Finally, the first Sand Martin of the year arrived today with just a single bird over Swineham GP this evening. It took a while considering there have been so many in the UK already this spring. There were 2 more Osprey reports in the UK today, highlighting they’re on their way! In Middlebere this afternoon 8 Spoonbill were settled on the the salt marsh, and two different White-tailed Eagle flew low over the Middlebere Channel, an adult and a juvenile, with another 2 in the Wareham Channel mid-afternoon. This evening 2 Great White Egret and 27 Cattle Egret went in to the Swineham roost.

White- tailed Eagle and Herring Gull – Middlebere – Izzy King

White- tailed Eagle and Herring Gull – Middlebere – Izzy King

A Really tough day where the fog was supposed to have disappeared by 9am, but in fact, stayed smothering the harbour all day. There were a few snippets of birding interest including 5 Black-throated Diver still in-between Evening Hill and Brownsea Island, a Guillemot was off Poole Quay, a redhead Goosander was in Holes Bay NE, near the PCW Drain, 2 White-tailed Eagle were seen in the Wareham Channel this afternoon briefly and a single Hawfinch was still in St Marys churchyard at Lytchett Matravers.

In brighter news, there was some more historic Poole Harbour info today, in that the first ever wild Beavers in England were released into Little Sea, Studland this afternoon under the new Government license scheme which was announced and rolled out and last week. The National Trust have been working on this application for several years, hoping that the licenses would have been granted some time ago. However various secretaries of states  over the years have kicked the can down the road and put the scheme on the back burner for far too long. Late last week though, the current Environment Secretary ‘Steve Reed’ announced that licenses would now be considered for wild beaver releases, and so with all the hard work already completed the National Trust Purbeck team acted incredibly quickly, got their paper work in order, went to Scotland, caught some Beavers under license from wild populations up there in partnership with the Beaver Trust, and brought them down to the harbour at the start of this week. Talk about a speedy response. The reason this is significant is because all other beaver releases across the England up until this point have been within enclosures, meaning they can’t spread out and create the great dynamic wetlands they’re well built to do. Now with Beavers wild in Purbeck they’ll spread over time and start to create rich, dynamic wetlands across Purbeck and beyond. A huge congratulations to all involved.

European Beavers – Little Sea, Studland – The Beaver Trust

Long may this beautifully, sunny period of high pressure continue! It must of been October last year when we last had 4 days of consecutive sun? It’s certainly getting the birds going, with displaying and a building chorus of song developing. Even our winter birds are now seeing the bright side, with 3 Black-necked Grebe off Studland Beach mostly in full summer plumage, along with the smattering of Mediterranean Gulls there too, plus 3 Common Scoter and 1 Great Northern Diver. A random winter plumaged Red-throated Diver was ‘new in’ , settled on the water out in Brands Bay and the Long-tailed Duck was off Jerry’s Point with 1 Slavonian Grebe and 2 Black-necked Grebe. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere and 1 also flew over Swineham GP this evening. There were 2 White-tailed Eagle present with 1 in the Wareham Channel and one on Gold Point, RSPB Arne, opposite Hamworty Beach. This afternoon, 2 Red Kite drifted over the Ham Common viewpoint, there was still at least 1 Hawfinch in St Marys Church yard, Lytchett Matravers.

Red-throated Diver – Brands Bay – Mick Brooks

Partial summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe – South Haven – Studland – Mick Brooks

Apologies, there were some issues with the website so yesterday’s and today’s sightings are amalgamated.

A really stunning weekend, with calm sunny conditions both days meaning there was lots of spring activity in the harbour. More Sandwich Tern have arrived back on the Brownsea Lagoon with several pairs flying about the harbour today too. Huge total for Cattle Egret coming in to roost yesterday evening with 59 counted heading up the Piddle Valley towards the harbour which may even be a record. The 14 Spoonbill were still off Shipstal both days.

It was prime conditions for soaring birds of prey over the weekend and there were certainly plenty around from our Winter Safari Cruise this morning. 3 Goshawk were effortlessly gliding over Middlebere, 3+ Marsh Harrier were hunting in the Wareham Channel, 1 adult male Hen Harrier was hunting over Arne Moors and 1 White-tailed Eagle was here too. 4 Bearded tit showed nicely at the mouth of the river Frome from the boat trip. Later a Short-eared Owl was hunting for some time this afternoon over Arne Moors. It’s been a great weekend for Eagle sightings with multiple views of them including in Lytchett Bay, Ham Common, Middlebere, Arne, Studland with a few juveniles and the adult pair hanging around and interacting. The 3 Ruff were still present at Swineham today. 1 Bittern flew up from Swineham gravel pit late yesterday evening, along with 5 Spoonbill and 1 Barn Owl.

1 Common Guilliemot was off Poole Quay and 1 Black-necked Grebe was off Jerry’s Point. Interestingly, there were no Divers seen throughout the harbour so perhaps there’s been a clear out over the weekend. 1 early Northern Wheatear was reported on the Brownsea Lagoon this afternoon and there were plenty of waders here including c200 Avocet, 70+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 800+ Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 40 Grey Plover and 3 Ringed Plover.

