Murky…for most of the day! Main highlights included a good selection of birds again present on the Poole Park Lagoon including 2 Avocet, c70 Black-tailed Godwit, c15 Redshank, c50 Oystercatcher and 1 Greenshank.  From Poole Quay, 2 Black-necked Grebe were visible (with a scope and good eyesight) on the northern Brownsea shoreline.  

The freezing temperatures were still present at dawn, but the cold wind had subsided and actually, by around 11am, a degree of warmth could be felt on cold noses and freezing fingers. With the finer conditions present today a nice set of sightings were reported. A bird boat around the harbour saw 3 Great Northern Diver off the northern Brownsea shore, 1 Slavonian Grebe, in South Deep, 10 Spoonbill at Shipstal, good numbers of Goldeneye now seem to be present and a few Black-necked Grebe were in central harbour. At Lytchett Bay, 2 Water Pipit were again on the fields and Cattle Egret were spread between Nutcrack Lane and Holme Lane and there were 5 Woodlark in the Holme Lane field with good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare. In the field behind the Worgret Manor there were c25 Golden Plover with c40 Lapwing. A Barn Owl was hunting around Little Sea, Studland and 10 Black-necked Grebe and a Great Northern Diver were out in Studland Bay with 2 Slavonian Grebe in Shell Bay. The Poole Habour Marsh Harrier cohort has risen to 4 currently but just the single female Hen Harrier remains present around the harbour, today mostly sticking to the northern shoreline near Keysworth. Around Hartland there were 3 different Merlin and the warmer sunshine. General birding around the harbour seemed to show plenty of Redwing, Fieldfare, Lapwing and Skylark making use of the thawed out fields, but how long will they remain for? At Hatch pond a Red-breasted Merganser/Goosander was reported yesterday but a search this AM couldn’t relocate it. 

Great Crested Grebe – Hatch Pond – Rene Goad

We had an interesting insight into what happens at night, post a cold weather event. The answer is…absolutely nothing! 

We had our sound recording gear set up the night after the snow hit and although species such as Redwing, Fieldfare, Skylark, Golden Plover and Lapwing were present in abundance in surrounding areas during the day, during the night just 2 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush and 1 Coot were logged all night. It sounds obvious but it seems birds reacting to cold/extreme weather only do so immediately before or during the weather event its self regardless if its day or night. And although these species normally migrate at night, they seem to stay put during the nights directly following the cold/extreme weather event to retain and conserve valuable energy levels. If there’s no need to move during the night any more…why would they? This was highlighted the night the snow hit when Portland logged 24 flocks of Golden Plover moving over the bill in the darkness along with plenty of thrush too. We’ll continue to put out our gear when we can over the following days to see if there is a ‘return’ night migration of species that escaped the cold weather but were now ambling their way back to original wintering sites. Or, will they make their way back to these sites during the day when foraging? 

At Nutcrack Lane 8 Cattle Egret returned and the fields were littered with Fieldfare, Redwing and Lapwing. A drake Goosander flew up the Wareham Channel and a single Golden Plover flew over Swineham. On Swineham GP there were 6 Pochard and a pair of Egyptian Geese. Off Middle Beach there were 2 Goldeneye and 2 Black-necked Grebe. 

With last nights snowfall it was hoped that a cold weather movement would be sparked at dawn, and although some Lapwing, Redwing, Fieldfare and Skylark were noted moving across the harbour at various locations, there certainly wasn’t a mass exodus of birds looking to escape the cold weather. That said, out on Baiter a flock of 15 Skylark was unusual and a Golden Plover flew over Poole Quay. Lapwing, Fieldfare and Redwing were settling on exposed grassy/muddy fields in the south of the harbour and 4 Cattle Egret were looking mighty miserable along Holme Lane. At Shell Bay, Studland a 1^st winter male Eider was settled and 2 Great Northern Diver were also in Shell Bay. In between North Haven and Brownsea 2 Black-necked Grebe and 10 Red-breasted Merganser were settled.  In Parkstone Bay, off Baiter 2 Sandwich Tern were fishing and 6 Goldeneye were on the water. Poole Park was busy again with 57 Black-tailed Godwit, 29 Dunlin, 17 Redshank, 29 Oystercatcher, 1 Greenshank and 8 Shoveler. At Lytchett Fields there were 3 Water Pipit and a Woodcock was flushed from the approach path. In Lytchett Minster 2 Cattle Egret were in the field opposite the Bakers Arms with several Little Egret. A male Merlin was up on Hartland and 3 Marsh Harrier were in the west harbour roost.

Well, the predicted heavy snow kicked in around 6pm and began settling throughout the evening. Prior to this and leading up to the snow fall, a short and very cold sea watch was carried out at Branksome where 2 Red-throated Diver, 1 possible Black-throated Diver and c5 Kittiwake passed out in Poole Bay. The 5 Waxwing from yesterday were present first thing in Carey Road but couldn’t be relocated after 10am. At Sandbanks, the roosting flock of Sanderling contained the blue and yellow flagged individual which was first seen in the harbour last year and was confirmed to have been ringed in 2013 in Hampshire. By the Wareham bypass 4 Cattle Egret were just west of the bridge and along Holme Lane 2 Woodlark were in the cattle field along with good numbers Redwing, Fieldfare and several Mistle Thrush. In the Wareham Channel 3 Marsh Harrier were present and 12 Spoonbill were feeding there too.

