Today, the harbour was calm enough to get a decent count of open water species logged, which included 1 Great Northern Diver, 15 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Guillemot, c200 Red-breasted Merganser and 50 Goldeneye, c75 Great Crested Grebe. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Stilt Sandpiper was still present and there were 10 Spotted Redshank. At Arne 8 Spoonbill were on Shipstal, and 7 were in Holes Bay. At Lytchett Bay a Merlin, ringtail Hen Harrier and Marsh Harrier were recorded mid-morning. At Middlebere 2 Great White Egret were in with Little Egrets, also c500 Avocet, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier were seen from the Middlebere Hide. There seemed to be a moderate arrival of winter thrush such as Redwing and Fieldfare with more visible than in recent weeks, likely due to the worsening weather further north. 

Brent Geese – Baiter Park – Ian Ballam

Spoonbills – Holes Bay NE – Ian Ballam

Single Black-necked Grebe and Guillemot were seen from the harbour mouth this morning with a Purple Sandpiper nearby on North Haven. 2 Great White Egret were still in the Middlebere channel where there was also a ringtail Hen Harrier. A male Merlin was once again on Hartland Moor in the late evening. In Arne Bay a female Common Scoter was present and c25 Spoonbill huddled together on Shipstal Point sheltering from the biting wind. The Stilt Sandpiper was still on Brownsea Lagoon yesterday whilst there were 32 Sanderling on Pilot’s Point and 22 Spoonbill in Lytchett Bay. With the freezing weather further north perhaps we may see some cold weather movement over the weekend?

The Stilt Sandpiper was again on Brownsea Lagoon – could it still be getting out into the Middlebere channel occasionally? 3 Great White Egret were still in the harbour and are best viewed from Coombe Heath on Arne RSPB. A couple of Great Northern Diver were off Brownsea quay as was a Black-necked Grebe and there’s a good chance that numbers of both may increase after Storm Caroline has passed through. During the day there were 23 Spoonbill on Brownsea Lagoon with 22 in the Wareham Channel as dusk fell. 3 different Hen Harrier were seen in the west of the harbour late afternoon. A large number of Dunlin totalling 2,490 were on Brownsea Lagoon which will disperse to other areas of the harbour to feed during low tides such as Holes Bay/Upton CP where they can be viewed close to the cycle paths. Likewise, there was a high count of 225 Grey Plover on the lagoon that probably head out to Brand’s Bay to feed. 2 Golden Plover on Lytchett Fields RSPB was a rare sight there and just across the river a Green Sandpiper was in front of the Holton Lee hide. A Water Pipit was also seen at Holton Lee with at least 1 still on the Pools Fields at Lytchett Bay RSPB. 23 Lesser Redpoll were voraciously feeding in trees directly behind the new hide at Holton Lee.  A single Hawfinchwas seen on Brownsea near the church so be sure to check your local churchyard! An early evening Woodcock survey at Arne Farm saw 4 birds logged and two new birds ringed, both of which were 1^st winter birds. 

An early morning survey boat out through the Wareham Channel and up the River Frome as far as Redcliffe yielded some interesting sightings. Most unusual was the large number of Brent Geese heading east out of the channel not long after dawn totalling 420. In the fields around Bestwall two flocks of Curlew numbered 33 and 42 whilst there were around 100 Lapwing. The leucistic Egyptian Goose has returned for a second winter joining the Canada Goose flock on Arne Moors. At least 2 Water Pipit were at the mouth of the River Frome as were c10 Bearded Tit and a Marsh Harrier. The Great Northern Diver was still in the middle of the harbour, 1 Hawfinch was still at Arne Farm and 4 Water Pipit were still at Lytchett Fields RSPB on the Pools Fields. In the west there was a juvenile male and female Hen Harrier in the later afternoon.

Late news for the 4^th: A Bittern was seen flying over Poole Quay in the evening.

The Stilt Sandpiper was seen from the School Bird Boat this morning in its now usual feeding spot on Brownsea Lagoon. The lagoon also hosted half a dozen Spoonbill with a further 20 birds roosting out on Shipstal Point. Other good sightings from the bird boat included a Great Northern Diver, 3 Common Scoter, 4 Black-necked Grebe, c150 Red-breasted Merganser and c50 Goldeneye. 4 Sanderling feeding on the beach on the south side of Brownsea Island was unusual. The lone Hawfinch was seen again around Frenches Farm whilst on the nearby Pools Field 4 Water Pipit were still present. Whilst we have known that there have been up to 3 different Great White Egret in the harbour this winter it was great to hear of 3 together from the Coombe Heath viewpoint today.

Today we hosted our first winter bird boat of the 2017/18 winter period. Departing at 10am the weather stayed fair (although turned rather chilly by the end) and our guests were treated to a nice selection of species out on the water as well as the Brownsea Lagoon. Highlights included a showy Great White Egret on the Brownsea Lagoon along with the Stilt Sandpiper, which was conveniently feeding close to lagoon sea wall allowing us to peer down on to it and 9 Spoonbill. The lagoon was also busy with Avocet, Grey Plover, Bar and Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and a couple of Pintail. Out on the water a Great Northern Diver was in Whitley Lake off Sandbanks, a flock of c30 Goldeneye were in central harbour and 3 Common Scoter and 2 Black-necked Grebe were near the harbour entrance. There were 15 Spoonbill at Shipstal tool with a Peregrine briefly causing a bit of chaos. Red-breasted Merganser, Brent Geese and Great Crested Grebe were plentiful as were Shag and a large raft of feeding sinensis Cormorant. There was a report that 2 Great White Egret were seen from Shipstal and then later in the day one settled in Lytchett Bay briefly before moving to Lytchett Fields. Also in Lytchett Bay was 1 ringtail Hen Harrier and 3 Spoonbill were on Lytchett Fields. 

Great White Egret – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Spoonbill – Lytchett Fields – Shaun Robson

From Evening Hill, as the tide dropped mid-afternoon 1 Great Northern Diver, 2 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Merganser and 58 Bar-tailed Godwit were in Whitley Lake. From the top of Cliff Drive, in Canford Cliffs, looking out across a flat calm Poole Bay only 1 Great Northern Diver and 7 Common Scoter were logged. At Lytchett Bay, 5 Water Pipit were on the Pools Field along Slough Lane and the Merlin was on its perching post out in the bay. Spoonbills were in Holes Bay, Middlebere and Lytchett Bay. Middlebere was busy with birds, showing off with 1 Hen Harrier, 2 Marsh Harrier, male and female Merlin, 1 Great White Egret, 19 Spoonbill, c100 Avocet, 1 Barn Owl and a Firecrest along the track. 

Today a male Hen Harrier was back in the harbour again, seen bombing around with the ringtail female in the Wareham Channel area, also c250 Avocet were feeding in the Wareham Channel. At Lytchett Bay there were 2 Water Pipit near the viewpoints at Lytchett Fields, several Bearded Tit were seen from Lytchett Bay viewing mound and a male Merlin was out on a plucking post in the bay its self. Another male Merlin was at the Middlebere layby at dusk. Our first chance to properly survey Arne Farm this winter for Woodcock produced 3 new birds ringed and 6-7 individuals seen. From a school bird boat a drake Goosander was seen in Newton Bay. In the Arne car park 2 Firecrest were seen well near the visitors hut. Spoonbills are still showing nicely in Holes Bay NE on the low tide. 

One of three Woodcock ringed – Arne Farm – Paul Morton

Bearded Tit – Lytchett Bay view – Ian Ballam

Spoonbill were scattered around the harbour this afternoon on the low tide with 7 in Lytchett Bay, which then headed to Holes Bay. There were 3 in Middlebere and 12 in the Wareham Channel. Also at Middlebere the Water Pipit was in front of the hide again along with a fly by ringtail Hen Harrier. In Holes Bay, with the Spoonbill were good numbers of Avocet again close to the cycle path. At Littlesea a Great White Egret was on the main lake and in Brands Bay there were 41 Pintail, 141 Shelduck and 10 Avocet with c30 Fieldfare in Holly Bushes before the hide. 

Spoonbills from Holes Bay NE cycle path – Ian Ballam

Wow its cold! Often with these icy blasts from the north we see arrivals of scarcer species into the harbour like ‘grey geese’ species such as White-fronted Geese, Pink-footed etc and even birds like Bewick’s and Whooper Swan, so if when out and about you see flocks of wildfowl or swans flying over, certainly in the Frome and Piddle Valley area its well worth giving them all a good look. Golden Plover is another bird to look out for during cold weather and with snow forecast north of us in central and eastern England in the coming days then it could well force some of these birds down our way. Today saw a light passage of thrush first thing this morning with both Redwing and Fieldfare on the move in small numbers overhead. Lytchett Bay on the low tide was full of birds as was Holes Bay and Upton Country Park with Lytchett Bay holding 13 Spoonbill, 32 Brent Geese, 73 Avocet, 181 Black-tailed Godwit and an adult ringtail Hen Harrier. In Holes Bay mid afternoon the low tide produced c50 Avocet in Holes Bay NE and good numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Wigeon, Teal Shelduck. Poole Park boating had only 3 Goldeneye on it today but 11 Little Grebe, 1 Kingfisher and 3 Grey Wagtail around the site. At Arne around 300 Avocet were spooked in the mid morning sun by a Peregrine, which provided startled beauty in as much it looked incredible with black and white twisting and turning in the sun beams, but not very beautiful for the Avocets. There were also 2 Marsh Harrier a Merlin at a Water Pipit in Middlebere too. In Poole Harbour west it seems the Hen Harriers were unsettled by a large herd of Sika Deer moving through their normal roosting spot with neither the recent male or female settling down tonight. Our ringing site up on Ballard, which will soon be drawing to a close for the season in the next couple of days ringed another stunning adult male Brambling. Woodcock numbers seem to be building with 3 seen flying over the Arne Road at dusk, and according to the Woodcock network website, an arrival in from Scandinavia over the last 24 hours has swelled numbers.  

Male Brambling – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Rock Pipit – Whitley Lake, Sandbanks – Ian Ballam

Water Pipit – Middlebere – Ian Ballam

Avocet – Middlebere – Ian Ballam