There was good coverage today and the arrival of another spring migrant in the shape of 5 Sand Martin hawking over Swineham GP late afternoon. At Middle Beach, Studland there was 5 Common Scoter and the Velvet Scoter still, 1 Slavonian Grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver with another 2 Great Northern Diver in Shell Bay. Off Jerry’s Point and ‘the Houseboats’, (inner harbour Studland) there were 11 Turnstone and 1 Purple Sandpiper on the concrete blocks, 1 Greenshank, 3 Grey Plover 22 Red-breasted Merganser, 9 Black-necked Grebe and 14 Great Crested Grebe. In Brands Bay there were a further 23 Grey Plover, 262 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 20 Curlew, 45 Shelduck and 11 Pintail. At Middlebere there were 4 Spoonbill, 25 Avocet and 1 Spotted Redshank. Out on Baiter Park the 9 Bar-tailed Godwit were still feeding with c30 Black-tailed Godwit. At Lytchett Fields a Water Pipit was present for most of the morning.  

Bar-tailed Godwits – Baiter Park – 12/02/18

A fairly slow day today, with the only ‘new arrival’ being a drake Pochard out on Poole Park boating lake, which may not sound notable but these days certainly is! Also still 4 Goldeneye and 7 Red-breasted Merganser out on the lake. At Arne a Firecrest was in the car park and 3 Spoonbill were in Middlebere. A Hen Harrier was seen in the Wareham Channel near Swineham and good numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew and Shoveler are using the flood plains in the lower Frome Valley near Bestwall and Swineham. Wader numbers are still reasonable with good numbers of Avocet, Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatcher around on the low tides and a few Little Egret seem to be returning having vacated the area during the cold snap. Below is another video we made earlier in the year this time one of the over-wintering Hawfinch at Norden park and ride. The thought of having a chance of seeing one of these everytime you headed out this winter certainly added a new dimension to a cold and blustery day in the field. 

Hawfinch – Norden park and ride – 21/02/18

This evening it looked good for Bittern to depart at dusk so a watch at Swineham (the best place in Poole Harbour to watch for this type of birding event) was undertaken. One was seen, although it didn’t leave, rather it headed across the main gravel pit calling a few times before dropping back down into the reeds. At Lytchett Fields a record count 41 Avocet were using the fields as a feeding zone, the previous highest total only ever being a handful. The coming days look good for the first spring migrants to arrive so keep an eye out for the first Sand martin to dash through or even an elusive Ring Ouzel on some of the higher ground around the harbour. We’ve also been uploading various videos we’ve made during the couple of months which we’ll be uploading over the coming days. 

Spotted Redshank – Holes Bay NE – 04/03/18

Still no sign of any spring migrants yet but that didn’t stop us from looking. This morning was fine but a horrid front moved through by lunchtime halting any efforts to find the springs first Little ringed plover or Wheatear. Still, a good range of bird were seen in the Frome Valley and in central harbour with the flooded fields of North Bestwall and Swineham hosting big numbers of Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit with Jack and Common Snipe seen also, 3 Egyptian Geese, 2 Ruff, 6 Pintail, 40 Shoveler and 10 Shelduck also in the area. A female Merlin dashed through Bestwall towards Wareham and a single Hawfinch was in the Priory gardens near St Mary’s churchyard. On the rising tide in the Wareham Channel there were 60+ Grey Plover, 60+ Avocet, 250 Brent Geese, 20 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Great Northern Diver and good numbers of Red-breasted Merganser with another Great Northern Diver in central harbour with 2 Black-necked Grebe too. 

We’re now at the very beginnings of spring migration so we’ll be doing as much night recording as possible. March nights are often busy with thrush’s heading back north and are often joined by a few waders and duck too. Last night we set up our gear at a site 3 miles NW of Poole Harbour and were amazed at the strength of Redwing passage with totals similar to what you’d expect in late October. Between 8pm and 5am we logged 1059 Redwing calls, 109 Blackbird calls, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Skylark and 3 Curlew all presumably heading north. Also, at dusk another Bittern left Swineham GP. In Studland Bay the Velvet Scoter was still with a single Common Scoter and in central harbour there were 3 Black-necked Grebe. In St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham Hawfinch totals had risen to 3. The Brownsea Lagoon saw some incredible totals considering the time of year including 285 Bar-tailed Godwit, 325 Grey Plover, 8 Greenshank, 28 Knot, 2300 Dunlin, 247 Avocet, 2 Spotted Redshank, 180 Oystercatcher, 315 Med Gulls, 1 Little Gull, 110 Shelduck, 110 Teal and 1 Firecrest, plus good totals of commoner waders and wildfowl. A ringtail Hen Harrier was seen in Middlebere.

 Curlew – 07/03/18 @ 00:35 Lytchett Matravers – Nocturnal calls of an early spring migrant

Curlew and Redwing 07/03/18 @ 00: 30 – Lytchett Matravers – Nocturnal calls of early spring migrants

There was a really nice mix of birds around today mostly out in the harbour area. We’re still yet to see any signs of spring migration but give it a week and the first Wheatears and Sand Martins will be appearing. Today out in central harbour there was a Red-throated Diver, 5 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Slavonian Grebe. At Holmebridge 4 Spoonbill were resting with another 3 at Shipstal Point, Arne. At Lytchett Fields there were singles of Merlin, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank with 21 Avocet back on the fields. At Sandbanks there were 34 Sanderling with a single Purple Sandpiper at North Haven. At St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham a single Hawfinch was still present. And finally, just outside our Poole Harbour recording area, along Holme Lane a Corn Bunting was seen to fly east which if entered through Poole Harbour airspace would be an absolute local mega!

Spring is getting springier, well, until this afternoon that was. The lower Frome Valley is completely flooded currently and walk around the Bestwall/Swineham River walk would be a good call before all the water drains away. Today c800 Lapwing were feeding between Bestwall and Arne Moors as were 3 Ruff, c200 Black-tailed Godwit, c100 Curlew, 1 Golden Plover, c20 Pintail, c50 Teal and still good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare. At Holme Bridge a Marsh Harrier was quartering over the floodplain west of the river and both Peregrine and Raven were circling over Corfe Castle. At Studland Beach, an almighty gull feeding frenzy consisted of c200 Med Gulls, c200 Herring Gull plus lots of Common and Black-headed Gull. Out in Studland Bay the Velvet Scoter was still present with a single Common Scoter and 2 Black-necked Grebe. At Lytchett Fields there were 3 Golden Plover, 4 Shoveler, 1 Spoonbill, 21 Avocet and 3 Greenshank. At St Mary’s churchyard 2 Hawfinch were again in the graveyard. 

Did it really snow a couple of days ago? By the end of today you’d be fooled into thinking it was all some kind of weird dream. The only evidence that the freakish weather event actually took place was due to the fact some odd birds were still about in odd places. Golden Plovers were still about with 3 out on Baiter, 1 on the Brownsea Lagoon and 1 on Arne Moors. Lapwing were still moving about in reasonable numbers with small flocks passing Poole Quay, Holes Bay and Lytchett Fields. On Poole Park boating lake there were 14 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Merganser and a drake Pintail still. In the Wareham Channel area there were 3 Hen Harrier briefly (2 males and a ringtail) and a Bittern was seen on the northern side of the Piddle and another was seen leaving Swineham at dusk…the first departure of the spring. In St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham 2 Hawfinch were feeding on the ground and along Holme Lane at dawn another Hawfinch flew east over ‘the egret field’ as did 4 Woodlark and 3 Reed Bunting. Decent sized Fieldfare and Redwing flocks were noted around the harbour with 200 in East Holme, 200 in fields along the A35 Upton dual carriage way and good numbers still at Arne. For early March Holes Bay NE was packed on the falling tide late afternoon with 1 Spotted Redshank in its usual spot by the out flow but also c400 Wigeon, c100 Avocet, c50 Teal, c40 Pintail and a good spread of Redshank, Curlew and black-tailed Godwit. Like else where around the county there were a few reports of dead birds that had suffered due to the cold with a dead Shelduck in Holes Bay and a dead Lapwing near Bestwall. 

Hawfinch – St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham – Peter Moore

Hawfinch – St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham – Peter Moore

Lapwing – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Blackcap – Poole garden – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Greenshank – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Shag – Poole Harbour – Keith Rawling

Sadly due to the weather we weren’t able to open he new HQ today and unless you could see birds from your kitchen/living room window then there wasn’t much opportunity to ‘getting out’ with snow and ice gripping the entire county. We’re sure there were some incredibly beautifully scenes to be had and that many of you have photos you’ll be able to treasure for a long time. Not us though…we were stuck! We did however receive a huge number of emails and correspondence from people overjoyed at the fact they had Fieldfares and Redwings in their garden…and quite rightly too. These hard weather movements provide unique birding opportunities and to see such stunning birds (like Fieldfare and Redwing) turn up in your garden can provide hours of entertainment, no matter how many apples you ended up throwing out on to the lawn. We even received a photo of a Common Snipe that turned up in a Shore Road garden early morning! The next few days will continue to be interesting as the snow thaws so keep an eye out for more cold souls and wandering treasures. 

Common Snipe – Shore Road garden

Well, what a fascinating day. Firstly, we’d like to say a huge thanks to all those that braved the conditions and made it to the opening of the new Birds of Poole Harbour HQ. At midday a clan of about 60 eager people from local businesses, project partners, NGO’s and members of the public gathered in the snow for the ribbon to be cut by our guest Ruth Peacey. Despite the weather we received a warm reception and kind words from our guests and we can’t wait for many more of you to drop in over the coming weeks to see and learn about the work we do as a charity and to get you all hooked on the Birds of Poole Harbour. Sadly, due to the conditions that set in mid-afternoon we had to close early and even then some of our staff got caught out on the way home and had to abandon their cars a few miles from home! Its predicted that this cold spell won’t last long and we’ll be back up and running before you know it.

Now, the other main feature of the day was of course the weather. Hard weather conditions like this always play havoc with the birds and it wasn’t long before we began seeing effects of the cold weather taking shape. Out the front of the BoPH HQ, a few Fieldfare, Redwing and c30 Lapwing were moving west above the Quay, moving ahead of the front that was coming up from the south west. Most amazingly though was when a drake Garganey was found sheltering in the mouth of the PC World drain at dawn, a true sign that spring really had arrived. It was looked for later in the day on the low tide but couldn’t be relocated, however 5 Golden Plover and c30 Lapwing were out on the mud (very rare in Holes Bay) and 2 Jack Snipe were feeding right out in the open, trying to find patches of un-frozen mud. There was also 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Spoonbill, 4 Tufted Duck, 40 Pintail, 100 Avocet, 300 Wigeon, 5 Shoveler, 4 Gadwall and 5 Rock Pipit. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Spoonbill, c30 Lapwing, 60+ Fieldfare, 20+ Redwing and 2 Water Pipit.  A Woodcock flew across the road at Wessex Gate retail park in the peak of the blizzard mid afternoon with another Woodcock seen at South Haven and a Lapwing on the chain ferry slip way. In Parkstone Bay, near Whitecliff there were a further 2 Golden Plover and 2 Lapwing on the mud (very rare here too) and a Hawfinch pitched down in a Stoborough garden briefly with several more Golden Plover overhead there too. Only a single Hen Harrier was seen to come out of the roost this AM despite 4 going in the night before. Obviously didn’t fancy getting up and we can’t say we don’t blame them. Around the harbour people were also reporting Fieldfare, Redwing and Blackcaps in their gardens which is always a joy, just make sure you keep feeders topped up and bits of fruit on the ground as it looks as if they’ll certainly need it over the coming days. 

OPEN DAY 

OPEN DAY – Ribbon being cut for new BoPH HQ

Record shot of drake Garganey – Holes Bay NE – Ian Ballam

Fieldfare – Poole Garden – Colin Moyes