After yesterday exciting news, who we believe to be Osprey CJ7 reappeared on a foggy Middlebere nest early this morning. She spent the cold, grey part of the morning hunched up on the platform, only to then move off at 10am and wasn’t seen for the rest of the day. With only a few days until the Poole Park lagoon is refilled another decent count of birds was made which included 294 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Knot, 16 Oystercatcher, 2 Dunlin, 17 Redshank, 17 Med Gulls, 6 Shelduck and there were also 2 Willow Warbler and a Swallow in the park too. At Middlebere, despite the Osprey going missing mid-morning, there were 14 Grey Plover, 2 Ringed Plover and 2 Swallow through. A Swift was reported over Creekmoor and at Lytchett Fields there were 40 Redshank, 4 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 92 Black-tailed Godwit and a Marsh Harrier.

We also heard on the grapevine that our partners in our Osprey Translocation project today received the exciting news that they have been granted a licence to carry out a 5-year White-tailed Sea Eagle translocation on the Isle of Wight. The Roy Dennis Wildlife foundation have been working on the application for the last year or so and were given the good news some time this morning. We’re particularly excited as juvenile Sea Eagles tend to have a c100-c200km post fledging range, which means over the nest few years we could begin to see them over Poole Harbour airspace!!!!

Well, today was a good day for a whole range of reasons. Being April 1^st it was a day of pulling peoples legs, and online a good range of random birds were reported to have been seen around the UK, getting heads in a real spin before people quickly (and some not so quickly) realised it was April fools day!

Secondly, we’re proud to announce the launch of our new Birds of Poole Harbour iPhone App which provides the public with the tools and information necessary to help self guide their way around new areas of the harbour whilst also giving you the opportunity to report your important bird sightings to our charity. For download info and a full overview read our News Blog Here.

Secondly, we had an exciting encounter this morning with an Osprey landing on our new Middlebere nesting platform and triggering our camera trap. Seeing an Osprey was exciting in its self, but when we saw the ring read CJ7 our pulses started to rise. To find out why read our News Blog Here.

Also, a good harbour spring bird turned up on Slepe Heath in the shape of a male Ring Ouzel, a real touch species to catch up with in the harbour during the spring. The Red-necked Grebe was still on Swineham all day and 150 Sand Martin with a single House Martin were logged too. At Lytchett Fields 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Spotted Redshank and a White Wagtail were logged. At Sunnyside Farm a migrating flock of 50 Fieldfare were seen with 2 Willow Warbler singing and 2 Wheatear were on Stoborough Heath. A Red Kite drifted over Hatch Pond and previously over Poole. Apart from Middlebere an Osprey was also seen over Lytchett Bay with 100+ Med Gulls.

White Wagtail – Lytchett Fields – Shaun Robson

Ring Ouzel – Slepe Heath – Brittany Maxted

Female Osprey CJ7 – Middlebere Camera Trap

Not much of a turnover of birds at the moment with just a small trickle of Sand Martin and Swallow pulsing through and small parties of Meadow Pipit. With April kicking in tomorrow we should begin to start seeing some numbers of birds arrive, hopefully in the shape of Pied Flyctacher or Nightingale, both of which a really, really tough birds to get in Poole Harbour in spring. But as April progresses species such as Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Swift and Spotted Flycatcher should become evident and of course, the odd rarity or two wouldn’t go down too badly either. Today the main sightings consisted of the Red-necked Grebe still at Swineham, 6 Cattle Egret at Bog Lane, 1 Osprey (and possibly a second) over the Wareham Channel, 1 Little Ringed Plover at Swineham and 21 Sandwich Tern back on Brownsea.

Yesterdays Garganey wasn’t seen during the day but gave its self away by calling at dusk somewhere around the Swineham GP area. The Red-necked Grebe was still present and c200 Sand Martin came into feed. Also in the Wareham Channel area 1 female Marsh Harrier, 1 Osprey and 1 Peregrine. In Poole Park there were still c150 Black-tailed Godwit present with 10+ Redshank and at Baiter a Peregrine went over north and a lone Sand Martin dashed over the quay. At Lytchett Fields 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Ruff and 240 Black-tailed Godwit were on the fields and at Greenland’s Farm 5 Wheatear, 1 White Wagtail and 2 Willow Warbler were logged.

There was a nice pair of species together on Swineham GP when the Red-necked Grebe was joined by a drake Garganey for most of the day. Not a pair of birds you’d expect to see bobbing about next to one another! There was also a nice mini fall of Little Ringed Plover with 4-5 present at Lytchett Fields along with 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Ruff and 1 Spotted Redshank with 2 Spoonbill also out in the bay. There were still 6 Cattle Egret in fields at Bog Lane which is a good early spring sign that they might just hang on into the breeding season. At Swineham there were 2 Swallow with 20 Sand Martin and 3 Swallow went through Middlebere. Along the PC World Drain 1 Willow Warbler, 2 Blackcap and 4 Chiffchaff were singing.

