What a bank holiday weekend it’s turning out to be! Absolute scorchio. This big area of high pressure certainly prompted birds of prey to move with Red Kites being the most notable. Across the whole county many were seen drifting over with 1 over Baiter, 3 over Arne, 8 over Lytchett Matravers, 2 over Slepe Heath and 1 over Studland.  The Glossy Ibis that was seen earlier in the week (and presumed gone) reappeared heading low east over Swineham GP this morning but couldn’t be relocated, however its good to know its still around and will be well worth checking the pools and fields in that area. The River Frome walk produced an excellent total of warblers including 21 Cetti’s Warbler, 46 Reed Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler (well down on last year), 4 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff and 1 Common Whitethroat along with 2 Bearded Tit, 10 Reed Bunting and 2 Raven.  At Lytchett Fields/Bay there was just a single passage Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover, c30 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Egyptian Geese and 2 Common Whitethroat. At Arne the Osprey was again in Middlebere with 20 Black-tailed Godwit, 8 Curlew, 5 Ringed Plover and 2 Dunlin in the channel and 2 Wheatear were on Coombe Heath. 

Red Kite – Slepe Heath 

This morning we hosted our dawn chorus walk at Challow Hill, Corfe. Although a bit cold to begin with, as soon as the sun peaked above the crest of the hill we were treated to a perfect early May day. On the edge of Challow Hill, 8 Common Whitethroat, c10 Yellowhammer, 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Stonechat, 1 Dartford Warbler and c5 Linnet were logged and on top of the hill several Skylark were in full song and a Cuckoo flew along the ridge. Elsewhere around the harbour, over Slepe heath/Arne Moors 6 Hobby were actively feeding together, a Red Kite over Ridge, a Marsh Harrier was in the Wareham Channel and an Osprey was in Middlebere. On Slepe Heath there was a single Tree Pipit, several Dartford Warbler and We also found a singing male Common Redstart on the eastern edge of Hartland Moor which gave us a good opportunity to sound record its song. Common Redstart are excellent mimics and we’ve cut some sections of this birds song allowing you to hear the its amazing mimicry. Each strophe starts the same with a single call, then four ‘buzzier’ calls then the final section is the imitation, apart from the final example we’ve provided where the bird gives up totally on its own song and completely steals another’s! 

Common Redstart mimicking Green Sandpiper – East Hartland – 05/05/18

Common Redstart mimicking Chaffinch – East Hartland – 05/05/18

 Common Redstart mimicking Siskin – East Hartland – 05/05/18

Common Redstart mimicking Blackbird – East Hartland – 05/05/18

Dawn Chorus Walk – Challow Hill – Barbara Bisset

This was exactly how a May bank holiday should begin, with warm sunshine, clear sky and a gentle easterly breeze full of eastern promise. It was great conditions for finding and seeing birds today and lots of sightings were reported from around the harbour. At dawn, Cuckoo’s were calling along the Arne Road, Soldiers Road and at Swineham. Later in the day there were numerous Hobby around Slepe Heath and Hartland area with one perching up regularly on the northern boundary of Slepe Heath. There was a single Spoonbill on Giggers Island in the Wareham Channel and in the river Frome 3 Common Sandpiper were on the exposed mud with another 2 on the Brownsea shoreline. Whimbrel were much in evidence around the harbour in numerous fields and wet pastures. At Sunnyside Farm 8 Wheatear and a male Yellow Wagtail were on the open fields. Highlights of the day though go to a Wood Warbler that was in the Arne car park briefly and a male Goshawk that drifted up over the Wareham Channel whilst an almost equally good sighting was a Marsh Harrier in the mouth of the Frome (a rare sight in May now). At Lytchett Fields there was a Lesser Whitethroat, 1 ad Yellow-legged Gull and 6 Whimbrel.

Hobby – Slepe Heath 

Stonechat – Slepe Heath 

A chance encounter at 7:50am of an Osprey flying over the Sherford Bridge road heading towards the harbour allowed us to track it all the way to the Wareham Channel and then finally to Arne where a good enough view was obtained to see it was un-ringed. There was also a gathering of 6 Hobby over the Arne Road, Slepe Heath area at midday. At Swineham there were 23 Whimbrel in the fields behind ‘Curlews cottage’ and a Cuckoo was calling next to the B&B. At Lytchett Bay a Grasshopper Warbler was singing behind the waterworks at the end of Slough Lane and 5 Whimbrel were on Lytchett Fields. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Common Terns have finally taken to the breeding islands in front of the hides giving us a great opportunity to stream live footage in to our Birds of Poole Harbour HQ on Poole Quay.

Common Terns displaying on the Brownsea Lagoon via our BoPH HQ webcam on Poole Quay

Much of the same today with an Osprey over Arne and the Wareham Channel, 4 Hobby over Arne and 2 over Hartland, 1 Spoonbill in Middlebere, 6 Wheatear at Sunnyside and 2 at Middlebere.  

