A fairly grim start to the day which eventually cleared thankfully, but there wasn’t much reported over the course of the day. At Middlebere there were 105 Avocet, c200 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted Redshank, 35 Lapwing, 21 Curlew and a Wheatear. In Upton CP there were 2 Firecrest and in both Holes Bay and Lytchett Bay drake pintail were logged arriving in. On and around Hartland Moor there was still 1 female Merlin and a Peregrine with still only 2 Marsh Harrier coming out of the west Poole Harbour roost. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Spotted Redshank and along Soldiers Road 3 tardy Swallow. On the Wareham to Stoborough causeway the 2 Cattle Egret were again feeding in amongst the cows on the west side of the road.

We’ve said this numerous times this year but the warm weather seems to be impacting a range of biodiversity across the harbour, even this late in the year. Today in the late afternoon, early evening it was 22 degrees, which for mid October is a crazy temperature. More average would be 14 degrees so with this in mind it was amazing that we found a Smooth Snake out on a heathland near Hartland this afternoon, which is a species that normally goes into hibernation in October. Also, a late Cuckoo was photographed up on Hartland which is about two-weeks later than normal. Also out and around Hartland was a female Merlin, 1 Hobby still and a Peregrine with both immature male and female Marsh Harrier out over the Wareham Channel. Out on Shipstal Point, Arne the Spoonbill flock is staying consistent at 40 birds…will we see it increase at all? With the wind still fairly steady this morning another sea watch was attempted with only 1 Diver sp (likely Great Northern Diver), 2 Brent Geese and 2 Gannet the birds of note. At the Wareham by pass the 2 Cattle Egret were seen again to the west of the bridge amongst the cattle. At Lytchett Fields there were c200 Black-tailed Godwit, c200 Redshank, 6 Greenshank, 5 Green Sandpiper, 1 Knot and 1 Spotted Redshank and at Holton Pools the Kingfishers are kindly continuing to satisfy the numerous visiting photographers.

Smooth Snake – Hartland Moor

With a strong southerly wind blowing it made sense to attempt a Branksome sea watch which would be the first of the season. It was surprisingly productive with one (possibly two) distant Skua sp, most likely Arctic, 1 Eider, 4 Common Scoter, 3 Dunlin, 1 Curlew, 11 Med Gull, 5 Brent Geese and 26 Gannet. At Middlebere there were singles of Marsh Harrier, Merlin and Peregrine and still 2 Spotted Redshank.

A really great mix of birds today which included a ringtail Hen Harrier on Hartland, although it didn’t look to stick around, also 2 Merlin, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby and a Peregrine seen there too. On the Wareham bypass 2 Cattle Egret was seen with the cows again near the causeway. In Holes Bay NE 2 Green Sandpiper over were possibly a site first, also 700+ Black-tailed Godwit and 50+ Dunlin present. On Sunnyside Pools there were 2 Green Sandpiper and at Lytchett Fields 1 Spotted Redshank, 200+ Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpiper, 700+ Teal, 150 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Knot. On the Brownsea Lagoon Avocet numbers saw a marked increase with c500 present. In Middlebere there were 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 30 Avocet and 1 Peregrine.

How warm is it? With the forecast predicting 22 degrees today its no surprise many autumn vis-mig species are so low in numbers…they still think its mid-summer! Normally by now species such as Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch, Linnet and Siskin are passing in good numbers along Ballard and South Haven however numbers so far have been minimal. We really need a good cold snap to bring things back into sync and to prompt some birds to get moving. That said, a flock of 10 Barnacle Geese over Sunnyside Farm was a good record. The/a Cattle Egret was again near the Wareham Causeway, although further west towards the bypass. On Brownsea 8 Spoonbill were still present but later moved over to Arne and there were also 5 Spotted Redshank on Brownsea along with 26 Curlew, 11 Grey Plover, 10 Greenshank, 119 Black-tailed Godwit, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 397 Avocet, 18 Shoveler and 8 Wigeon. There was a Merlin on Coombe Heath and another (or the same) on Hartland Moor and a Firecrest in the Arne car park. There was a Wheatear at Lytchett Fields along with 1 Knot, 16 Dunlin and 200+ Redshank in Lytchett Bay. At Lytchett Heath a ringing session at dawn to monitor Bearded Tit numbers in the reedbed saw 23 caught (15 new and 8 re-traps).

Male and female Bearded Tit – Lytchett Heath – Paul Morton

Just like buses, you wait a couple of weeks for a Yellow-browed Warbler and then two come along at once. This morning a second in two days was ringed up on Ballard along with 26 Chiffchaff and 23 Blackcap. With the wind swinging westerly thrush passage dropped off and only 4 each of Redwing and Song Thrush were logged over Lytchett Heath. At Holton Pools a Marsh Harrier drifted in front of the hide and at Shipstal the Spoonbill flock stood at 32.

Yellow-browed Warbler – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Unlike most passage migrants that pass through the harbour in both spring and autumn there are some that just pass through during the latter part of the year and can sum up Autumn migration all on their own. One of those species is Yellow-browed Warbler, a bird that was once considered an extreme rarity but is now a regular migrant each October. Although several had appeared across the UK in recent weeks, it was no where near as ‘busy’ with YBW this autumn compared to recent years…that was until today. An estimated 500 turned up across the UK, mostly along the east coast but one did manage to trickle its way down to us with one ringed and logged moving through Ballard Down. With so many in the UK now (and more probably arriving) its well worth keeping an eye and an ear out for these dinky autumn delights. Also logged moving through Ballard was 27 Chiffchaff, 44 Blackcap, 1 late Common Redstart, 1 Song Thrush but only 1 Goldfinch…where are the finches??? On Brownsea there were 8 Spoonbill and c350 Avocet and later 8 Spoonbill were also in Lytchett Bay including colour-ringed bird ‘AE’ which was ringed in Holland in 2006 and has been seen regularly in Lytchett Bay/Poole harbour since 2013. Lytchett also had its first Merlin of the autumn. In Wareham at least 1 Cattle Egret remained along the causeway. A nocturnal sound recording session at Holton Lee saw thrush passage increase slightly with almost equal amounts of Redwing (45 calls) and Song Thrush (42 calls) passing over during the course of the night.

Eight Spoonbill – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Spring was back again today; although the gentle northerly breeze kept a certain autumn feel to the proceedings. That said, by mid afternoon it was almost another balmy October day. The highlight from today included a Short-eared Owl seen in Middlebere at dawn. There seem to be quite a few arriving at coastal sites across the UK so hopefully it will become an ‘SEO’ winter and even if this one was just a migrant passing through, we could see more arrive in coming weeks. Hartland Moor and Middlebere are good places to look at dawn and dusk. The Cattle Egrets were seen again on and off at the Wareham Causeway, gorging on insects on and around the cattle herd. The first 24 Brent Geese of the autumn were on Shipstal Point, Arne and a minimum of 39 Spoonbill were logged during the Poole Harbour WeBS count today. A Marsh Harrier and 2 Peregrine were in Middlebere and a Merlin was on Hartland. Vis-mig was slow but there was an obvious passage of Skylark with 40+ over Soldiers Road heading north. At Littlesea Studland 2 Great White Egret were also logged during the WeBS count and at Lytchett Fields there was a single White Wagtail. At Swineham Chiffchaff and a few Goldcrest were enjoying the sun and a flock of 5 Greenshank were on the floodplain.

Newly arrived Brent Goose flock – Shipstal Point, Arne

Wigeon – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad

Dartford Warbler – Upton Heath – Rene Goad

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.