Today we began our three day Autumn Dorset Discovery which saw us venturing around the Arne RSPB reserve, a full trip report will be available to read in the coming week but highlights included 3-4 Osprey, with 2 un-ringed birds in the dead trees at the back of Middlebere, 19 Spoonbill, 3 Firecrest, 4-5 Dartford Warbler, 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Hobby, 6 Knot, 6 Greenshank, 15 Avocet, c300 Black-tailed Godwit c30 Dunlin plus Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, 1 Smooth Snake, 1 Grass Snake and both Raft and Wasp Spiders around the Coombe heath ponds. The Baird’s Sandpiper was again on the Brownsea Lagoon with a Little Stint and 2 Spotted Redshank in amongst the Dunlin flock. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a Wood Sandpiper along with 1 Knot, 24 Ringed Plover, 328 Dunlin, 135 Black-tailed Godwit, 12+ Greenshank, 15+ Green Sandpiper, 25+ Snipe, 100+ Redshank, 80+ Lapwing, 26 Little Egret, 100+ Teal and 10 Yellow Wagtail. Migration through Ballard was rather slow with ringing totals only consisting of 6 Willow Warbler, 11 Chiffchaff, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Blackcap and 5 Whitethroat.

Curlew Sandpipers – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Last year we were involved in a fascinating discovery that highlighted that Ortolan Bunting, a pretty scarce migrant across the UK was in fact a fairly regular night migrant over our heads through the latter part of August and early September. Last year, over our office roof in Old Town Poole we sound recorded 13 Ortolan Bunting over a 4 week period which was pretty unprecedented. This year we had tried in vain with no success until last night that is (Sept 2^nd/3^rd)  where we sound recorded 3 more in a single night! Its great to know that last year wasn’t just a one off and with fellow night sound recorder Nick Hopper carrying out the same research at Portland with similar results, its safe to say that if you wish to try and get Ortolan Bunting on your Poole Harbour/Dorset list a late night and lots of coffee is what you need. Our three last night flew over at 23:15, 02:08 and 03:36. The Baird’s Sandpiper was still on Brownsea for its third day now with a great supporting cast of 1^st winter Little Gull, 1 Garganey, 1 Little Stint, 27 Spoonbill, 1 Garganey, 10 Spotted Redshank, 16 Greenshank, 3 Knot, 1 Common Sandpiper, 41 Little Egret, 2 Kingfisher, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatear and the first 8 Wigeon of the autumn for Brownsea. A sea watch from Branksome provided 5 Arctic Skua, 2 Balearic Shearwater and 20 Gannet. In Poole Harbour west a surprising 3 out of 4 Marsh Harrier from the roost were male (not often that happens). 

 Ortolan Bunting 03/09/17 @ 3:36am. Calls of a night time migrant – Old Town Poole Listening Station

A beautiful crisp, cold September morning gave way to a perfect warm (and at times hot) autumnal afternoon. Thankfully the Baird’s Sandpiper that was found on Brownsea yesterday but not relocated during an evening search was eventually re-found this afternoon. Heat haze proved tricky initially but as cloud cover descended, picking out the correct features became easier. Also on the Brownsea Lagoon were 30 Spoonbill, 1 Little Stint and a Garganey. At Lytchett Fields the harbours first Curlew Sandpiper of the autumn appeared, the Wood Sandpiper was still present along with 290 Dunlin, 42 Ringed Plover, 10 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Osprey, 1 Peregrine, 30+ Yellow Wagtails and 1 Spotted Flycatcher. A ringing demo at Lytchett Heath provided 3 Grasshopper Warbler, 45 Sedge Warbler, 16 Chiffchaff, 8 Willow Warbler and 1 Cetti’s Warbler. Up on Ballard migrants were thin on the ground with just 1 Tree Pipit, 8 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Sedge Warbler and 2 Reed Warbler. At Swineham an Osprey flew up the Frome Valley early morning, there were also 10 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Raven, 1 Kingfisher and a small trickle of Swallow through the area. This morning was also the date for our September field trip, and for this month it was hosted at Slepe Heath. Despite the cold start things picked up and we ended on a good tally of birds including 1 Cuckoo, 3 Tree Pipit, 3 Redstart, 3 Whinchat, 15 Stonechat, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 10 Dartford Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 31 Mistle Thrush in a post breeding flock, 1 Osprey, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Spoonbill.

Lytchett Fields Reminder – Large Wessex Water tankers need constant access through the locked gate at the end of Slough Lane, Upton. Can visitors to the site refrain from blocking the gate. Many thanks for your co-operation. 

