Easy breeze today and the weather has taken a better turn later in the day! Lytchett Fields saw 270 Black-tailed Godwit, 33 Gadwall, 1 Redshank, 3 Lapwing and an unusual sighting of a Little Ringed Plover. Holton Lee saw similar with 100 Black-tailed Godwit, Teal, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Little Egret, Lapwing, and 3 Curlew. On local heaths unnamed, sightings included Dartford warbler, Stonechats, Linnets, Firecrest, Siskens – all showing signs of breeding or having young. Nightjars have also been noted over local heaths. 

Sadly no sign of any Osprey today but that’s not surprising, as newly arrived 2 year olds often go missing for days even weeks at a time before dropping back into their local haunt. We’re now so full of optimism that we’re half expecting another one of ours to turn up in the coming weeks. Here’s hoping!

There was a decent selection of birds around the harbour today including another new arrival in the shape of a male Marsh Harrier at Holton Pools. There has been a Marsh Harrier in the harbour these last few weeks but it’s been a juv/female type, so we know this male is new in. At Upton CP there were 3 different singing Firecrest which is a great total. At Lytchett Fields this AM there were 242 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Lapwing, 1 Dunlin and 1 Oystercatcher. Also, being concerned about the lack of Swifts in the local area we recruited volunteer Jacob Ball to go and check various Poole colonies and the results so far are as follows, ‘Upper Poole’ (Hospital area) 41, Old Town Poole 2, Hamworthy 9 with a nest location identified too. We still plan to check Parkstone and Wareham colonies too but with these totals, it doesn’t look as if it’s going to be a productive season this year. Oddest sighting of the day goes to a drake Pintail at Wareham Quay that was feeding on bread, so no doubt an escapee from somewhere. At Holton Pools the 3 Lapwing chicks were still present and a Little Ringed Plover was on the scrape. On the Browsnea Lagoon 4 Spoonbill were still present.

Another cold and wet day, with much stronger winds after the calmer breeze we had yesterday. Great Spotted Woodpecker with it’s juvenile has been back on the Holton Lee webcams most of the day. 14 Bar-tailed Godwit were feeding at Baiter Park this morning alongside 40+ Oystercatcher, showing how important wet parkland as a habitat can be for our waders even through the summer! Lytchett Fields saw 121 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, 2 Redshank, 1 Lapwing, 1 Teal and 27 Gadwall. Brownsea lagoon still has the 4 Spoonbill feeding and roosting, and the oldest Black-headed Gull chick turns a month old today as the earliest report of a day or two day old hatchling was 14th of May! In Brands Bay the over-summering Brent Goose was still present and a blue-ringed Osprey attempted to fish in the Middlebere Channel at around 11:30am

Osprey LS1 is back! We have seen him yet again today in the harbour mingling with CJ7 this AM. If you would like a fuller report see the link below, we will certainly keep everyone updated with his movements and interactions with CJ7. The team are thrilled to hear he’s back, and we are excited to see what happens over the upcoming weeks!!

https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/first-poole-harbour-osprey-chick-arrives-back-africa

VERY exciting news today of a blue-ringed, male Osprey sighted this AM on one of the nests with CJ7. Finally, a male Osprey in the harbour! It was then later tracked down and confirmed to be one of our 2017 translocated chicks LS1. THIS HUGE NEWS, and a big first step towards colonisation here on the south coast. We’ll be doing a full write up in due course. 

Cool temp, calm winds today with short showers – how is this June!? Flocks of c20 Swift flying with House Martin around Poole Park and Baiter Park this AM. Alpine Swift was seen at Durlston yesterday evening so worth keeping an eye out! Reed Warblers seen at Holton Lee, whilst reported Firecrest, Nightjars, Stonechats and Dartford Warblers were also sighted around unnamed local heathland sites. c4 Firecrestseen around Upton Country Park. Well worth learning their high-pitch, ascending call to see if you can hear them holding territories around your patch or home. Our Puffin Crusie this evening was a big success despite the drizzle. At Dancing Ledge we saw 7 Puffin plus numerous Guillemot and Razorbill rafts along the coast. We also logged 5 Gannet, 6 Fulmar, 19 Kittiwake, 2 Peregrine 2 Cuckoo and 4 Spoonbill, along with 20+ Barrel Jellyfish.

First footage of LS1 back in the harbour 

A dreary afternoon with mild NE winds of 10-15mph has seen the Common Tern population increasing with 9 chicks spotted on the camera and 117 adults eagerly awaiting their hatchlings. Sandwich Tern numbers reached c295 today with c82 chicks. Also seen were 4 Spoonbill, 5 Avocet, 82 Oystercatcher, 5 Gadwall, c110 Shelduck, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Black-tailed Godwit. An Oystercatcher has been guarding its 2 chicks on the spit just off of the marina on Poole Quay. Black-tailed Godwitnumbers are increasing over at Lytchett with 78 on Lytchett Fields and another 39 on the bay. 