Ringtail Hen Harrier – Mark Wright – Middlebere Channel

Sandwich Tern – Wareham Channel from Winter Safari Cruise this morning – Alison Copland

What a perfect way to see out February and the end of metrological winter, with what we hope is setting the tone for a beautiful and perfect spring to come. After the frost thawed out, we were left with pristine, perfect early spring day with signs of Spring all around the harbour. Another Northern Wheatear appeared, this time at Middlebere, with a handsome male on show. Common Chiffchaff were singing at Holme Lane, Carey Secret Garden, RSPB Arne and Swineham. The first 3 Sandwich Terns of the season were on the Brownsea Lagoon and Woodlark were in full song at traditional sites. Buzzards were in full display mode right across the harbour skyline and both Goshawk and Sparrowhawk were both seen displaying over harbour airspace too. Winter specialities remained, with the 5 Black-throated Diver still off Evening Hill, 10 Black-necked Grebe were off Middle Beach, Studland, the Long-tailed Duck, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver were off Jerry’s Point. Other signs of movement included a Golden Plover over Holme Lane this AM with 3 Goosander over Hatch Pond, Poole and a small trickle of Meadow Pipits were arriving in off the sea. A Great White Egret arrived in down the Frome Valley mid-morning and 5 Cattle Egret were in the Piddle Valley, and this evening 18 Cattle Egret went into the Swineham Roost along with 1 Great White Egret, 15+ Little Egret and 5 Spoonbill dropped down onto the Piddle floods to roost, plus a Barn Owl also flew through. This afternoon six different White-tailed Eagles were in the west of the harbour, moving between the Wareham Channel and the Frome Valley. The Barnacle Goose was still at Holmebridge this morning and there were single of Spotted Redshank in Middlebere and Lytchett Bay.

Goshawk – Poole Harbour south

Spotted Redshank – Middlebere

Another eagle filled day with no less than 7-8 individuals moving around just north, south and in and around the harbour over the course of the day. There were 2 juveniles White-tailed Eagles fighting over food out in the Wareham Channel this morning, viewed from the Ham Common viewpoint. These two soon drifted off over RSPB Arne and were joined by 2 others, most likely the local pair. During March and April the Ham Common viewpoint is a great place to try and see White-tailed Eagles as they move around a lot in the spring, often flying over the Wareham Channel and the viewpoint it’s self, with mornings often providing the best opportunities of seeing them before they go off for their daily jaunts. This evening a Bittern was seen flying over Swineham GP and was last seen heading towards the Piddle Valley. In the PCW Drain, 20+ Common Chiffchaff were still present with no less than in full song along the channel, with 1 Cetti’s Warbler and 1 Firecrest also in the channel. A Red Kite drifted over Sunnyside this afternoon, 13 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne and a male Northern Wheatear was seen again on Hartland Moor. Off Jerry’s Point 1 Common Scoter, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver. 

Juvenile White-tailed Eagles food fighting – Wareham Channel – Alison Copland

Spoonbills – Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne

Hopefully, today was the last period of foul weather for a while, with a beautiful ridge of high pressure now settled in over the UK for the next week. The foul weather did deliver our first sub-Saharan spring migrant of the year, with a male Northern Wheatear on Hartland Moor. This probably one of the earliest records for Poole Harbour of this species and follows a bit of a pattern of other early migrants appearing across the UK this year. We’re now entering ‘Bittern time’, with an opportunity to possibly see Bittern moving about Swineham GP at dusk, and in a few weeks time, the possibility of watching Bittern leave. This evening one was seen flying from Arne Moors, over onto Swineham GP at around 18:30, presumably to go and roost there. It called a few times as it flew as it flew from Arne Moors to Swineham which is always a joy to hear. From our School Bird Boat this AM, Bovington Academy enjoyed views of a White-tailed Eagle flying over Shipstal Point, at RSPB Arne, also 2 Black-throated and 1 Great Northern Diver off the Brownsea Lagoon sea wall and 1 Common Guillemot off Poole Quay. Tonight we were hosting our final Sunnyside ringing demo of the winter which was a cold, still night making catching tricky but we did end up with 3 Jack Snipe caught, including a re-trap of an individual we caught in mid-November last year.

Sanderling – Sandbanks Groynes 

Spring seemingly continues to press on with more and more Sand Martin arriving across the country and a Northern Wheatear on Portland Bill today. A small handful of early migrants across the country in late February isn’t too unusual, but this year, a decent total and variety of spring migrants have already arrived suggesting we could be in for an early season?

Here in the harbour no sub-Saharan migrants have been logged yet, but this morning a small passage of Meadow Pipit were seen coming in off the sea over Studland Bay which would suggest European arrivals. This morning the 5 Black-throated Diver were still off Baiter, feeding in a small tight group out towards Salterns Marina, along with 1 Great Northern Diver and 2 Sandwich Tern. At Lytchett Bay, a Little Gull was reported on Lytchett Fields and 1 Spotted Redshank was out in the bay in the low tide. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere this morning plus 1 Spoonbill, 1 Red Kite and 1 Goshawk seen there too. It seems various White-tailed Eagles were moving around today with sightings of 1 White-tailed Eagle out over the Wareham Channel, 1 over Ballard Down, 1 over Morden Bog, 1 over Morden/Lytchett Matravers and 1 over Corfe. The Hawfinch was still in St Marys Church Yard, Lytchett Matravers. A pair of Goosander were on the river just north of Holmebridge and 5 Cattle Egret flew over Wareham Common.

Ringtail Hen Harrier – Middlebere – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle and Common Buzzard – Lytchett Matravers