Wood Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Today was really ‘birdy’ with the added bonus of a Poole Harbour first being found in the shape of a Baird’s Sandpiper on the Brownsea Lagoon. This is only the 4^th record for Dorset, the last being found nearly 20 years ago in Christchurch Harbour in 1998. The Brownsea Lagoon was looking stunning with or without our rare North American friend with 2 Little Stint, 10 Spotted Redshank, 1 Garganey, 9 Spoonbill, c40 Avocet and good numbers of Redshank, Greenshank, Dunlin and Oystercatcher. Sandwich and Common Tern were still present and 2 Wheatear and 3 Yellow Wagtail were feeding over on the far sea wall. At Greenland’s Farm, Studland migrants were pretty evenly spread with 8 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 10 Yellow Wagtail, 5 Whitethroat, 2 Woodlark, 4 Wheatear, 2 Blackcap and 2 Tree Pipit. Migration through Ballard included 5 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Redstart, c10 Whitethroat, 4 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Redpoll and several Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. At Lytchett Fields the Wood Sandpiper was still present with 2 Ruff, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Green Sandpiper, c20 Ringed Plover, c150 Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull and the usual spread Lapwing, Snipe and Redshank. In Middlebere there were 19 Spoonbill, 4 Osprey, 6 Grey Plover, 3 Greenshank, 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat and 1 Spotted Flycatcher. 

Record shot of Baird’s Sandpiper – Brownsea Lagoon – Stephen Menzie

Today Lytchett Fields was looking pretty special with 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Ruff, 9+ Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, 224 Dunlin plus good numbers each of Common Snipe, Lapwing, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Teal. Migration through Ballard included 5 Grasshopper Warbler, 25 Willow Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 20 Blackcap, 8 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 3 Redstart, 1 Wheatear, c15 Yellow Wagtail, c10 Chiffchaff and 7 Yellowhammer. At Middlebere there were 30+ Yellow Wagtail along the approach track, 6 Osprey and 2 Spotted Flycatcher. On Holton Pools there were 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Lapwing, 1 Kingfisher and 2 Little Egret. At Studland the/a Great White Egret flew over Brands Bay late afternoon. Out on Baiter 3 Wheatear were doing their best to avoid the dogs.

Wheatear – Ballard – Olly Slessor

Ruff – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Today saw another mixed bag as a freshly arrived full adult male Marsh Harrier left the west Poole Harbour roost first thing whilst an Osprey was fishing off Giggers Island and 19 Spoonbill flew down the Wareham Channel. At Lytchett Fields there was a Wood Sandpiper, 1 Ruff, 1 Spoonbill, 20+ Yellow Wagtail and an Osprey. In Middlebere there were 12 Spoonbill and 3-5 Osprey including an adult. At Holton Pools Kingfishers have taken up residence in front of the re-furbed hide using the conveniently placed perching posts with 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 2 Lapwing and 1 Black-tailed Godwit also using the scrapes. Whinchats, Redstarts, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Spotted Flycatcher Chiffchaff and Willow Warblerare all pretty numerous around the harbour at present, certainly along the heathland edges and around the Studland Peninsular. The Bonaparte’s Gull, 5 Spoonbill and 10 Spotted Redshank were on the Brownsea Lagoon. 2 Red Kite drifted over Studland. 

Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation has also written an excellent blog post giving an update on our Osprey translocation project and the recent departure of our first Osprey chick. CLICK HERE

Unringed adult Osprey – Middlebere – Simon Kidner

Wood Sandpiper (left) and Redshank – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

With the busyness of August bank holiday over with and the roads now a little more easy going, venturing from A to B around the harbour is a bit more bearable! A quick morning dash over to Ballard (from Poole) which would have been rather long winded just two days ago, was in fact a quick and swift process allowing us to squeeze in some birding along the way. Along the Ballard ridge there were 3 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 3 Whitethroat, c15 Yellow Wagtail, c10 Chiffchaff, 7 Yellowhammer and the Hooded Crow.  On Lytchett Fields there was finally a ‘twitchable’ Wood Sandpiper along with 2 Ruff, 25+ Ringed Plover, 180+ Dunlin, 60+ Black-tailed Godwit, 8 Greenshank and 10+ Yellow Wagtail. At Arne 29 Spoonbill were in Middlebere with 1 Great White Egret, 3 Osprey and a flock of 30+ Yellow Wagtail moving between farm fields on then opposite side of the channel. Yellow Wagtail are pretty prominent around numerous farm fields at the moment, simply look around the feet of cattle out in the farm fields and listen out for their sweet, high pitched descending call and you should be able to locate them pretty easily. Yesterday evening a juvenile Marsh Harrier was giving one of our Osprey juvs a torrid time, chasing and harassing LS0 looking as if it wanted a piece of the fish he was carrying. 