Today autumn got well under way…sorry! Summer is now over, before its really even got started. The reason for this is because the first Green Sandpiper of the autumn appeared at Holton Pools this afternoon. These are really early autumn passage migrants with the first returning birds passing south through the harbour in mid-June with numbers peaking in late July before dropping off again. At some sites like Lytchett Fields, Holton Pools and the Sunnyside Scrape numbers can reach quite high, with Lytchett Fields almost seeing 30 individuals last year. 

Several bits of interest today. Firstly, after a month of ‘staying away’, female Osprey CJ7 was on one of the Poole Harbour nest platforms mid afternoon. Although she’d been seen around the harbour in recent weeks she had been staying away from the platforms as her breeding instinct waned away. At Lytchett Fields there were 45 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Lapwing and 2 Redshank with c20 House Martin mud collecting near the SANG car park. At Sunnyside there were also 3 newly fledged Lapwing out on the pools, which is great news. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 4 Spoonbill briefly and several Avocet, but no signs of any breeding.  At Holton Lee a Cuckoo was out on the heath with others at Hartland and Swineham. Finally, we’re beginning a nocturnal migration sound recording experiment at Corfe Castle in partnership with the National Trust which has already turned up some interesting finds which you can read about HERE.

A complete contrast to yesterday’s windy weather, today has provided calm and warm conditions with mild SW Winds of 7mph. The busy boat show hasn’t deterred birds from visiting the Quay with a Little Egret, 14 Canada Geese, c12 Sandwich Tern, 4 Common Tern and 4 Oystercatcher all seen from the HQ. Over at Holten Lee the resident male Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen feeding a juvenile on the feeding table! Other highlights caught on the webcam were Nuthatch, Chiffchaff and Great Tit.

Lytchett Fields has had an interesting array of species today including; 1 Curlew, 2 Oystercatcher, 4 Lapwing, 25 Gadwall, 2 Teal and 38 Black-tailed Godwit.

Brownsea Lagoon has produced its first Common Tern chicks, popping their heads out from under parents. Sandwich Terns are busy fattening up their growing chicks, as are the Greater Black-backed Gull and Black headed Gull. The resident 6 Avocet have been joined by 17 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Spoonbill and Gadwall. The Canada Geese have started building in numbers for their moult with 19 spotted today.  

At Upton CP the duck pond has been rewilded and as a result is full of Reed Warbler which is both good to see and hear. At Arne 2 Cuckoo were around Middlebere/Coombe Heath and in Brands Bay an over-summering Brent Goose was found. 

Great Spotted Woodpecker with young – Holton Lee feeder cam 

Male Nightjar singing from song post – Slepe Haeth – Paul Morton

High winds with gusts of 40mph have been blowing a gale over at the Poole Quay. This hasn’t hampered a Red Kite which was spotted at a distance from the HQ gliding over the water. 7 Canada Geese and 2 Oystercatcher were also taking in the sites of the boat show.

Holten Lee webcam picked up the usual Great Spotted Woodpecker, chaffinch, Nuthatch and Goldfinch, while at Asda a Peregrine Falcon was perched up on a balcony in car park this afternoon at 15.30.

The Sandwich Tern Chicks, of which there are c53, are getting braver at Brownsea Lagoon moving further from parents and dipping a toe (claw) in the water. With c225 adults there are plenty of eyes to watch out for the Greater Black-backed gulls, all c105 of them, taking the opportunity to pick off any wondering chicks to feed their own. No chicks from the Common Terns (c233) just yet but there are large numbers Black-headed Gull chicks with 85 spotted amongst 128 parent birds. 16 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Avocet were also present.

Keep your eyes peeled for Storm Petrels in the Harbour as a gathering of these have been reported down at Christchurch Bay.

A very wet morning has seen Sandwich Tern chicks, Greater-Black-backed Gull and Black-headed Gull chicks hiding under their parents, but this afternoon the sun crept through the clouds and they all came out to dry off. 6 Avocet were seen with some signs of nesting but no sign of any eggs or chicks yet. A Godwit species, Oystercatcher (1 nesting) and large numbers of Shelduck were also spotted.

Sea watch reported a spectacular c20 Gannets off Branksome Beach whilst as Brands Bay 8 Curlew and c10 Oystercatcher were seen. At Holten Pool there were 26 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Lapwing, a Redshank, a Gadwall in Flight and a Mediterranean Gull.

The islands on Brownsea lagoon were very busy today! The Black-headed Gull chicks were growing in confidence, choosing to explore their island and venture further into the water. The Sandwich Tern chicks were also keeping their parents busy and were regularly seen requesting food and flapping their wings. Avocet, Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Gadwall were all seen enjoying the sunshine on the lagoon as well.

Great to hear that an Osprey was seen at Middlebere channel this morning and c20 swallows were seen flying around the fields close by.