A dark, dank, misty murky morning welcomed us this morning and it didn’t budge until around 11am, and with a stiff easterly wind it forced a Great Skua into Poole Bay which seemed lost in the fog, until it then cleared and the bird then headed out back south again, along with 9 Common Scoter. Ringing totals near Ballard included just 9 Willow Warbler, 6 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat and a Redstart. On Brownsea there was still 1 Little Stint and in Middlebere 5 Osprey and 9 Spoonbill were present. Night migration over our listening station in Old Town Poole was pretty slow too with just 3 Tree Pipit, 6 Robin, 3 Common Sandpiper and 1 Ringed Plover.

Juvenile Osprey – Middlebere – Simon Kidner

Juvenile Osprey – Middlebere – Simon Kidner

Once Sundays ‘yuk’ had moved on through, things improved weather wise and some passage picked up first thing with a good flurry of birds moving through Ballard which included 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, and the standard Blackcap, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler. Sadly, we didn’t experience a stonking American gem like those lucky so and so’s did over at Portland when an American Yellow Warbler turned up at Culverwell, although it just goes to show, you just never ever know what will turn up next! On Brownsea there were good numbers of Black-tailed godwit, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Little Egret, 1 Knot, 1 Little Stint, 2 Kingfisher and several Common and Sandwich Tern still hanging about. Out in the Wareham Channel there were 3-4 Osprey fishing/hunting/soaring with 2 Hobby over Arne Moors and an adult male Marsh Harrier left the dawn roost in Poole harbour west. Spotted Flycatcher are seemingly quite numerous at present with family groups and migrants active on many wooded, heathland edges, enjoying the warm sunshine and late summer insects. At Lytchett Fields there were 12 Yellow-legged Gull out in the whilst on the fields 123 Redshank, 104 Black-tailed Godwit, 91 Dunlin, 54 Lapwing, 12 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, 20+ Green Sandpiper, 4 Ringed Plover, 1 Wheatear and 1 Yellow Wagtail all enjoyed the late afternoon high tide. 

Pied Flycatcher – Ballard – Olly Slessor

Redstart – Ballard – Olly Slessor

This morning the Great White Egret appeared in Middlebere again before flying off north-east towards Round Island. Also in Middlebere were 10 Spoonbill, 3 Osprey, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby and 1 Green Sandpiper, c200 Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Greenshank. There was also a reliable report of a Goshawk heading over Middlebere mid-morning too, which spooked all the Spoonbill and waders. Confirmed records of ‘Gos’ are less than annual within our Poole Harbour area but with populations increasing elsewhere around the country, dispersing juveniles could well be moving through the area right now. On Brownsea there were 2 juv Little Stint. At Lytchett Fields there were 85 Dunlin, 81 Redshank, 21 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Sandpiper, 1 Ringed Plover, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Tree Pipit and 2 Blackcap. Migration through Ballard Down, Studland included 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher plus several each of Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat.

Great White Egret – Middlebere – Phyl England

Spoonbill – Middlebere – Phyl England

Middlebere again saw a good deal of coverage with 9 Spoonbill, 3-4 Osprey but no sign of the Great White Egret. The first fledged juvenile Hobby of the summer were seen out over Hartland Moor and Marsh Harrier were seen at Lytchett Bay, Middlebere and Wareham Channel. A ringing session at Lytchett Bay produced 55 Sedge Warbler, 17 Reed Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Tree Pipit and a Cetti’s Warbler whilst out on Lytchett Fields there were 90+ Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 4 Common Sandpiper, 1 Tree Pipit, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Blackcap and 2 Whitethroat. On the Brownsea Lagoon there was a single Little Stint with c200 Dunlin, 15 Avocet, c200 Black-tailed Godwit and 11 Ringed Plover.

Middlebere is receiving a lot of attention at present, and for good reason too. There were 8 Spoonbill, 3-4 Osprey and 1 Great White Egret, 8 Greenshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 400 Black-tailed Godwit and a Barn Owl there today. An Osprey was also seen leaving high to the south this AM although it was a presumed adult rather than one of our chicks. In the Wareham Channel 2 Marsh Harrier and another Osprey were out near the mouth of the Frome. 