Sanderling – Sandbanks – Ian Ballam

Well, we were hoping it was just a matter of time, and sure enough some Waxwing turned up within the harbour boundary today. Having been sighted in Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall within the last couple of weeks it was surely just a matter of time before some settled in Dorset. Lucky for us it was just outside Wareham on the Carey Estate, just on the corner junction of Carey Road. There were five in total which kept dropping down and feeding on Rose Hips, often just meters away from the on looking crowd. No matter how many times you see a Waxwing, it will always be a memorable experience, and if you’ve never seen one before…you just wait!!! Also around the harbour there were 2 Firecrest at Norden Sewage Works with c10 Common Chiffchaff and off Middle Beach, the harbours first Common Scoter of the year was settled and there were c15 Black-necked Grebe across Studland Bay. The male Black Redstart was again around the flats behind the Thistle Hotel. Off Baiter there were 7 Goldeneye, 6 Red-breasted Merganser, 112 Brent Geese and 5 Turnstone. In Poole Park the drained main boating lake held 2 Avocet, 35 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Dunlin, 10 Redshank, 6 Little Egret, 4 Little Grebe and the Mandarin Duck.

Waxwing – Wareham – Magnuss Robb

The Common Crane commuted between Hartland and Middlebere again today. The ringtail Hen Harrier was seen at Middlebere. A Merlin was on Hartland and the male Black Redstart was still behind the Quay along East Quay Road. Holes Bay was busy again with Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Wigeon, Teal etc. On Brownsea a Spotted Redshank was feeding with a Greenshank.

Today was a tad calmer, allowing a count of open-water species around the Studland Peninsular. In total 46 Black-necked Grebe were counted between Studland, Shell and brands Bay with 2 Slavonian Grebe off South Beach and another in Brands Bay with only 5 Goldeneye noted! A scan of Poole Bay saw 3 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great Northern Diver, several Great Crested Grebe and 2 Razorbill. The Black Redstart remain in East Quay Road. The Common Crane was foraging again in reeds, salt marsh out from the Middlebere Hide and the ringtail Hen Harrier was seen there too. From the Holton Pools hide there were singles of Green Sandpiper and Marsh Harrier were logged and at Norden sewage works there were c10 Common Chiffchaff and a single Firecrest.

Today we hosted one of our Wareham Channel winter bird boats. The forecast showed bright sunshine but potential strong winds. It started off brilliantly with a big low tide as we crept up the Wareham Channel and Wareham River where 16 Spoonbill fed in a muddy channel and the mudflats hosted good numbers of Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Redshank, Grey Plover, Shelduck Gadwall and Wigeon all fairly close to the boat, and as we headed up the River Frome 1-2 Marsh Harrier danced in the wind and Swineham GP saw c10 Tufted Duck, 4 Great Crested Grebe and c50 Canada Geese flew in from Arne Moors. As we headed out towards the harbour the wind had picked up making open water bodies difficult to bird, so we headed for the slightly more sheltered area of the Brownsea Lagoon where c100 Avocet, c200 Dunlin, c50 Grey Plover and c50 Bar-tailed Godwit were sheltering. By the late afternoon the wind had subsided and a sea watch from Branksome saw 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver, 17 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Guillemot and c10 Razorbill. The Black Redstart continued to show off for the many visitors the turned up to see it behind the Thistle Hotel and the Common Crane was again on Hartland but was seen out from the Middlebere hide during the day in sheep fields opposite the hide. The Mandarin was still posing in Poole Park, and once again, Holes Bay north was looking FAB despite the wind. As the temperatures drop, Holes Bay tends to retain a certain warmth to it due to it being surrounded by urbanisation and also the two outflow channels that run into it. This means many birds prefer feeding here rather than ‘preferred’ feeding sites, so today c200 Avocet, c400 Dunlin, lots of Wigeon and Teal etc were feeding right next to the footpath in the NE section. Well worth a visit this week on the low/rising tide if you have time.

With a cold windy front approaching in the afternoon a birding session along the Studland peninsular at dawn was held as part of our Birding Poole Harbour ID series. A good session saw 2 Sanderling in Bramble Bush Bay with 10+ Red-breasted Merganser. Off Shell Beach 4 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver were settled and at Middle Beach 1 Firecrest and a further 8 Black-necked Grebe were logged. The Black Redstart was in the same courtyard again behind the Thistle Hotel. A sea watch off Branksome in the afternoon saw 1 Black-throated Diver, 2 Red-throated Diver, 6 Razorbill, 1 Kittiwake and 5 Gannet. The Common Crane was yet gain on Hartland Moor, but this time was settled in the middle of Hartland for part of the day. A leucisitic Herring Gull showed up in the Brownsea gull roost, initially giving the impression of an Iceland Gull, but further scrutiny proved otherwise. Around Baiter there were Turnstone on the beaches and a Sandwich Tern flew by and in Parkstone Bay 3 Goldeneye were present.

Black Redstart – Poole Quay – Mark Wright