There haven’t been many Black Redstart around this autumn so it was nice that one turned up on the Sandbanks crazy golf course this morning, feeding in amongst the windmills and helter-skelters of the golf course. The Cattle Egret flock seemed to have swapped their favoured feeding field from Nutcrack Lane to Holme Lane with 17 there this morning, although several did make their way back to Nutcrack Lane later in the afternoon.  And there were 2 Egyptian Geese on the Gravel Pit to the south of Holme Lane. At Lytchett Fields/Bay there were 612 Lapwing, 90 Avocet, 100+ Redshank, 2 Marsh Harrier, 3 Green Sandpiper and 1 Yellow-legged Gull along with good numbers of regular winter species. On the Poole Park boating lake 10 Goldeneye were present again in the SW corner. 

This morning we hosted our first Poole Town Urban Bird Walk initiative which will be taking place most Thursday mornings from now until the end of February (For full list of dates and info click here). The purpose is to highlight the diversity of Poole Town’s bird life during the winter, which is actually far greater than many may realise. Starting at our HQ on Poole quay we took the simple root along Poole Quay and up to Baiter, around the cycle path before then cutting into Poole Park and doing a full loop around the main boating lake. For a first walk we were treated to a whole host of great birds including 3 Kingfisher on the quay, 1 Sandwich Tern and 5 Ringed Plover along the marina sea wall, 10 Goldeneye, 7 Little Grebe, 3 Little Egret, 1 Mandarin, 3 Jay, 2 Goldcrest and 1 Kestrel in Poole Park plus c10 Turnstone, 3 Brent Geese and 5 Red-breasted Merganser at Baiter and we even jammed in on a Peregrine causing mayhem over Poole Park boating lake. Not bad for a two hour stroll in the centre of town. If you can make it to any of these walks over the winter, it would be great to see you. Elsewhere around the harbour the Cattle Egret flock peaked at 19 in the Nutcrack Lane field. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Water Pipit on the approach pools and in Holes Bay north, large gatherings of Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet were wheeling around on the outskirts of the country park.

Turnstone – Baiter Beach – Alison Copland

Goldeneye – Poole Park – Alison Copland

Pintail – Holes Bay – John Pick

Black-tailed Godwit flock – Holes Bay north – John Pick

Todays forecast was sunshine and showers, and they couldn’t have been more correct! This morning we had another school bird boat, and for some reason there seemed to be far fewer open water species in the South Deep/Harbour mouth area. A nice flock of 26 Goldeneye off Green Island was nice to see and across the open areas of the harbour there were c50 Red-breasted Merganser and at Shipstal c30 Spoonbill, c100 Brent Geese and 2 Sandwich Tern. The Holes Bay and Upton CP area were really productive with 136 Avocet, 7 Lapwing, c290 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff, 34 Dunlin, 9 Pintail, 589 Wigeon, 14 Gadwall and 14 Shoveler. Along Nutcrack Lane 18 Cattle Egret were still present in the first field on the right (to the south). At Lytchett Fields a flock of 44 Avocet were roosting on French’s Pools and 2 Water Pipit were along the field edges.

Goldeneye – flying over central harbour (in the rain) – Paul Morton

Spoonbill – Roosting on Shipstal (in the sun) – Paul Morton

There was a pretty savage NE wind this AM which added a certain ‘biting coldness’ to the days proceedings, however the school we took out for our school bird boat trip didn’t mind in the slightest and were some of the hardiest year 5’s we’d ever seen! Sightings were good as well with c30 Spoonbill, c20 Goldeneye, c70 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Black-necked Grebe, c 30 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Peregrine, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Kingfisher and c200 Brent Geese. There was also a  late report of 6 White-fronted Geese flying east along the Middlebere Channel yesterday afternoon, which sadly couldn’t be relocated today anywhere. At Nutcrack Lane 18 Cattle Egret were still in the cattle field to the south of the road, and seem pretty settled for the time being. There was some thrush passage again at dawn and over Lytchett Bay view 235 Redwing and 57 Fieldfare passed over. In Middlebere the male Merlin was again making use of the post outside the front of the Middlebere Hide and a Great White Egret was present briefly before flying off west. At Arne a male Brambling was feeding behind the welcome hut for most of the day and Lesser Redpoll were also noted on the reserve today (currently scarce this winter). At Lytchett Bay a flock of 17 Tufted Duck was really unusual (they’re barely annual here) and in Holes Bay ducks and waders of numerous species, including Avocet, Redshank, Snipe, Curlew, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon and Gadwall were all giving almost point blank views from the cycle path bordering the northern edge.

Avocet – Holes Bay NE – Ian Ballam

Common Snipe – Holes Bay NE – Ian Ballam

Middlebere was the place for raptors this afternoon with the adult female Hen Harrier seen passing close to the Middlebere Hide and a male Merlin perched on the fence post outside the hide, as well as flyby’s of Peregrine, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk. There were also several large wader flocks consisting of Avocet, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit. Spoonbills were over Lytchett Bay (3), Upton CP (2), Middlebere (4) and Shipstal Point (c30). Along Nutcrack Lane 17-20 Cattle Egret were still feeding in the field to the south of the road. On the Upton CP/Holes Bay boundary there was a great total of 120 Pintail, also 1 Spotted Redshank, 100+ Avocet, 86 Avocet, 500+ Wigeon, 2 Goldeneye, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Peregrine and 2 Firecrest by the walled garden. There was some thrush passage at dawn over Poole Town, suggesting numbers must have been moving over through the night too despite the strong wind. Several hundred Fieldfare and Redwing were logged over Poole Town and Lytchett Bay view. We also received information of 10+ ‘dead birds’ underneath/next  the Asda building at Holes Bay. Slightly concerned to begin with, it suddenly dawned on us that it’s also where Peregrine often take their prey back pluck and eat. With an easterly wind it seems the remains of several prey items were blown off the feeding ledge 100ft up and became strewn across the street. What was most interesting is that many of the remains were of Redwing, Fieldfare and Song Thrush which are all night migrants that are currently passing over Poole Town at night having just arrived from Scandinavia. Therefor it seems the Poole Peregrines are utilising the town lights to stalk their prey at night.  Also found was 1 Dunlin, 1 Knot and 1 Feral Pigeon. AMAZING!!!

Merlin – Middlebere – Phyl England

Hen Harrier – Middlebere – Phyl England

What a cracker of a day! A crisp winter sun sat low in the sky and a cold, biting wind made hats and scarves a necessity, which weirdly was a welcome treat with all the mild weather we’ve been getting. That said it seemed people were just out enjoying the sun today as reported sightings were few and far between. Highlights included 15 Cattle Egret along Nutcrack Lane, 1 Great Northern Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe and a Sandwich Tern in Brands Bay. The ringtail Hen Harrier was seen over Slepe Heath and in Middlebere. At Swineham there was a Common Redstart (another lost and confused late autumn migrant) and 2 Egyptian Geese. There was also a Black Redstart along the Middlebere track. In Poole Park on the main boating lake the Mandarin Duck was near the Café and there were 5 Goldeneye. At Arne 36 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point. Just outside the area the Great Grey Shrike was at Morden Bog.

Pintail – Upton CP ‘Stone Bench’ – John Pick

The sun was back and shining bright today after the murk had cleared. The now (hopefully) resident Cattle Egret flock which this morning stood at 18 individuals (but later rose to 20) were first seen in the field along Nutcrack Lane, then moved to Bestwall, then disappeared then moved back to Nutcrack Lane again, so they seem pretty mobile. A Great White Egret was off Coombe Heath in Middlebere several times today and 2 Hen Harrier were seen with one in Middlebere and a ringtail in Lytchett Bay. In Poole Park there were 6 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser and 4 Sandwich Tern left the roost there too at dawn. At Arne 20 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point with one very confiding individual feeding just off Shipstal Beach.

Late autumn is always exciting as you still never know what’s going to turn up. With the main bulk of autumn migration well and truly over, certainly for sub-Saharan African migrants it seems ludicrous to think a bird like a Garden Warbler could still appear but that’s what happened up at our ringing site on Ballard this morning. Avery late and lost individual! Also ringed on Ballard were 4 Fieldfare, 7 Goldcrest, 9 Chiffchaff, 2 Firecrest, 3 Blackcap and 2 Song Thrush. Off Middle Beach, Studland there were 2 Black-necked Grebe and 4 Common Scoter and off the Brownsea southern shore there was no sign of the Black Guillemot sadly but the 1^st winter Eider was there again along with 7 Black-necked Grebe, c15 Red-breasted Merganser and 2 Sandwich Tern. In Shell Bay the Slavonian Grebe was present again along with 13 Fieldfare overhead and 3 Sandwich Tern. Off Jerry’s Point there were 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Red-breasted Merganser, 27 Great Crested Grebe and 45 Dunlin. From the Middlebere hide there were some good counts of 364 Avocet, 284 Teal, 23 Grey Plover, 5 Spotted Redshank, 291 Dunlin, 208 Lapwing and 15 Curlew. At Bestwall there were just 2 Cattle Egret today with another 7 in a field along Nutcrack Lane and at Lytchett Fields 281 Lapwing, 133 Redshank, 13 Dunlin, 2 Green Sandpiper, 200 Teal and 231 Wigeon were in the bay.

The Black Guillemot was again off the south-east corner of Brownsea Island, favouring the area in between the green and red marker posts that sit fairly close together. Again, viewing is really only possible from the houseboats at Bramble Bush Bay. At dawn a Short-eared Owl was hunting over Slepe Heath…we wish this bird would be a bit more consistent! It doesn’t currently seem to have a set routine or favoured spot to hunt making it quite difficult to view. Maybe as the winter progresses it will find its rhythm! A night ringing session at a site next to Hartland Moor was a bit more productive than last week with 2 new Woodcock caught and ringed (both adults) along with 1 Common Snipe, 1 Redwing and 1 Stock Dove. There was also a decent passage of Redwing overhead for most of the night with many birds being heard over urban areas between 7pm and 10pm.

Woodcock – Hartland Moor – Mike Gould

There was good news today that a Black Guillemot flew in through the harbour mouth at dawn and was later relocated off the south-eastern corner of Brownsea Island. This is familiar behaviour as this is the same routine previous Black Guillemots have carried out over the last few years, which could even suggest it’s the same bird returning? Hopefully it will remain now for the winter, but the best opportunity of trying to see it is with a scope from the houseboats at Studland, looking out across the water to Brownsea. Also in through the harbour mouth at dawn were 70 Shag, 4 Red-breasted Merganser and 80+ Brent Geese. In Shell Bay there were 3 Sandwich Tern, 1 Great Northern Diver, 5 Black-necked Grebe and 5 Common Scoter. In Bramble bush Bay 10 Turnstone and 10 Red-breasted Merganser were on and just off the beach with another 20 Red-breasted Merganser, 18 Great Crested Grebe and 5 Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point.  In Brands Bay there were 13 Pintail, 4 Grey Plover, 200 Wigeon but only 1 Teal! From Middle Beach the winters first Slavonian Grebe was seen along with another 3 Black-necked Grebe and 38 Cormorant. In Poole Park the Mandarin was on the smaller lake and there were 2 Goldeneye out on the main boating lake with 6 Little Grebe and a Redshank. At Holton Pools 3 Water Pipit and a Green Sandpiper were out in front of the hide. At dawn 8 Sandwich Tern were feeding off Baiter Beach. At Lytchett Bay there was an adult female Hen Harrier bombing around the reed beds plus 1 Spoonbill, 1 Brambling and 40 Avocet. There was also an adult male Hen Harrier near Hartland at dusk with a missing tail feather. On top of Ballard a male Ring Ouzel was feeding on berries.