Little Ringed Plover – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

We apologise for the late posts, but have been down in Majorca enjoying a bit of spring birding. Now we’re fully refreshed and primed for the Med arrival of Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plovers and Woodchat Shrikes into the harbour…if only. Still, it was nice to see the Red-necked Grebe still on Swineham GP with a handful of Sand Martin and 3 Swallow there too. Up on Slepe Heath a late-ish pair of Merlin zipped by the top of the ridge and an Osprey was seen over the Wareham Channel later in the day. At Lytchett Fields a Little Ringed Plover was calling at dawn in the fog, but was later found on the fields.

Another fine spring day which started with some good fall conditions and saw Willow Warblers at the PC World Drain, Swineham and Arne. Best find of the day was a moulting Red-necked Grebe at Swineham GP which was a 1^st for the site. Also at Swineham were 3 Sand Martin and an Osprey was seen hunting over the Wareham Channel. A bit later in the day another, or the same Osprey was seen high over the Wareham Channel heading north. A few additional sightings were sent in from yesterday which included the harbours firth Little Ringed Plover of the year, flying around and calling at dusk down at Swineham where an Osprey was again logged and Bearded Tit were really vocal in the reed beds. Jack Snipe, Ruff and Greenshank were all logged flying around Swineham Point near dusk.

Wow, what a day to be out. We circumnavigated the whole harbour, prepping for the launch of a project that we’ll be announcing on April 1^st.  But until then, lets just talk about the birds. There was a great mix of species out there today with winter, spring and summer all represented in one way or another. It began at Swineham GP where the harbours first Willow Warbler was singing down by the gravel pit, just as the over-wintering White-fronted Goose passed overhead and landed on the pit. Also on Swineham were 4 Pochard, 6 Great Crested Grebe and 4 Little Grebe. At Holmebridge a Grey Wagtail was in full song and at Harland Stud a single Wheatear was out on the fields. A rare visit to Old Harry and Ballard returned 3 Swallow in off the sea, 4 Rock Pipit (2 singing) and a small party of Linnet. At Challow Hill, Corfe, a Blackcap was singing as were 2 at the PC World drain. Chiffchaff continue to be ‘well heard’ around the harbour, certainly in any wooded area. At the end of the day a vigil from Slepe Heath was carried out with much success. It began with 2 Swallow passing through and a few Sand Martin, when it was noted a female Marsh Harrier was soaring high above the Wareham Channel who was then joined by a female Hen Harrier. Both soared for several minutes together before then going their own separate ways. Then within a few seconds an Osprey drifted in from the SW and was instantly hassled by gulls. However, unperturbed it carried on regardless and caught a fish only 10 minutes later before then heading towards Arne and was soon lost to view. On Brownsea today 3 Spoonbill now resided and c20 Sandwich Tern were settled. Up On Hartland a small scattering of Fieldfare remained despite the warm temperatures and Meadow Pipit seemed to be on the move for most of the day. At Hatch Pond the first Great Crested Grebe chicks of the year hatched.

Blackthorn in full spring flower – Old Harry

April 1st spoiler 

Despite the calmness of the weekend, today saw a cold and chilly NW wind blow. We had a school bird boat at dawn which was lovely when went down wind, but bloody cold in any other direction! The main area of interest was the Brownsea Lagoon which saw 2 Spoonbill, c60 Med Gull, c20 Avocet, c15 Grey Plover, c200 Black-tailed Godwit but out on the water only c20 each of Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe remained. At Holton Pools a single Wheatear dropped in with a second on Baiter playing fields and at the PC World Drain a male Blackcap was singing back on territory. Poole Park had a new species attracted to it in the shape of a Knot, but there were still also 251 Black-tailed Godwit, 43 Med Gulls and 32 Oystercatcher.

Blackcap – singing at PC World Drain – Ian Ballam

A perfect spring day today which saw us actually witness a staging event for a migrating Osprey. At 9:10am whilst carrying out a vigil from the top of Slepe Heath an Osprey arrived in high from the south and immediately began fishing in the Wareham Channel where it was getting hassled by the local gulls. It soon caught a fish and headed to Arne somewhere but we couldn’t relocate it sadly. After carrying out some monitoring work elsewhere in the harbour, we returned to Slepe Heath to carry out another watch, only to see the mornings Osprey lift from the SW corner of Arne, catch a thermal until it was super high and then bee-lined off north. To see an Osprey is always a special event, to see one actually stage in the harbour before leaving again was pure magic. There was also a small passage of Red Kite today through the harbour with one over Studland, another over Stoborough and a third over Holton Lee. On Brownsea the Sandwich Tern totals continue to increase with 15 there today, along with 460+ Black-tailed Godwit, 20+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank and 40+ Grey Plover. At Middlebere a single Cattle Egret was feeding in fields with a small group of Little Egret. Finally, this weekend has been a busy for our camera traps on the Osprey nesting platforms dotted around the harbour. It seems the nests are attracting everything other than Osprey at the moment. But hey, its still early days in terms of Osprey migration so we’re still hopeful these will play a key role in helping us ID individual birds of the coming weeks.  

Peregrine caught on Osprey platform camera trap 

Wood Pigeon caught on Osprey platform camera trap 

Great Tits caught on Osprey platform camera trap 

Chaffinch caught on Osprey platform camera trap