Great and sad news today; first the good news. The harbours first Osprey of the spring was seen and photographed in Poole Harbour today with an un-ringed bird seen hunting briefly in Lytchett Bay before being chased off by Herring Gulls. This will hopefully now be the floodgates well and truly opened with many more passing through over late March and April. Now some sad news; we recently received information that the rings of one of our Osprey chicks from last years translocation had been found down in the Gambia. Other than that we didn’t know much more. Well, this evening we were sent photos of LS6’s corpse which had been found in the Kartong region of the Gambia. The local people that found LS6’s body couldn’t see any signs or cause of death so it could have been one of one hundred reasons ranging from Eagle Owl attack to exhaustion. The fact it had made it all the way down to the Gambia showed it was strong enough to make its first migration south, and to an extremely popular area for over-wintering Osprey too. It’s just sad it couldn’t see the winter through. However, we’ve now had information back relating to three of our eight chicks (LS3, LS6 and LS7) from this first winter alone, which despite the outcome for one of them, is an unbelievable return rate. Lets hope LS3 and LS7 continue to thrive down in Western Senegal. Elsewhere around the harbour a new immature Hen Harrier was seen bombing around the west Wareham Channel area with the other juv male seen too. Off Shipstal there were 3 Great Northern Diver still and there had been a mini fall of Chiffchaff around the harbour with birds singing along Soldiers Road, Hartland and at Arne. 

Osprey – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Osprey – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Osprey chick LS6’s corpse found down in the Gambia recently

Brownsea is still very productive (not surprising as it still thinks its winter), and now that the island is ‘open for business’ there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go over and indulge one last time before the winter is out. There were 800+ Black-tailed Godwit, 182 Avocet, 65 Grey Plover, 1 Spoonbill, 40+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank and still a number of Brent Geese, Pintail and Shoveler. At Swineham 4 Sand Martin were feeding early morning. Off the southern shore of Brownsea a Black-necked Grebe was feeding and a scattering of Red-breasted Merganser were still present. Rain set in by late afternoon and it all then went quiet!

Another (and the last of the winter season) school bird boat headed out today and tallied up 3 different Great Northern Diver out in central harbour. In Lytchett Bay there were 32 Avocet and the single Grey Plover still with highlights from Lytchett Fields consisting of 1 Spotted Redshank. We also received news from local harrier watcher Peter Hadrill today that the adult male Hen Harrier and female left the harbour high north two mornings ago with the young male leaving yesterday morning too which was sad for a whole host of reasons. One, because it’s never nice to see them go, but secondly, their fate away from safe havens like Poole Harbour is a horrid unknown. This winter has been exceptionally good for Hen Harriers here in the harbour with up to 7 different individual birds visiting (albeit very briefly) the area in recent months. Post New Year, roosts of 4 to 5 birds have been regular and views from elsewhere around the harbour abundant! A huge well done to Peter for keeping a track on each of their movements, arrivals and departures over a very long, cold winter period and for gathering such an important and valuable data set.

Things were a little quieter today but a school bird boat picked up 1 Great Northern Diver and 4 Black-necked Grebe in the Bramble Bush Bay area. There were 3 Spoonbill, 1 Merlin and 5 Spotted Redshank in Middlebere and a Firecrest in the Arne car park.  

Another nice snippet of spring today as 2 Swallow dashed through over Hartland Moor with a Spoonbill feeding out in the Wareham Channel and 2 male and a female Hen Harrier were seen in that area too. There were 2 summer plumaged Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay with 1 pale-bellied Brent Goose and 61 dark-bellied Brents. In Lytchett Bay there was a single Grey Plover (scarce here). At Holton Lee a Crossbill was photographed and 2 Green Sandpiper were on Holton Pools. Hamish Murray from DWT conducted a full Brownsea Lagoon count today with highlights consisting of 185 Avocet, 2 Spotted Redshank, 6 Greenshank, 45+ Knot, 690 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 220 Grey Plover, 435 Black-tailed Godwit, 130 Bar-tailed Godwit, 22 Med Gulls, 7 Sandwich Tern, 44 Shoveler, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Sand Martin, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Firecrest and a singing Chiffchaff. Finally, Swineham played host to 3 more departing Bittern tonight which were the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th to leave that area in just over a week. Over the last 18 months we’ve been conducting a full ‘Herons of Poole Harbour’ study, which will be published this spring. It will feature feeding, roosting, breeding and over wintering behaviour of Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Bittern and Spoonbill. 

