We knew it would come eventually! The sun actually stayed out long enough for it to become warm today and with the total lack of wind from dawn it finally felt like spring was here. This was backed up by the fact that right across Dorset plenty of migrants turned up including Reed and Sedge Warblers, the first Common Whitethroat and Common Redstart. The harbour saw its fair share with a small arrival of Blackcap up on Ballard plus several Chiffchaff. Over Slepe Heath 6 Swallow went through and a Red Kite was seen over the north of Upton. Along Soldiers Road 2-3 Willow Warbler were singing in amongst the newly arrived Chiffchaff which now seem to be on territory. Out off South Beach, Studland 3 Common Scoter were still present. By midday the sky looking out from across Slepe Heath seemed to be filled with displaying Common Buzzard and on Ballard the pair of Peregrine were really vocal near Old Harry. At Arne 5 Brambling were still feeding outside the visitors center in the car park. On many of the heathlands around the south of the harbour including Hartland, Slepe Heath, Arne and Stoborough Heath Dartford Warbler are now very vocal and Meadow Pipit were display flying too. In Middlebere there were now 8 Spoonbill suggesting there were some new arrivals in amongst the ranks. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Blackcap along with 3 Greenshank and 3 Green Sandpiper and in the bay were 600+ Black-tailed Godwit.

Adder – Old Harry coast path – Paul Morton

Common Chiffchaff – Ballard Down – Paul Morton

Wow, what a day. This morning’s gale force monsoon wasn’t quite the spring weather we’d hoped for but it was soon over and cleared from the south leaving a bright but breezy afternoon. The Osprey was again seen over Middlebere and there were 8 Spoonbill in the Middlebere Channel. A sea watch from Branksome in the building wind didn’t see much in totals but variety was ok with Common Scoter, Curlew, Brent Goose, Gannet, Shelduck, Sandwich Tern, Great Crested Grebe and Med Gull all heading east. 

Spring is now springing into action….slowly, but it is getting there! An adult Osprey was fishing in and around Shipstal/Arne Bay this morning, delighting visitors to RSPB Arne and there were up to 4 Brambling in the car park still feeding at the feeding station. Black-tailed Godwit seem to be passing through with a spike in numbers as Lytchett Bay alone saw 1057 on the rising tide. The male Hen Harrier is still kicking about the Poole Harbour west area popping up at Swineham, Hartland and Arne Moors over the course of the day.  At Lytchett Bay 3 Swallow flew through and on the fields the colour-ringed Greenshank that began over-wintering 2 years ago was present also 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Dunlin were in the bay. In the pools field along Slough Lane, Lytchett Bay 2 Willow Warbler were singing from the scrub and the Egyptian Goose was still there. In Middlebere 6 Spoonbill were at the top of the channel and a Willow Warbler was along the main track. In Wareham, two House Martin flew through very quickly, but represented the first record of this species for the spring. At Holton Lee a Water Pipit was on Holton Pools. 

NEW EVENTS – We’ve just published some new events for our 2018 events schedule.

Dawn Chorus Walk – Spring Song at Corfe – Saturday 5th May 2018

Poole Harbour Nightjar Experience – Friday 22nd June 2018

Poole Harbour Nightjar Experience – Friday 13th July 2018

Water Pipit – Holton Pools – John Pick Grendon

A blustery bank holiday but it was great to see so many people in our new BoPH HQ, at one point you almost couldn’t move in there! Lovely stuff! The day got off to an interesting start with a male Brambling singing in the car park at dawn, a phenomenon very rarely heard in Dorset. Then, an Osprey turned up off Shipstal but it didn’t hang around long and a single Wheatear was up on Coombe. In Wareham, there were still 3 Hawfinch in St Mary’s churchyard. Are we witnessing the colonisation of this species into Dorset? Surely they should all be moving off by now? Around the Swineham/Lower Frome Valley area the male Hen Harrier and a ringtail Hen Harrier were seen and a Merlin was hunting Meadow Pipits. At Holton Pools 2 Wheatear, 2 Sand Martin and 1 Swallow were on and around the pools. There was another single Wheatear at Sunnyside. Surely we’re due ‘a fall’ of Wheatear soon? It seems theres literally just ones and two’s dotted around the place. A Red Kite drifted low over Slepe Heath at dawn. At Lytchett Bay there were still 7 Red-breasted Merganser out on the water and 355 Black-tailed Godwit were on Lytchett Fields and a single Greenshank. 

Happy Easter, and a happy one it was too with a kind gap in the weather, giving a real spring feeling to the day’s events. Make the most of it as its supposed to deteriorate again by Easter Monday! Still, another Osprey was logged in the harbour today, although sadly it didn’t linger long as it passed over RSPB Arne. There were also 2 Hen Harrier in and around the Middlebere/Wareham Channel area still and a single Marsh Harrier was seen in Lytchett Bay and a Merlin was out on Slepe Heath. In the still, mild morning air up to 10 Common Buzzard were soaring over the Arne Road. Along North Bestwall Road in Wareham 3 Hawfinch were sat in trees along the road briefly and another was in a Stoborough garden briefly. At Arne 2 Brambling were feeding outside the visitor hut again below the feeders. Out on Hartland there was plenty of birds getting vocal with Meadow Pipit now sounding pretty tuneful along with plenty more Chiffchaff now around the area, also Stonechats and Dartford’s are beginning to get back on territory properly. This coming week will see plenty of new spring migrants arriving into Dorset, such as more Wheatear, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, but birds like Yellow Wagtail, Ring Ouzel and House Martin will start appearing too so please, any sightings of migrants from around the Poole Harbour area please report to info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk or tweet us at @harbourbirds.  

