As winter progresses and autumn days fade away, trying to squeeze in a full days birding before the late afternoon darkness descends can be a fun challenge. Winter provides an all round spectacle in each corner of the harbour so weekend days spent circumnavigating the harbour can be really rewarding. Admittedly the weather this AM didn’t fill many people with enthusiasm as the rain lashed down but an early trip out saw the Pink-footed Goose still present although it was flushed mid-morning by wildfowlers and never returned. All the usual suspects were noted in their usual haunts with 44 Spoonbill on Shipstal, 2 Merlin in Middlebere with c700 Avocet and out over the western end of the Wareham Channel 3-4 Marsh Harrier. Redwing are pretty conspicuous now and the higher numbers of Blackbird and Song Thrush in hedgerows each morning suggest new birds are continuing to arrive in. 

Pink-footed Goose – Holmebridge – Ian Ballam

A cold SW wind blew for most of the day but the discovery of a Pink-footed Goose at Holmebridge late afternoon took the edge of things. This species is less than regular and last occurred in Jan 2013, but records prior to this have been fairly sporadic. The last one was also found at Holmebridge and stayed for several weeks so hopefully it will settle and stay for a while. In the Wareham Channel 44 Spoonbill came in to feed just off Giggers Island with 54 roosting in Arne Bay later in the day, however dawn and evening harrier watches have proved fruitless for Hen Harrier, although there are still 3 Marsh Harrier about. Off Shipstal, Arne there was a Slavonian Grebe and 3 Goldeneye plus the building numbers of Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser. Off South Beach, Studland there were 21 Black-necked Grebe and 2 pale-bellied Brent Geese in amongst 20 dark-bellied Brents. Migration through/over Ballard was much slower today with minimal numbers of birds ringed. 

There were yet more Hawfinch today with another 2 flying over north Poole first thing this morning as migration up on Ballard stayed fairly strong considering we’re coming to the end of the vis-mig season with 1 Brambling, 66 Goldfinch, 18 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Bullfinch, 15 Chaffinch, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Goldcrest ringed. In Middlebere a Great White Egret was present for a short while with c800 Avocet now present also a single Spotted Redshank. With WeBS coming this Sunday it will be good to get a full wader and wildfowl count but it seems we’re still low on several species such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot and Sanderling which were all present today in very small numbers. 

Sparrowhawk – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Brambling – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

With a bright start to the day and a cold NW wind, it got a few birds moving, including another 5 Hawfinch which passed over Ballard Down early morning, along with 3 Crossbill, 15 Bullfinch and plenty of Lesser Redpoll. A Great White Egret was on Littlesea, Studland and from a school bird boat today a Velvet Scoter was out in central harbour with 50+ Spoonbill on Shipstal but lesser numbers of Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser in comparison to recent days, perhaps sheltering in quieter areas out of the wind. What was thought to be the same Hen Harrier was first seen over Shipstal Point, Arne and again later in the afternoon on Hartland. A full count was conducted on Brownsea by the DWT which included 295 Avocet, 15 Spotted Redshank, 12 Greenshank, 5 Knot, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 220 Black-tailed Godwit, 152 Grey Plover, 620 Dunlin, 3 Spoonbill, 1 Kingfisher, 134 Shoveler, 173 Wigeon, c500 Teal, 1 Pintail and 7 Brent Goose. A single Purple Sandpiper was back on the North Haven side of the harbour mouth on the sea ledge, with another (or the same) later on the Studland side. Holes Bay NE and SE saw 450+ Black-tailed Godwit, 500+ Wigeon, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Avocet. At Lytchett Bay a Merlin was on Otter Island, and out in Studland Bay viewed from Middle Beach a Great Northern Diver and 11 Black-necked Grebe were on the water. We also conducted another night survey at our study area in the Lower Frome Valley checking for returning Woodcock of which we only found 1, however we were able to catch and ring the bird which is a good start to the Woodcock season. Barn Owl and Tawny Owl were also heard. 

Purple Sandpiper – North Haven – Hamish Murray

Woodcock – Lower Frome Valley – Paul Morton

Velvet Scoter – Central Harbour – Marcus Lawson

Spoonbills were reported today from Lytchett Bay, Shipstal and Brownsea. Avocet totals seem to still be growing with c400 in Middlebere, c200 on Brownsea and several on Shipstal. A Merlin was seen dashing across Holes Bay. Red-breasted Merganser numbers continue to grow with c50 out in the Brands Bay/South Deep area along with a single Black-necked Grebe also there. Holes Bay NE is well worth a visit on the rising tide as good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and Curlew get pushed close to the cycle path. 

At least once a month we like to try and do a full harbour survey via boat to gage arrival dates and building totals of species whilst getting into all those little nooks and crannies which can be difficult to reach via foot. This morning we carried out one of these surveys and managed a respectable 87 species from the boat. We headed up the Wareham Channel/River which allowed terrestrial as well as aquatic species to be monitored. Highlights included the first 7 settled Goldeneye of the winter in amongst the c75 Great Crested Grebe and c100 Red-breasted Merganser. 4 Goosander flew low over the mouth of the Frome and over Swineham. Merlin were noted at Shipstal, Arne and at Swineham. 2-3 Marsh Harrier were in the west of the Wareham Channel with another over the Brownsea Lagoon. Spoonbills were on Shipstal and on the Brownsea Lagoon and a Great White Egret was along the southern shores near Ower Bay. Later in the day a 1^st winter Caspian Gull dropped down onto Swineham GP where it had a quick wash before moving off east towards the Wareham Channel. Migration up on Ballard was strong again with highlights consisting of 3 Brambling, 1 Bullfinch, 14 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Firecrest, 2 Chiffchaff and 1 Blackcap. Its assumed that these late Blackcap are actually our over-wintering birds arriving into the UK from areas like Germany and Belgium rather than late summer migrants departing. Bearded Tits were active at Swineham and Lytchett Bay, along footpath 12. 

Brambling – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Firecrest – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Today was another beautifully crisp autumn/winters day with a cold bite in the NW wind. Reported sightings were few and far between though, maybe everyone was enjoying the sun too much. In Studland Bay there were 2 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Common Scoter and 3 Red-breasted Merganser. An evening roost check at Hatch Pond saw 138 Magpie settle in their favored roosting tree.  In Middlebere there were 400+ Avocet, 140+ Lapwing, 40+ Brent Geese and a single Marsh Harrier.

A brief update from today which included a Cattle Egret flying NW towards the Bakers Arms over Lytchett Bay. A Hen Harrier was seen on Hartland mid afternoon along with a Merlin. Lytchett Fields had 2 Ruff still.

Thick fog first thing didn’t look like it was going to clear anytime soon, but bang on 10am, just as our weekly school bird boat was going out it melted away and gave way to another beautiful autumn day. The school bird boat produced c50 Red-breasted Merganser, 60+ Great Crested Grebe and 2 Black-necked Grebe in central harbour, 50 Spoonbill on Shipstal and 60+ Brent Geese in Middlebere. A Cattle Egret flew NE across the Wareham Channel near dusk and there were 166 Brent Geese in the Wareham Channel too. The/a Great Grey Shrike was reported at Middlebere mid-morning and a Hen Harrier was seen at Arne. The most interesting occurrence today was during a ringing session at Lytchett Heath, which started slow but ended with some real early November fireworks. We talk about ‘vis-mig’ a lot, where finches, buntings, pipits and wagtails all move overhead in good numbers during October and Nov, but rarely do we get to find out where some of these birds come from. A regular ‘vis-mig’ species is Reed Bunting and today during the ringing session at Lytchett Heath a Reed Bunting was caught wearing a Norwegian ring. This was an incredible recovery on its own however not only 20 minutes before a Scandanavian (littoralis) Rock Pipit was also caught, also bearing a Norwegian ring, add in the 4 Firecrest, 1 Water Pipit, 8 Bearded Tit, 2 Blackcap and 25 newly ringed Reed Bunting, you could say it was a successful ringing trip. What was also great was that due to the wonders of Social Media, the original ringers of the Rock Pipit provided super quick info about its origins. There were also 3 Ruff at Lytchett Fields.

Scandanavian (littoralis) Rock Pipit – 1464km, 1mnth + 22 days after ringing – Shaun Robson

Water Pipit – Lytchett Heath – Shaun Robson

With autumn evenings drawing in now and darkness hitting before most of us are even home from work, weekday sightings are becoming less and less. Amazingly, having disappeared for several days and assumed gone, the Stilt Sandpiper re-appeared in Middlebere, therefore seeing it into its third month within the harbour. We also carried out a night Woodcock and Jack Snipe survey, but only a single Woodcock was seen and zero Jack Snipe, although c75 Common Snipe was a reasonable total. Other encounters included a Redwing and a Skylark both of which we ringed. There was a serious gripe today though which involved a drone being flown over/across the Middlebere Channel, therefor flushing absolutely everything, both feeding and roosting birds. Can anyone who’s out birding that see’s other such occurrences please either photograph or film the incident. The birds didn’t return for the rest of the afternoon. 

Redwing – Lower Frome Valley – Fabian Harrison

Skylark – Lower Frome Valley – Fabian Harrison