The Holton Pools scrape had its first Little Ringed Plover of the spring. Sunnyside Farm had an impressive 13 Golden Plover and hundreds of Fieldfare and Redwing still. The Spotted Redshank was still at the PC World outflow in Holes Bay NE. There were also 2000+ Fieldfare and Redwing on the Stoborough Heath Nature Reserve. 

The cold really got birds moving with 4 Golden Plover at Lytchett Fields and a 1^stRinged Plover of the year there too. At Middlebere there were another 2 Golden Plover, plus the over-wintering Whimbrel, lots of Redwing and Fieldfare still and 3 Chiffchaff along the track. Upton CP was busy with birds along the northern shore towards Holes Bay NE with the Spotted Redshank in its usual place, bust still good numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Curlew and Dunlin, also Pintail and Wigeon still about. At Arne there were 5 Brambling at the feeders next to the visitors centre and a Wheatear was on Shipstal early evening and a ringtail Hen Harrier at Middlebere, also 2 Woodcock flushed near the car park. A single Hawfinch was still at St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham. A Red Kite drifted along South Haven at dawn. 

Well, the snow came back with a dump last night. Not quite as bad as a few weeks ago but still enough for many birds to adopt emergency landings and take cover. Fieldfare were abundant again with flocks of hundreds feeding in numerous fields where the snow hadn’t quite managed provide a full covering. Redwing and Meadow Pipit were also downed in good numbers and Stonechats had obviously been moving through too but had been grinded to a halt with individuals appearing in Poole Park, Holes Bay, Baiter, and Sandbanks.  At Arne there had been a mini Brambling arrival behind the visitors hut with a few feeding in amongst the Chaffinch and Goldfinch on the floor. Spotted Redshank were in Holes Bay and on Lytchett Fields with 1 each of Green Sandpiper and Greenshank at the latter site. Singles of Wheatear were at Sunnyside and Shipstal Beach, Arne. Ringtail Hen Harrier were seen at Lytchett Bay and Swineham with a Marsh Harrier out in the Wareham Channel too.  At St Mary’s in Wareham there was still a single female Hawfinch present. At Holton Lee there was a first year Spoonbill feeding in front of the new hide on Holton Pools plus a Water Pipit and several Meadow Pipit. In Holes Bay NW, 14 Golden Plover seen out from the Stone Bench was another indicator of downed birds due to the snow. 

Brambling – RSPB Arne car park – Peter Moore

Wheatear – Sunnyside Farm – Peter Moore

Snow…again! It didn’t seem to amount to too much but it’s supposed to build over night. It didn’t stop it from being blimmin cold though and enough to keep most people in doors. You’d fully understand if most spring migrants just ‘didn’t bother’ today, however a hardy first Swallow of the spring appeared with 2 Sand Martin at Swineham GP, with a back drop of 120 Fieldfare to counter balance the seasonal interest.  A male Hen Harrier was seen at Arne and Middlebere mid afternoon and also seen by the Wareham causeway. At Holes Bay the low tide and cold weather saw a small increase of birds with Avocet, Redshank, Curlew, Pintail, Wigeon and a few Gadwall all fairly easy to see from the footpath. 

Spring certainly arrived today with the years first Wheatear which was seen running along the edge of Soldiers Road with another seen at Sunnyside Farm later in the day. Also, 5 Sand Martin were hawking over Swineham GP again. At dusk another Bittern left Swineham too making that the third to leave in just over a week. How many more will we see leave over the coming weeks? Also at Swineham was a ‘nasal-saddled’ Teal (an alternative to the ringing of a birds leg) which looks like it may have come from a Spanish project. In the Lower Frome Valley a lot of the flood plain was under water and fields around Bestwall and Redcliff held 98 Shoveler, 15 Pintail, c800 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Egyptian Geese.  At Holton Pools a Spoonbill dropped on to the new scrapes and another Spoonbill was near Swineham. At St Mary’s churchyard in Wareham 3-4 Hawfinch were in trees around the edges of the churchyard. In Upton CP 3 different Firecrest, 3 (over-wintering) Blackcap and a singing Chiffchaff were all logged.

Below is a sound recording made last spring on March 13^th 2017 at Swineham of a Bittern departing at dusk (18:45 to be exact). Within the recording you can hear the soft  ‘bark like’ call of the Bittern as it responds/interacts to the calls of a near by Grey Heron. The Bittern then promptly disappeared into the darkness having arrived in at dusk over Swineham before heading off NE.

Bittern – Call of a migrant leaving at dusk – Swineham – 13/03/17 @ 18:45

Wheatear – Soldiers Road, near Ridge – 13/03/18