At last there has been some nocturnal migration with birds (mainly thrush) arriving from the north. Last night over Holton lee we logged 37 Song Thrush calls and 7 Redwing calls, meaning the thrush invasion will begin building up nicely over the coming weeks. Despite the wet and the wind, it actually cleared quite quickly by early afternoon when 2 Cattle Egret were found next to the road on the Wareham to Stoborough causeway. It goes to show how times are changing when 2 Cattle Egret are spotted out of the car window and you barely raise an eyebrow, which is exactly what happened. Over the last two winters, Cattle Egret have become increasingly regular with flocks containing up to 20 birds in other areas of the country, and its our predication that this winter and following winters (and perhaps summers) Cattle Egret will soon become an expected sighting on a days out birding around the harbour. At Lytchett Fields there wasn’t much change with 104 Redshank, 12 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank on the high tide. Around the urban areas Baiter saw 22 Oystercatcher, 19 Turnstone, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Sandwich Tern whilst at Poole Park a count of 32 Coot almost certainly suggests some new arrivals had settled there now for the winter. On Brownsea just a handful of Spoonbill were present and c250 Avocet. There was also a nice mix of waders on Holton Pools during the rain with both Black and Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Green Sandpiper and a Redshank.

Cattle Egret – Wareham Causeway – Jol Mitchell

Redwing – Call of passing night migrant – Holton Lee 06/10/18 @ 01:47 

It’s always good fun trying to take a large school group out on a bird boat when a dense thick fog sets across the harbour. Without being able to see where the water ended and the skyline began our school group were treated to one of the most eerie voyages we’d ever done as various vessels appeared out of the gloom like ghost ships. That said, by midday (and just as the trip ended) the fog cleared giving way to another balmy, hot early October day.  With the sun beating down, the late summer migrants wouldn’t feel out of place with 2 each of Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail enjoying them selves at Sunnyside Pools and a light trickle of Swallow going over for most of the day. A late Grasshopper Warbler was ringed at Lytchett Heath and at Middlebere there was 3 Spotted Redshank, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Grey Plover, c50  Avocet and 12 Wigeon. On our Brownsea Lagoon webcam a flock of 25 Spoonbill dropped in around 2pm and the Peregrine was sat on the Tamarisk Island for most of the day.

Things were a bit quieter today but it was good to hear that 2 Merlin were back out on Hartland Moor, sparing with one another. These may just be migrants passing through or could be over-wintering birds returning but regardless, by late October/early November that area is a good place to try and see Merlin. There were also 2 different Marsh Harrier out over Arne Moors and there were 35 Spoonbill on Shipstal, Arne but just singles of Spotted Redshank and Greenshank in Middlebere. Seeing common birds in ‘odd places’ can usually be expected this time of year and a Coot in Holes Bay NE was actually a first for many years in that area, plus there were also c150 Black-tailed Godwit and 300+ Wigeon.

Coot – Holes Bay – NE 

Early October normally sees a transition of migrants from warblers and chats to finches and thrush’s. We’re currently right at the beginning of that transition and any night now thrush passage should pick as mainly Song Thrush, Redwing and Blackbird arrive from the north with finches hopefully becoming more conspicuous at dawn. This morning a ringing session on Lytchett heath saw a mixture of both mid-autumn and late autumn passage with 3 Blackcap and 24 Chiffchaff still being ringed but also a light passage of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch overhead along with 4 migrating Mistle Thrush and a couple of Song Thrush. Also ringed during the ringing session was 1 Firecrest, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Reed Bunting and a mixture of common species. This evening a large flock of c650 alba Wagtail also roosted at Lytchett Heath. In Holes Bay NE there were 381 Wigeon, 4 adult Yellow-legged Gull and a single Knot. In Poole Park a Sandwich Tern opted for an easier meal by fishing in the main boating lake. In Middlebere there were 150+ Avocet, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank and 3 Spoonbill and on Shipstal 32 Spoonbill. Several winter Kingfisher are now back on territory with birds regularly being seen at Holton Pools, Holes Bay NW near the PC World outflow, Brownsea Lagoon and hopefully soon Poole Park!

Firecrest – Lytchett Heath – Shaun Robson

Cetti’s Warbler – Lytchett Heath – Paul Morton

There was a distinct autumnal feel today as a fresh westerly wind kicked in early on. A few passerines were on the move up on Ballard but due to cloud cover and wind direction, not in any significant numbers with c30 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit, c50 alba Wagtail, 7 Skylark, 1 Wheatear, 30 Goldfinch, 6 Linnet, c50 Swallow, c70 House Martin, 1 Sparrowhawk and a single Golden Plover all heading west. In Studland bay the first 4 Black-necked Grebe of the winter were back along with 7 Common Scoter, also 1 Gannet and a male Kestrel arrived in off the sea from out in Poole Bay. In Brands Bay a great early autumn find of 3 Goosander was unusual as cold weather is usually the trigger for this species to occur in open areas of the harbour. Also in Brands Bay were 13 Wigeon, 3 Pintail, 2 Grey Plover, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit and just 4 Black-tailed Godwit. At Middlebere there were 4 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 65 Redshank, 15 Lapwing, 4 Avocet, 10 Knot, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 10 Wigeon, 1 Sandwich Tern and 1 Wheatear. In Holes Bay NE an adult Caspian Gull was reported and photographed which is accepted will only be the 2^nd Poole Harbour record. At Sunnyside Pools a Red Kite drifted towards Hartland Moor.

With winter bird numbers now increasing, it’s important that we (the public) keep disturbance down to an absolute minimum. With the most sensitive sites such as Middlebere, Holes Bay North and Brands Bay being so vital for feeding birds its key to remember these are labelled ‘over-wintering bird sensitive areas’ and that disturbing birds in those areas can be detrimental to their survival over the course of the winter. The National Trust have recently put together a statement about protection in Brands Bay this winter which would be good for anyone visiting that site to read…

Brands Bay is a very popular feeding ground for winter waders and wildfowl. The sheltered mudflats exposed at mid to low tide are a fundamental part of the designation of Poole Harbour as a site of international importance for birds.

These birds are quite nervous and are likely to take flight with any human or dog presence on the shoreline. Whilst this is not fatal itself, regular disturbance of birds can make them more susceptible to predation, both by weakening them and forcing them into the air.

This autumn and winter the National Trust are looking to reduce the amount of disturbance to wintering wildfowl in Brands Bay. Our team of staff and volunteers will be engaging visitors, looking to reduce human and dog presence on the shoreline.

We’d love to get an idea of how often the birds are disturbed this year – please email your observations to tom.clarke@nationaltrust.org.uk or text/message/send an image to 07483 929 544.

Autumn really getting underway now…well, kind of, with the first Redwing flying over Upton at dawn yesterday morning which had actually been recorded during a nocturnal listening station. The first 2 Merlin of the autumn were out on Hartland Moor at dawn, ‘sparing’ with one another and in the Wareham Channel 3 Marsh Harrier came out of the roost. Near Swineham a Whinchat was on a hay bale plus a minor bit of passage up the Frome Valley included c20 Meadow Pipit, 3 Grey Wagtail, 10 each of Chaffinch and Goldfinch and 15 Swallow. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine (which took a Starling), 8 Greenshank, c50 Lapwing, 4 Common Snipe and 4 Green Sandpiper. At Sunnyside Pools the Black-tailed Godwit was still there and a Wheatear was in the fields. In Middlebere there were 388 Avocet and it seems Woodlark are dispersing to over-wintering sites with 3 seen in fields along Holme Lane and several in loose flocks on patches of heathland along the southern edge of the harbour near Hartland.

There seem to be good numbers of Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit building in Middlebere with 350 Avocet and up to 750 Black-tailed Godwit present this afternoon. At Hatch Pond a small selection of winter duck had returned with several Gadwall and Tufted Duck on the water. In the PC World Drain several Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 Kingfisher were counted. At Sunnyside 3 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 4 Lapwing were around the pools. On Browsnea 11 Spoonbill were on the Tamarisk Island and 1 Spotted Redshank was out in front of the Lower Hide. Up on Ballard migration was rather slow but 18 Chiffchaff and 51 Blackcap were logged moving through the site.

Gadwall – Hatch Pond – Rene Goad

Today was a blissful autumn day where you could have easily been mistaken for it being an early spring morning with numerous Chiffchaff in full song. This is a regular occurrence mid-late autumn when fine weather hits us and Chiffchaff that are heading south start getting a bit confused. Migration really has been slow this autumn (and the rest of the year) and its times like these we’re glad we have plenty of ‘alternative’ areas of interest when migrants just aren’t present. With very little on the move the focus was more on a selection of species that had been arriving over the last couple of weeks. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were now 410 Avocet, 3 Spotted Redshank, 16 Greenshank and 24 Spoonbill. At South Haven there was a small passage of birds with just 2 Jays, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Skylark. At Holton Pools the Kingfisher was still performing well and there were 2 Greenshank and a passing Marsh Harrier there. On the Sunnyside Pool 5 Lapwing, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 17 Teal were logged.

This morning was our second school bird boat trip of the autumn where a nippy NW wind whipped across the harbour. The Brownsea Lagoon saw 10 Spoonbill and c250 Avocet but actually very little else other than 4 Greenshank and the usual Oystercatcher, handful of Curlew and c100 Black-tailed Godwit. On Shipstal Point, Arne the other Spoonbill flock of around 30 birds were still present on the high tide and in Middlebere Avocet numbers also seem to be building with c200 present. Marsh Harriers were seen at Swineham and Middlebere and a Hobby was over Hartland. At Lytchett Fields a Great White Egret was reported along with 1 Spotted Redshank, 57 Dunlin, 4 Greenshank, 2 Yellow-legged Gull and 2 Kingfisher. In Holes Bay NE a Great White Egret was seen and there were c200 Wigeon on the tide line but there were very few waders around.

How often do you get so excited about going birding that you forget to check the forecast? Last time we checked it was supposed to be clear sky and no breeze at dawn. Well, the no breeze bit was correct but a bank of thick fog was settled across the harbour, which was no use at all for our survey boat this AM up the Wareham Channel. Still, a count of 50 species exactly wasn’t too bad with highlights including several Bearded Tit in the mouth of the Frome, plus we believe there are now up to 43 Spoonbill in the harbour with 31 counted on Shipstal, Arne and 12 on the Brownsea Lagoon. There were also Kingfisher up the frome Valley, 57 Mute Swan in the Wareham Channel, several Cetti’s Warbler sub-singing and large numbers of Little Egret with c30 at Shipstal alone. Despite favourable conditions over night there was almost zero passage overhead at dawn and after the fog cleared, but it will be any night now that we encounter the first Redwings of the autumn passing over. At Holton Lee the Kingfishers were putting on a good show again and a Marsh Harrier made several passes. A Roseate Tern was seen off Salterns Marina near Parkstone and 5 Sandwich Tern were off Baiter. At Lytchett Fields the normal run of waders were spread across the site with 210 Redshank, 14 Greenshank, 61 Dunlin, 8 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 540 Teal, 1 Spotted Redshank and 3 Yellow Wagtail. At Middlebere the Barn Owl was seen and c300 Black-tailed Godwit were at the top end of the channel with 4 Grey Plover.   

A Foggy Morning in the Wareham Channel