Great White Egret with Little Egrets – Middlebere – Ian Brown

Osprey – Middlebere – Ian Brown

Spoonbill flock – Middlebere – Ian Brown

There was a really nice selection of birds around the harbour today including several scarcities/rarities. The Bonaparte’s Gull was still on Brownsea Lagoon mid-afternoon, the Hooded Crow was still at Glebelands, Studland, the Great White Egret was still in Middlebere/Wtych Lake area and in Stoborough 2 Ortolan Bunting were sound recorded during a night sound recording session. In the Holes Bay area an earlyish Wigeon was back in the NE corner with 2 Common Sandpiper. At Lytchett Heath, a ringing session produced 7 Grasshopper Warbler, 16 Reed Warbler, 30 Sedge Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 7 Willow Warbler and 13 Chiffchaff, whilst migration through Ballard Down included 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 1 Redstart and an early moving Reed Bunting. At Swineham 3 Yellow Wagtail were in the paddocks with 1 Wheatear also an Osprey was out over the Wareham Channel and a Garden Warbler was feeding in the garden of Fourfields Barn. Lytchett fields was busy again with the first Ruff of the autumn also 26 Ringed Plover, 189 Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 80+ Black-tailed Godwit, 140+ Redshank, 20 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper as well as Lapwing, a few Common Snipe and 4 Yellow Wagtail. On Brownsea there were 22 Spoonbill and a single Arctic Tern. Finally a Nightjar was found roosting near Arne. 

It’s been so busy with birds recently that the thought of a new species being added to the Poole Harbour list for this year could possibly send us into overdrive. Well, today a new species was added to the Poole Harbour list for the year in the shape of a Hooded Crow found by Steve Smith originally near Manor Farm, Studland and then watched feeding in the farm fields near Glebelands. Can you really get excited about Crow? You certainly can! Especially when it looks as great in real life as it does in Peter Moores photo below. Passerine totals through the harbour were lower today but the variety still high with 2 Grasshopper Warbler, Garden Warbler, Reed & Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Tree Pipit, House & Sand Martin all ringed at Ballard, whilst at Greenlands Farm Yellow Wagtail, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Wheatear and Blackcap were also noted. On Brownsea 26 Spoonbill were roosting, a juvenile Garganey was in the central lagoon and 2-4 Ruff were at the back of the lagoon for a short while along with 1 imm Pintail, 200+ Dunlin, 45+ Ringed Plover, 26 Avocet, 13 Greenshank and 4 Spotted Redshank. At Lytchett Fields/Bay there was a Redstart, 1 Grashopper Warbler, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Osprey (adult), 2 Yellow Wagtail and good numbers of waders. In Brands Bay there was a single Spoonbill with 38+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Greenshank and 35+ Dunlin. Its now very obvious that LS7, one of our Osprey chicks from this years translocation project has left us already! There has been no sight or signal from this bird now since Friday morning. He could even be in southern Spain by now!

Hooded Crow – Glebelands, Studland – Peter Moore

Yellow Wagtail – Greenlands Farm, Studland – Peter Moore

Willow Warbler – Greenlands Farm, Studland – Peter Moore

Common Whitethroat – Greenlands Farm, Studland – Peter Moore

Today was our third and final Osprey boat trip which after yesterdays excitement was going to be tough to beat. However we like a challenge, so the gauntlet was thrown back down again to see what we could produce for our guests on board. Well, the weather stayed firm and provided a mill pond like setting and sure was sure enough, without fail 3 Osprey were seen with one perched up on an artificial nest on Arne, one out over Arne Moors and one circling high over Arne. A Great White Egret was a nice addition to the boat list  and a Peregrine chase in the mouth of the Frome was spectacular. We also saw 3 different Marsh Harrier, one of which was wing-tagged and believed to be from a site in Norfolk which was then promptly seen off by one of the juv Osprey. In Middlebere there were 7 Spoonbill. Up on Ballard Down our monthly field trip took place which was also busy with birds and included an Osprey heading out over the top of Ballard Down (more on that in a minute), 3 Peregrine, c50 Med Gull, 10 Chiffchaff, 30+ Willow Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 14 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Tree Pipit and 220 Goldfinch. At Lytchett Bay a few migrants were moving too with 6 Whitethroat, 5 Tree Pipit, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 20 Green Sandpiper, 4 Ringed Plover and 195 Teal all on the fields. On Slepe Heath there were 11 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 14 Stonechat, 7 Dartford Warbler, 1 Wheatear, 1 Redstart and 8 Willow Warbler. On Brownsea the Bonaparte’s Gull was still present with 18 Spoonbill and 1 Little Stint. Finally, we believe one of our Osprey chicks from this years trans-location project has left on migration already! LS7 hasn’t been seen or heard of since Friday morning where it was hanging around by the pen. One of our team went to do the evening feed later that day and didn’t pick up a signal and now being late on Saturday evening, still with no signal its safe to assume its well on its way to Africa. We wish LS7 a safe and event-free journey and look forward to seeing it again in a few years time. 

Greenshank – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam