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

Although sadly not seen, the 2 Common Crane from the previous two days were reported to be heard ‘bugling’ at dawn near/at Arne which must have been a great sound to hear. At Lytchett Fields there were 5 Stonechat, 37 Dunlin, 1 Spotted Redshank, 150+ Common Redshank, 10 Greenshank, 6 Green Sandpiper, 100+ Meadow Pipit, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Whinchat. At Middlebere a large total of 789 Black-tailed Godwit roosted on the high tide with 11 Knot, 12 Dunlin, 38 Redshank, 15 Wigeon and a Marsh Harrier also logged. Migration through Lytchett Heath consisted of 1 late Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 6 Blackcap and 1 Firecrest. Whilst at Ballard Down 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 14 Chiffchaff and 59 Blackcap were logged.

Firecrest – Lytchett Heath – Shaun Robson

With summer seeming to steal the hand of autumn once more, a gorgeous day was to be had which saw the two Common Crane from yesterday being re-found, although sadly by an estate worker on private land with no access. Hey hoe, maybe they’ll have the decency to hop on about 100m so that they can be visible from a well known nature reserve in the harbour. At ringing and migration stations in the harbour Blackcap are certainly the most common species encountered currently with 64 logged moving through Ballard along with 12 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler and 1 Stonechat. In Middlebere 2 different Marsh Harrier were seen and 11 Knot were in the channel. On the Brownsea Lagoon 11 Spoonbill were present which seem to be a separate flock from the current Shipstal birds. We’ll try and conduct a full count over the coming days to see how much the combined harbour flock has risen too.

Although its been ‘a slow’ autumn so far for rarities/scarcities, the sight of 2 Common Crane flying low in over the harbour mouth late afternoon must have been quite a sight for the one lucky observer who witnessed this today. They headed off SW and couldn’t be re-located sadly but there’s a possibility they could hang around. It was also reported that there were 3 Great White Egret in Middlebere late afternoon but no further details were provided. The Grey Phalarope was still on the Brownsea Lagoon for most of the day, showing well from the lower hide where there were also 3 Spotted Redshank and 250+ Avocet. A flock of what looked like 19 newly arriving Spoonbill flew in from the high north above the Sunnyside scrape at midday with a Hobby over too also 1 Whinchat and 2 Wheatear. Will we see a late surge of Spoonbill over the coming weeks? Migration through Ballard today was steady with 63 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 1 Grasshopper Warbler and 1 Sedge Warbler logged. Migration through Lytchett Heath seemed busier with 42 Chiffchaff, 6 Sedge Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 24 Blackcap, 1 Firecrest and 34 Meadow Pipit logged. On Lytchett Fields there were 10 Greenshank, 42 Dunlin, 1 Spotted Redshank, 8 Green Sandpiper, c200 Meadow Pipit, 1 Whinchat, 2 Yellow Wagtail, c30 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap and 1 Marsh Harrier. In Holes Bay north there was a good count of 776 Black-tailed Godwit plus 1 Knot, 36 Dunlin, 178 Wigeon and 6 Shoveler. At Baiter 2 Wheatear were along the rocks of the main cycle path.

With yesterdays yucky weather lingering on until this morning but then clearing beautifully, it was enough to encourage our last Osprey chick, 002 to head south on migration. Leaving 10-days later than the last chick last year we were beginning to think he would never leave. However having had a decent feed three times a day for the last five weeks he would have left in the best possible condition and here’s hoping he has a safe and effortless journey south into southern Europe or West Africa. Its been a challenging year but we now have a good set of birds all heading south for the winter, and believe it or not, spring 2019 sees the possible first return of our released chicks from 2017. All we have to do is see out the long cold winter…something tells us its going to drag on…slowly. Here’s hoping for a Waxwing winter to help pass the time. One thing that could help pass the time is logging/counting Cattle Egret, and it was reported today that a flock of 8 (a Poole Harbour record) were seen in fields at Bestwall/Swineham although they could not be relocated late afternoon. At Lytchett Fields there were 11 Greenshank, 162 Redshank, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50+ Black-tailed Godwit, 21 Dunlin, 6 Green Sandpiper, 40+ Lapwing, 1 Whinchat, 300+ Meadow Pipit, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Marsh Harrier. At Swineham there were 2 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Whinchat behind Curlews Cottage and off the Swineham Point 4 Greenshank, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Whimbrel and 3 Sandwich Tern. At Baiter there were 8 Turnstone, 11 Ringed Plover and 2 Wheatear with 2 Spotted Flycatcher in the copse at the back of the recreation ground. At Arne the Spoonbill flock was still at 30 and a Marsh Harrier was in Middlebere.

Osprey chick 002 (lower) and 008 before departing