Finally a break in the weather and some good birding was to be had around the harbour. Many of the bays were busy with waders and wildfowl especially in Holes Bay and Lytchett Bay. We hosted the practical session of our Winter Waders of Poole Harbour ID course today in Holes Bay and we’re glad we did as it was ‘stuffed’ with birds. From the Stone Bench at Upton CP there were c20 Pintail, c200 Wigeon, c20 Shoveler, 3 Gadwall, 11 Avocet, c300 Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Little Grebe under the railway line. In Holes Bay north east there was even more including 2 Knot, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, c50 Avocet, c400 Black-tailed Godwit, c600 Dunlin, c400 Wigeon, c200 Teal, 1 Peregrine and 1 Sparrowhawk. In the SW sector of Holes Bay there were 4 Goldeneye. There were also 2 Firecrest next to Upton House. At dawn the Red-necked Grebe flew into the harbour mouth again and headed north around Brownsea. Also through at dawn were 2 Great Northern Diver, 6 Eider, 3 Sandwich Tern and 35 Grey Plover.  Lytchett Bay was busy and saw 6 Spoonbill, 235 Avocet, 546 Wigeon, 8 Gadwall, 79 Shelduck and Bearded Tit at the Turlin Moor screen.

Winter Waders ID Course Group – Holes Bay – Debbie Parker

Bar-tailed Godwit – Holes Bay NE – Paul Morton

The less said about today the better! Although a 1st winter Kittiwake hunkering down on Baiter was certainly noteable. On the plus side, with so much water sitting in the river valley’s and on the farm fields, it could end up attracting a number of birds in.

1st winter Kittiwake – Baiter Park – Ian Ballam

1st winter Kittiwake – Baiter Park – Ian Ballam

It was slightly calmer today (and certainly the calm before the storm forecast for tomorrow). This allowed for a grebe roost count in Studland Bay which saw 18+ Black-necked Grebe also 85 Med Gulls, 15 Sanderling and 323 Brent Geese were logged. In Brands Bay there were 3 Great Northern Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe, 380 Wigeon, 57 Pintail, 31 Grey Plover, 1 Greenshank, 3 Knot and 300+ Dunlin. Along Holme Lane there were 18 Cattle Egret and a Merlin was seen on Upton Heath. In the mouth of the Frome there were 7 Spoonbill and 3 Marsh Harrier. In Poole Park the Mandarin was on the main boating lake and the Guillemot was still off Poole Quay. Off the south shore of Brownsea there were singles of Great Northern Diver, Red-throated Diver and Eider and the Brownsea Lagoon saw 208 Avocet, 60 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Greenshank and 124 Dunlin.

Again, windy conditions made things tricky but in Lytchett Bay there were 8 Spoonbill, 78 Brent Geese, 10 Red-breasted Merganser, 414 Black-tailed Godwit, 100+ Avocet, 2 Greenshank, 1 Peregrine and 1 Blackcap. There were also 30+ Spoonbill on Shipstal Point. 2 Crossbill passed over Challow Hill and there were 2 Chiffchaff and 1 Firecrest at Norden sewage works, Corfe.

A few species of note reported to us today including 17+ Cattle Egret along Holme Lane in the co field to the north, a ringtail Hen Harrier over Swineham Point, the 1^st winter White-fronted Goose at Swineham, 1 Black Brant still in Lytchett Bay, the Mandarin Duck was at Poole Park, 6 Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay 2 Great Northern Diver off Bramble Bush Bay

Today we hosted our first private bespoke bird boat tour which was a great success and is something we’d like to role out to a wider audience. If you have a group of between 30-40 people and would like your own personal boat cruise around the harbour then get in contact with us on 01202 641003 for more details. Todays trip saw 3 Great Northern Diver (1 off Hamworthy Beach, 1 in central harbour and 1 in Bramble Bush Bay), also 2 Eider in Bramble Bush Bay, 2 Black-necked Grebe in central harbour and a Slavonian Grebe in South Deep. On Shipstal there were c25 Spoonbill, in the mouth of the Frome there were 2 Marsh Harrier and a Kingfisher was off Hamworthy. In Lytchett Bay the sites first record of Black Brant was found along with 145 Avocet, 1 Green Sandpiper and 1 Water Pipit. Along Holme Lane 15 Cattle Egret were still in the field near the Springfield Hotel and the Mandarin was still in Poole Park. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 710 Avocet, 2850 Dunlin, 3 Spotted Redshank, 3 Knot, 70 Bar-tailed Godwit 14 Greenshank, 2 Sanderling, 184 Grey Plover, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Water Rail. A Great White Egret roosted on Little Sea, Studland and the White-fronted Goose was still commuting between Swineham GP and Arne Moors.

More windy, troublesome weather making birding a bit tricky. Not much reported to us today other than 2 Marsh Harrier at Swineham and 1 Great Northern Diver in Bramble Bush Bay.

This morning we hosted our second public bird boat of the winter, which saw us venture up towards Wareham on the River Frome and then around the rest of the harbour. It was a tad windy but we still managed a good haul of species including the White-fronted Goose up at Swineham, 7 Little Grebe, c30 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Black-necked Grebe near the harbour mouth along with 6 Eider, 100+ Red-breasted Merganser, 10 Goldeneye, 2 Egyptian Geese, c300 Brent Geese, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel, 35 Spoonbill, c1500 Dunlin, c200 Avocet, c40 Bar-tailed Godwit and c20 Curlew plus all the usual harbour cohort of Redshank, Shelduck, Shag, Pintail, Wigeon, Raven etc. An adult male Black Redstart was seen in the Skinner Street area which is the first to be reported this winter period. The Mandarin Duck was showing off outside in front of the café at Poole Park for most of the day and there were 8 Red-breasted Merganser, 5 Goldeneye, 61 Coot and 24 Mute Swan on the main lake too. The 18 Cattle Egret were in the Holme Lane fields again and a ringed Black-headed Gull that was photographed in Poole Park this week is known (thanks to the details sent by BTO) to be at least 22 years old! In Middlebere several hundred Avocet were still out in front of the hide and a Peregrine buzzed on through.

Shag – Brownsea shoreline – Rene Goad

White-fronted Goose – Swineham – Rene Goad

22-year old Black-headed Gull – Poole Park – Dorothy Widnall

Not sure we quite fancy a goose for Christmas, but we certainly appreciate a goose at Christmas. Scarce geese is something we’ve struggled with in the harbour in recent years but today a White-fronted Goose was found in amongst a Greylag flock on a flooded pool next to Swineham. Other than six that flew straight through the harbour 2-weeks ago, it was the fist settled record of this species in Poole harbour since 2013. From a public bird boat there were 2 Great Northern Diver, 5 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Common Scoter spotted off the south shore of Brownsea and on Shipstal. The full flock of Cattle Egret hadn’t been reported for a while so it was nice to see 18 back at Holme Lane again. Raptors in the harbour consisted of a ringtail Hen Harrier at Middlebere, an adult male briefly from Swineham Point, both male and female Merlin at Slepe Heath and only 3 Marsh Harrier out of the west harbour roost.

One of the best vantage points to scour the open, central areas of Poole Harbour in on the cliff top at Shipstal Beach, Arne. We say cliff top, its only around 20m high but gives a great view out across to Long Island and beyond, as well as a decent perspective of Arne Bay. During December, January and February these areas can be really productive and there’s a chance any open water species could drop in ranging from Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter or Red-necked Grebe. Today, it was a Slavonian Grebe that was giving great views just off Shipstal Beach and in calm water made viewing all the more enjoyable. Also logged from there this AM was 1 Great Northern Diver, 12 Goldeneye, 25 Red-breasted Merganser, 17 Great Crested Grebe, 27 Spoonbill and 1 Peregrine. Along Holme Lane there was a minimum of 8 Cattle Egret. At the PC World Drain there were 7 collybita Chiffchaff with again one singing. In Lytchett Bay there were 11 Spoonbill feeding on the low tide plus 130+ Avocet and 19 Red-breasted Merganser.

Slavonian Grebe – Shipstal Beach, Arne – Paul Morton 

Slavonian Grebe – Shipstal Beach, Arne – Paul Morton