What a great start to the month! After a pretty dire April, May began with a bang as a hat-trick of great birds were found in the harbour today. It started off with a White Stork that was first seen heading SW over Canford Heath before then being spotted several minuets later over Stoborough heading west up the Frome Valley, making this only the 11^th Poole Harbour record. Then, about 30 minuets later Richard Howe’s found Poole Harbours twentieth Glossy Ibis, although out of those twenty only five have been in recorded in the last ten years and the other fifteen dating pre-1877 making Glossy Ibis a very rare bird within the harbour. Then, around midday a summer plumaged Cattle Egret was found at Swineham in amongst cattle on the north side of the River Frome. Sadly it upped and left west into the Frome Valley but there’s a good chance its still around with plenty of good habitat locally with grazing cattle. There was also a great supporting cast with a Spoonbill in Middlebere, 19 Whimbrel and 12 Wheatear at Greenlands Farm and a single Yellowhammer at South Haven (very scarce here). Hobby were seen over the Lytchett Fields, Wareham bypass and Greenland’s Farm with Cuckoo also at Greenland’s and another at Swineham. In Poole Harbour mouth 60 Common Tern were feeding in the tidal race on the morning tidal run and a Spotted Flycatcher was on Brownsea. At Lytchett Fields there were 196 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 4 Whimbrel, 1 Green Sandpiper and 1 Little Ringed Plover. In Holes Bay NE there were also 4 Whimbrel. In the PCW Drain a single Willow Warbler was singing and there were 3 Blackcap and 1 Whitethroat. An Osprey was hunting in the Wareham Channel mid afternoon and early evening and a passage Marsh Harrier passed through the west of the harbour. 

Glossy Ibis – Lytchett Fields – Richard Howe’s

Well, that’s April over and done with. Sadly it didn’t end on a warm or even remotely mild high. In fact we had to have the heating on in our office it was that cold. Still, May is on its way and things can only get better…right? It seemed today that there were a few hangers on (new arrivals)? From yesteday’s migrant fest with 2 Whinchat and 10 Wheatear at Sunnyside Farm, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Garden Warbler and a Red Kite at Lytchett Bay and another (or the same) Red Kite over the Bakers Arms early Morning and 2 over Studland Bay. On the Asda building in Poole Holes Bay, the 1^st year male Peregrine was again resting on the eastern side. 

Spotted Flycatcher – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Peregrine Falcon – Asda, Holes Bay

Today we hosted our second spring bird boat of the weekend and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to state that it was actually colder on todays trip than some/all of our winter tours during December and January! Still, despite the cold, good spirits were held high and chattering teeth grinned and bared it as we were treated to a Little Tern off Shipstal beach a (distant) Osprey on the Arne shoreline, singing Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warbler up the River Frome, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Kingfisher, numerous Common and Sandwich Tern, 5 Swift, c50 Sand Martin and 2 Wheatear. There was an almighty fall of spring migrants at Portland today too, suggesting that a major fall had occurred across the southern Britain and signs of this rang true in the harbour with 11 Common Whitethroat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Redstart and 1 Spotted Flycatcher at Lytchett Bay, at Swineham there was another Redstart, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat and a Wheatear. Up on Ballard a Spotted Flycatcher was in the scrub at the end of the headland with c 20 Willow Warbler and 6 Wheatear were along the Ballard coastal path. In Middlebere there was a single Spoonbill, 5 Grey Plover (one in summer plumage), 1 Spotted Redshank, 6 Whimbrel and an Osprey flew over Coombe late afternoon with a Red Kite over Coombe mid morning. In Poole Park a pair of Common Tern were resting on the concrete bridge for their second day…maybe there should be some tern rafts installed on the lake? Along Baiter Beach/cycle way there were 5 Wheatear.

Whinchat and Wheatear – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Lesser Whitethroat – Swineham – Peter Moore

Our spring bird boat – Swineham – Peter Moore

Today was our first of two spring bird boat trips this weekend and they got off to a great start with Swallow and Swift passing over the Quay before we’d even left, suggesting that birds were on the move. A party of 5 Common Terns heading off north high over Hamworthy Park was a great example of true migration in action. As we made our way into the Frome Valley an Osprey came in and circled above us before having a minor ding-dong with a Raven. It was then left in peace to hunt over the channel for a further 20 mins before carrying on east up the Wareham Channel and then subsequently being seen off Poole Quay over Brownsea from our new HQ on Poole Quay. Up the River Frome 2 Common Sandpiper on the riverbank, both Reed and Sedge Warbler were singing as were plenty of Cetti’s. Swifts were definitely on the move with several small parties traveling over Swineham and Swallows were constantly streaming low over the water heading north. On the Spartina on Shipstal Beach Black-tailed Godwit were resting, 3 migrant Bar-tailed Godwit passed over us and a small party of Whimbrel were calling. At Lytchett Fields a flock of 20 Whimbrel were on French’s Pools with 137 summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank and 1 Little Ringed Plover and a single Wheatear. At Swineham and along the River Frome walk 1 Cuckoo, 2 Blackcap, 14 Cetti’s Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 24 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Whitethroat and 7 Reed Bunting were logged. Along Baiter Beach/cycle way there was 1 Wheatear and inPoole Park 2 Common Tern.

Whimbrel flock – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

We’re really looking forward to our two boat trips this weekend…hopefully spring migrants will be on the move. Lytchett Fields had been a bit too dry over the last few days to attract birds but with tide submerging much of the site today it attracted in an incredible 710 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Whimbrel, and a small passage of Swallow and House Martin. In Middlebere there was a good spring record of 2 Golden Plover with 11 Grey Plover along with 2 Wheatear, 1 Tree Pipit and passage Swallows along the main track. At Holton Lee there was a Wheatear in the southern fields and several Siskin feeding in front of the feeder hide.