe.

A chilly high of 11°C and calm winds of 9mph brought a wintery crisp feel to the day today.  The Brownsea Lagoon webcam focused on a flock of c40 Avocet with most of them dispersing throughout the afternoon. Curlew, Grey Plover and Redshank were also present, and the Peregrine was back over on its usual island in the late afternoon.

Lytchett Fields recorded 1 Marsh Harrier and 3 Water Pipit were spotted from Frenches Farm viewing platform this morning.

The Coombe Heath hide at Arne provided views of c200 Avocet, flocks of Black–tailed Godwit, Wigeon and Teal, all of which were spooked by a low flying Marsh Harrier along the Middlebere Channel.

Slepe Heath saw a flurry of Bird of Prey activity with 4 Marsh Harrier, 8 Buzzard and 1 Kestrel observed.  3 Raven, 1 Dartford Warbler, 4 Redwing, 8 Skylark, 1 Rock Pipit, c20 Meadow Pipit and 2 Lesser Redpoll were also logged at this location.

Swineham had a wide variety of species recorded today with 10 Bearded Tit over on the reeds, 3 Reed Bunting, 36 Gadwall, 3 Tufted Duck, 6 Great Crested Grebe, c100 Coot and 3 Marsh Harrier. A Phalarope (sp. presumed Grey) was also recorded at Swineham’s main Pit, whilst over at Swineham Scrape, 2 Black–tailed Godwit, 10 Lapwing, 2 Stonechat and 2 Curlew were spotted.  

Other notable sightings were a Hawfinch on the edge of Holten Heath, a lone Redshank on Holes Bay, 2 Nuthatch on the Holton Lee webcam and a Black Redstart visiting a garden feeder in Parkstone.

Not may reports trickled in today unsurprisingly – a miserable day all round! A visit to Middlebere produced small numbers. A total of 32 Avocet, 1 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, c90 Teal, 40 Wigeon, 3 Pintail and 31 Canada Geese were recorded.

Many waders seemed to try and find some form of shelter on Brownsea Lagoon and a scan with the webcams revealed a large Avocet flock of c350 individuals. Black-tailed Godwit and common wildfowl were also numerous.

A relatively quiet ringing session at Lytchett Heath this morning produced an apparent Siberian Chiffchaff. Nearby, the ditch next to French’s viewpoint at Lytchett Fields has been cleared as part of RSPB management plan which has attracted in a good number of birds including the first Water Pipit of the season and 10+ Rock Pipit. A good size flock of at least 40 Fieldfare were observed along Arne Raptor Trail.

Tristis-type Chiffchaff – Lytchett Heath – Shaun Robson

Water Pipit – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Highlights from a visit to Lytchett Bay on a falling tide included 73 Avocet and 2 Spotted Redshank. A single Black Redstart on French’s Fields was also of note. Large numbers of Black Redstart have arrived from Europe with sightings recorded across the South East and South West coast in the last 24 hours. Over at Hartland Moor a female Merlin and 3 Marsh Harrier quartering over the reeds.

A total of 8 Pintail were recorded at Middlebere, along with numerous Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit. A single Firecrest was knocking around a garden this morning in Wareham. A hours watch mid-morning from South Haven produced 38 Goldfinch, 126 Linnet, 9 Chaffinch, 3 Siskin, 5 alba Wagtail 5, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Skylark. Holes Bay harboured 21 Avocet, good numbers of Teal and Wigeon and Pintail, a single Yellow-legged Gull and several Water Rail calling into the afternoon sunset. Several Kingfishers were spotted around the Harbour with 2 near the cycle path at Baiter, 1 at Holes Bay and another at Holton Lee which was accompanied by singles of Greenshank, Little Egret and Marsh Harrier.

At Swineham there were Bearded Tits calling in the drizzle, Water Rail and a Green Sandpiper too. But at least a couple of Kingfishers showed themselves. Also 70 Lapwing, 1 Pochard and six Greylags on and around the main pit.