Once again 2 Great White Egret were feeding in the Middlebere channel best viewed from Coombe Heath as was at least 1 Spoonbill. Another Spoonbill was off the black pipe in Lytchett Bay. The rarer grebes have been exactly that so far this winter so it was pleasing to hear of a Slavonian Grebe off Jerry’s Point in the company of a Black-necked Grebe with 3 more of the latter in Studland Bay.

36 Sanderling could be found sheltering in Shell Bay and the dunes there held at least 17 Linnet. Numbers of Ringed Plover in the harbour continue to fall year on year and the Houseboats in Bramble Bush Bay is probably the most reliable site to see them with 6 present today. 75 Bar-tailed Godwit were in their usual feeding spot along Shore Road. In the west of the harbour 3 Hen Harrier were still present including an adult male and at least 5 Marsh Harrier were in the same area.

Sparrowhawk – Poole Harbour © Mark Wright

Goldeneye (drake) – Poole Park © Ian Ballam

Goldeneye (female) – Poole Park © Ian Ballam

2 Great White Egret could still be viewed from the Coombe Heath viewpoint but otherwise there was very little else reported from around the harbour. 28 Pintail were counted amongst the usual throng of birds in Holes Bay from the stone bench in Upton CP and nearby a was in a private Upton garden.

Brambling – Upton garden – Ian Ballam

Bullfinch – Upton garden – Ian Ballam

Today was grim, grim, grim and in amongst it all were the Poole Harbour WEBS counters trying their best to log the harbour’s wader and wildfowl totals. No easy task in 30mph winds and driving rain, but carry on regardless they did and managed to muster a Red-throated Diver into the harbour through the harbour mouth, 200 Brent Geese on Baiter and 5 Goldeneye in Poole Park, with 2 Sandwich Tern in Parkstone Bay. Because much of the harbour failed to drain away on the low tide, wader numbers were fairly spare with c220 Avocet feeding in the Wareham Channel and only a handful in the mouth of Middlebere and Wytch Lake, whereas further up the river valley’s Good numbers of Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew were feeding on flooded areas such as Arne Moors and Bestwall. In Middlebere a Great White Egret was feeding late afternoon and Spoonbills were spread across Arne Bay, Holes Bat NE, Lytchett Bay and the Brownsea Lagoon.  There was some fascinating news from Sunnyside, just next to Ridge where The Stour Ringing Group re-caught a Jack Snipe that was first ringed in November 2013, proving winter site fidelity of this species at this specific site. We’re not sure how often this has been proven of this species anywhere in the UK, plus the bird was an adult when it was first ringed four years ago so it’s a hardy little thing too. 

 Black-tailed Godwits – Holes Bay – Simon Buckell

Today, the harbour was calm enough to get a decent count of open water species logged, which included 1 Great Northern Diver, 15 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Guillemot, c200 Red-breasted Merganser and 50 Goldeneye, c75 Great Crested Grebe. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Stilt Sandpiper was still present and there were 10 Spotted Redshank. At Arne 8 Spoonbill were on Shipstal, and 7 were in Holes Bay. At Lytchett Bay a Merlin, ringtail Hen Harrier and Marsh Harrier were recorded mid-morning. At Middlebere 2 Great White Egret were in with Little Egrets, also c500 Avocet, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier were seen from the Middlebere Hide. There seemed to be a moderate arrival of winter thrush such as Redwing and Fieldfare with more visible than in recent weeks, likely due to the worsening weather further north. 

Brent Geese – Baiter Park – Ian Ballam

Spoonbills – Holes Bay NE – Ian Ballam

Single Black-necked Grebe and Guillemot were seen from the harbour mouth this morning with a Purple Sandpiper nearby on North Haven. 2 Great White Egret were still in the Middlebere channel where there was also a ringtail Hen Harrier. A male Merlin was once again on Hartland Moor in the late evening. In Arne Bay a female Common Scoter was present and c25 Spoonbill huddled together on Shipstal Point sheltering from the biting wind. The Stilt Sandpiper was still on Brownsea Lagoon yesterday whilst there were 32 Sanderling on Pilot’s Point and 22 Spoonbill in Lytchett Bay. With the freezing weather further north perhaps we may see some cold weather movement over the weekend?

The Stilt Sandpiper was again on Brownsea Lagoon – could it still be getting out into the Middlebere channel occasionally? 3 Great White Egret were still in the harbour and are best viewed from Coombe Heath on Arne RSPB. A couple of Great Northern Diver were off Brownsea quay as was a Black-necked Grebe and there’s a good chance that numbers of both may increase after Storm Caroline has passed through. During the day there were 23 Spoonbill on Brownsea Lagoon with 22 in the Wareham Channel as dusk fell. 3 different Hen Harrier were seen in the west of the harbour late afternoon. A large number of Dunlin totalling 2,490 were on Brownsea Lagoon which will disperse to other areas of the harbour to feed during low tides such as Holes Bay/Upton CP where they can be viewed close to the cycle paths. Likewise, there was a high count of 225 Grey Plover on the lagoon that probably head out to Brand’s Bay to feed. 2 Golden Plover on Lytchett Fields RSPB was a rare sight there and just across the river a Green Sandpiper was in front of the Holton Lee hide. A Water Pipit was also seen at Holton Lee with at least 1 still on the Pools Fields at Lytchett Bay RSPB. 23 Lesser Redpoll were voraciously feeding in trees directly behind the new hide at Holton Lee.  A single Hawfinchwas seen on Brownsea near the church so be sure to check your local churchyard! An early evening Woodcock survey at Arne Farm saw 4 birds logged and two new birds ringed, both of which were 1^st winter birds. 

An early morning survey boat out through the Wareham Channel and up the River Frome as far as Redcliffe yielded some interesting sightings. Most unusual was the large number of Brent Geese heading east out of the channel not long after dawn totalling 420. In the fields around Bestwall two flocks of Curlew numbered 33 and 42 whilst there were around 100 Lapwing. The leucistic Egyptian Goose has returned for a second winter joining the Canada Goose flock on Arne Moors. At least 2 Water Pipit were at the mouth of the River Frome as were c10 Bearded Tit and a Marsh Harrier. The Great Northern Diver was still in the middle of the harbour, 1 Hawfinch was still at Arne Farm and 4 Water Pipit were still at Lytchett Fields RSPB on the Pools Fields. In the west there was a juvenile male and female Hen Harrier in the later afternoon.

Late news for the 4^th: A Bittern was seen flying over Poole Quay in the evening.

The Stilt Sandpiper was seen from the School Bird Boat this morning in its now usual feeding spot on Brownsea Lagoon. The lagoon also hosted half a dozen Spoonbill with a further 20 birds roosting out on Shipstal Point. Other good sightings from the bird boat included a Great Northern Diver, 3 Common Scoter, 4 Black-necked Grebe, c150 Red-breasted Merganser and c50 Goldeneye. 4 Sanderling feeding on the beach on the south side of Brownsea Island was unusual. The lone Hawfinch was seen again around Frenches Farm whilst on the nearby Pools Field 4 Water Pipit were still present. Whilst we have known that there have been up to 3 different Great White Egret in the harbour this winter it was great to hear of 3 together from the Coombe Heath viewpoint today.

Today we hosted our first winter bird boat of the 2017/18 winter period. Departing at 10am the weather stayed fair (although turned rather chilly by the end) and our guests were treated to a nice selection of species out on the water as well as the Brownsea Lagoon. Highlights included a showy Great White Egret on the Brownsea Lagoon along with the Stilt Sandpiper, which was conveniently feeding close to lagoon sea wall allowing us to peer down on to it and 9 Spoonbill. The lagoon was also busy with Avocet, Grey Plover, Bar and Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and a couple of Pintail. Out on the water a Great Northern Diver was in Whitley Lake off Sandbanks, a flock of c30 Goldeneye were in central harbour and 3 Common Scoter and 2 Black-necked Grebe were near the harbour entrance. There were 15 Spoonbill at Shipstal tool with a Peregrine briefly causing a bit of chaos. Red-breasted Merganser, Brent Geese and Great Crested Grebe were plentiful as were Shag and a large raft of feeding sinensis Cormorant. There was a report that 2 Great White Egret were seen from Shipstal and then later in the day one settled in Lytchett Bay briefly before moving to Lytchett Fields. Also in Lytchett Bay was 1 ringtail Hen Harrier and 3 Spoonbill were on Lytchett Fields. 

Great White Egret – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Spoonbill – Lytchett Fields – Shaun Robson

From Evening Hill, as the tide dropped mid-afternoon 1 Great Northern Diver, 2 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Merganser and 58 Bar-tailed Godwit were in Whitley Lake. From the top of Cliff Drive, in Canford Cliffs, looking out across a flat calm Poole Bay only 1 Great Northern Diver and 7 Common Scoter were logged. At Lytchett Bay, 5 Water Pipit were on the Pools Field along Slough Lane and the Merlin was on its perching post out in the bay. Spoonbills were in Holes Bay, Middlebere and Lytchett Bay. Middlebere was busy with birds, showing off with 1 Hen Harrier, 2 Marsh Harrier, male and female Merlin, 1 Great White Egret, 19 Spoonbill, c100 Avocet, 1 Barn Owl and a Firecrest along the track.