Osprey – Middlebere – Phyl England

There was no sign of any Great White Egret today but 2 Cattle Egret were seen late yesterday afternoon, suggesting that (at least some of) the eight from yesterday morning were still hanging around. A Pied Flycatcher was seen at Arne and Redstarts were on Hartland and Slepe Heath. Ospreys were seen in Middlebere and off Shipstal Beach, Arne. 

Today, amazingly was a THREE egret day! Being late summer, good numbers of Little Egret are now back in the harbour and this morning 1 (possibly 2) Great White Egret were seen along the southern edge with one flying in over SW over South Haven towards Brownsea with another (or the same) seen in Middlebere later on. The most incredible report was 3 Cattle Egret flying into Middlebere with 5 Little Egret at 8:30am. However upon closer inspection of the photo the 5 Little Egret were in fact juvenile Cattle Egret meaning 8 flew in together!! This constitutes the largest Poole Harbour gathering of this species and could be a sign of things to come for the coming years? How prominent will they be this autumn and winter? Also in Middlebere were 7 Spoonbill, 4+ Osprey and 8+ Greenshank with a Whinchat along the entrance track. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Bonaparte’s Gull was still present with a Little Stint, 11+ Greenshank, 14 Avocet, 112 Little Egret, 160 Redshank, 3 Spotted Redshank, 110 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Knot, 325 Dunlin, 59 Ringed Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 30 Teal, 1 Osprey, 1 Hobby and 4 Kingfisher. 

An early morning stroll to Holton Lee was worth it when a juvenile Cuckoo was found feeding near the car park, in the horse field. It spent much of the morning feeding on worms, seemingly not bothered by us stood 20m away photographing and filming it. At Lytchett Fields there were 104 Dunlin, 64 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Greenshank, 6 Common Sandpiper, 20+ Green Sandpiper, 60+ Redshank and 1 Spoonbill whilst elsewhere in Lytchett Bay a ringing session produced 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Reed Warbler and 14 Sedge Warbler. Migration through Ballard Down consisted of 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Common Whitethroat and several Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 2 Greenshank, 11 Avocet, 60 Redshank, 4 Common Sandpiper and a presumed Razorbill off the Brownsea Quay. Ospreys were seen over Brownsea, Middlebere and Arne. 

Cuckoo – Holton Lee – Paul Morton

With the increase in breeding totals of Great White Egret elsewhere in the country its no surprise these large white herons are becoming a more regular visitor to the harbour. This morning one went over the southern shores of the harbour and was later seen in the Wareham Channel. The Spoonbill total has now risen to 9 which is typical for early/mid August and we expect that number to continue to increase up until mid October with last year seeing a UK record of 60 Spoonbill in the harbour. Lytchett Fields was busy again with 106 Dunlin, 65 Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Greenshank, 27 Little Egret, 80 Redshank, 70 Lapwing, 6 Common Sandpiper and 15+ Green Sandpiper. Migration through Ballard Down included 1 Redstart, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, several Common Whitethroat, 10+ Willow Warbler, a few Blackcap and a juv Great Spotted Woodpecker. All 8 Osprey chicks continue to do well and are now becoming more frequent in other areas of the harbour. Arne and Middlebere are still great places to look but they’ve also started venturing towards the Wareham Channel too which is great news. 

Common Redstart – Ballard Down

Juv (left ) and adult (right) Common Whitethroat – Ballard Down

Grasshopper Warbler – Ballard Down

Hoorah! Summer is back! For a few days at least. Another nice selection from around the harbour today including 2 male Golden Pheasant on Furzey Island, a species that’s been in much decline on Brownsea over the last few years due to mass Rhododendron removal. Furzey on the other hand has kept vast amounts of this ornamental scrub giving the Golden Pheasant their favourite hiding place.  In Wytch Lake the over-summering 2 Brent Geese were still there with 1 Yellow-legged Gull and 3 Avocet with Yellow and Pied Wagtail over and a Pied Flycatcher at Fitzworth. On Brownsea an Osprey passed over the lagoon where 3 Spotted Redshank were feeding. At Lytchett Fields there were 5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, 60+ Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover, 20+ Willow Warbler, 6 Sedge Warbler and 4 Whitethroat. At Arne 3 Osprey were flying above Coombe Heath together with 6 Spoonbill, 1 Redstart and 4 Greenshank around the Middlebere area and a Barn Owl sat out in broad day light out in front of the Middlebere hide.

Golden Pheasants – Furzey Island – Nick Hopper