Today was way more productive as rain hit the harbour at dawn but in calm conditions. Damp spring mornings can be great for birds to make landfall and this morning our ringing site at Ballard Down produced the first Willow Warbler of the year to be ringed along with 3 Common Chiffchaff and at the PC World drain (aka Fleets Corner) another 5 Common Chiffchaff and a Siberian Chiffchaff were present. At Swineham there was another Swallow and 6 Sand Martin over the gravel pits. There were (amazingly) still 3 Hen Harrier in the harbour this morning too, the male was seen near Swineham and two ringtails around the Middlebere/Arne area. Good numbers of visitors were heading over to Brownsea and although water level were high on the lagoon there were still reasonable numbers of waders and duck. In Middlebere the two Spoonbill were present still and there was a Peregrine and Wheatear there too and at Lytchett Fields a Whimbrel was feeding in the Arable Field at the end of Slough Lane with Curlew. Early spring migrant or over-winterer? 

So, with spring just ready to burst into action why not consider joining us in a couple of weeks on April 15th for our first spring boat tour of year where we’ll be heading up the Wareham River looking and listening out for spring migrants. There are only several places left so book on by clicking HERE NOW. 

Willow Warbler – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

A rather slow day again but we saw a long range weather forecast that suggests by mid-April it will be near tropical in Dorset, well 18-21 degrees which is a darn sight better than its been in recent weeks! Today the on-off drizzle and intermittent heavy showers kept reports low but Brownsea was productive still with a good variety of post winter hangers on including c50 Avocet, 4 Greenshank, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank, c30 Grey Plover and c40 Dunlin, also 10 Sandwich Tern. Around the harbour there are still a few Red-breasted Merganser too.

So, with spring just ready to burst into action why not consider joining us in a couple of weeks on April 15th for our first spring boat tour of year where we’ll be heading up the Wareham River looking and listening out for spring migrants. There are only several places left so book on by clicking HERE NOW. 

Shelduck – Brownsea Lagoon – Keith Rawling

Red-breasted Merganser – Poole Quay – Rene Goad

Yup, we’re pretty sure its just going to rain for the rest of the spring and summer with no let up in the regular down pours this AM! Will it ever improve? A quick dash around this AM produced the Velvet Scoter, 6 Common Scoter, 3 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Gannet and 1 Kittiwake off of Middle Beach, Studland. At Swineham GP there was a single Swallow and 6 Sand Martin. 

Little Egret – Holes Bay – John Pick Grendon

Black-tailed Godwit – Holes Bay – John Pick Grendon

It seems (although unreported to us) that the Great White Egret that was on Holton Pools briefly yesterday reappeared again today before moving to French’s Pools on Lytchett Fields. This evening the harbour’s first Willow Warbler of the spring was at Swineham GP where there was also 12 Sand Martin and 1 Swallow over the main pit too and 3 Egyptian Geese and 1 Hen Harrier were seen on the surrounding flood plains. There were 3 different ringtail Hen Harrier in the west of the Wareham Channel mid morning before dispersing to different areas. Lytchett Bays first Sand Martin of the spring dashed through, which for late March normally wouldn’t be that noteworthy, but considering the harbour (and the county) has still hardly seen any others yet, we deemed it worth a mention! Local surveyor Nick Hopper carried out some nocturnal sound recording during the nights of March 25^th and 26^th over Stoborough and highlights included 1 Little ringed Plover, 1 Golden Plover, Water Rail, a Wigeon flock, Coot and Moorhen.  A full Brownsea Lagoon count was made by Hamish Murray of the DWT with highlights consisting of 105 Avocet (still a lot for this time of year), 5 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 46 Knot, 430 Dunlin, 95 Grey Plover, 82 Bar-tailed Godwit, 401 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 9 Sandwich Tern and a single male Wheatear on the sea wall. There was also singing Blackcap, Firecrest and Chiffchaff within the woodland. 

Avocet – Brownsea Lagoon – Hamish Murray

Black-tailed Godwit – Brownsea Lagoon – Hamish Murray

The rain and cold set in again this morning but 8 Sand Martin over Swineham GP were a welcome sight quickly followed by a Red Kite over there too. A new male Marsh Harrier entered the harbour too but could have just been a migrant in transit. Also, one of the grey male Hen Harriers also returned having been absent for several days in Poole Harbour west. At Lytchett Fields a Great White Egret was seen dropping onto Holton Pools before relocating on to Lytchett Fields for 15 minuets before flying off towards the Bakers Arms and there were also singing Chiffchaff at Lytchett Fields, the PCW Drain, Soldiers Road, Sunnyside Farm and Greenland’s Farm and the first this spring for our Ballard ringing site was also ringed suggesting there had been a bit of a mini fall this morning.

We also announced news the other night about the sad demise of one of our Osprey chick’s LS6, who’s body was recently found down in the Gambia. Our project partner Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife foundation wrote a blog tonight to give a full over view of the finding. You can read the blog HERE. However, to take the sad edge of the story, and completely by chance….no sooner had Tim posted the blog when he received a photo from a birder who had been down in Africa at the beginning of the year and unbeknown to us at the time, had taken a photo of LS6 alive on Jan 16^th 2018. Although this doesn’t ‘bring him back’, its far nicer seeing an image of him looking regal and smart rather than the sad crumpled heap of feathers we saw a few days ago. 

RIP LS6 – Photographed in the Gambia 16/01/18 – Paul Hill

Great White Egret – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam