Today our second ever Family Bird Boat left Poole Quay with a group of excited and intrepid members of the public, wondering what Poole Harbour had in store for them. This project is an extension of our popular School Bird Boat program and although all trips this year have fully booked, its likely we’ll run them next winter too, so keep an eye out for more information in the near future. The trip didn’t disappoint and once again the weather was on our side. There were 6+ Great Northern Diver including ‘the Baiter bird’ which has now taken up residence off Poole Quay it seems, with more off the Brownsea north shore, South Deep and out in central harbour. The 1^st winter drake Eider was also out in central harbour and the Black Guillemot was again off the Brownsea SE corner.  Spoonbills were on the Brownsea Lagoon and Shipstal Point and 2 Black-necked Grebe were off Goathorn Point. A Razorbill was off the Brownsea seawall with 50+ Bar-tailed Godwit on the seawall beach. In total 57 species were logged during the tour. Out on the main lake of Poole Park 4-5 Goldeneye were feeding. Around Hartland 2 ringtail and a male Hen Harrier were noted again and the Bittern was once again seen out flying across the reedbeds towards Swineham. A Woodlark was in full voice at Shipstal Point, Arne where 21 Spoonbill were on the Shipsatl sandbar. During the low tide late afternoon a gull watch was conducted in the Wareahm Channel from the Holton Lee side where huge numbers of gulls were coming in to roost and feed on the exposed mud. Although most were Black-headed and Herring Gull, this time of year (heading into March) is a great time to start looking out for species such as Ring-billed, Iceland and Glaucous Gull, all real Poole Harbour goodies if you can get them. Also out in the channel of note (in a Wareham Channel context) were 11 Spoonbill feeding, 18 Pintail, 17 Gadwall and a flock of 32 Great Crested Grebe huddled together in a shallow channel. Out on RSPB Lytchett Fields a single Avocet was seen out roosting on the fields, a rare sight in these parts, despite them feeding out in the bay every day on the low tides. Also on the fields were 2 Green Sandpiper, 17 Dunlin and 185 Lapwing.

There was some really great news today when it was announced that Natural England have put in an application to extend the Poole Harbour SPA (Special Protection Area) to almost the whole of the harbour, including the mud below the mean low water mark. An SPA is a piece of European legislation carried out under the Birds Directive, a set of laws created to protect birds across Europe and that all countries within the EU must adhere to. The harbour currently has several areas already designated as SPA’s, these include the heathlands around the harbour fringes and the wetlands and water meadows that boarder the river valley’s of the Frome and the Piddle. The proposal is out for public consultation now and you can read the full proposal HERE.

There was a real winter scene late afternoon around the Hartland/Slepe Heath area with a male Hen Harrier and male Marsh Harrier out hunting soon followed by a Short-eared Owl, whilst out towards Arne Moors and Swineham the Bittern was again seen flying over the reedbeds with another 3 Marsh Harrier, male and female Hen Harriers and a Peregrine sat on a post. From Middlebere the Barn Owl was out hunting in front of the hide as were a male and female Hen Harrier and a single Marsh Harrier. After the rain cleared 2 Firecrest were busy feeding behind PC World along with several Chiffchaff. In Holes Bay north 1 Spotted Redshank was at the outflow. 

Today was another fine day today with plenty about. Finally this winter, Poole Harbour sees a Bittern. To be honest it’s probably been around a little while but it was seen flying from Swineham towards Arne Moors at dusk, viewed from Slepe Heath. A raptor watch in the west of the harbour produced 5 Marsh Harrier, 2 ringtail Hen Harrier and 1 Merlin. Local raptor watcher Peter Hadrill has been tallying total sightings of raptors since January 1^st from his watch point and the winner by far is Marsh Harrier with a total of 92 sightings since the beginning of the year, with 32 Hen Harrier sightings, 30 Buzzard and 35 Kestrel. In Holes Bay the Smew was still in the southern section near the railway bridge and there were lots of Avocet, some really close to the foot/cycle paths. In the northern section 2 Spotted Redshank were in the outflow channel along with 2 Spoonbill briefly. Behind PC World 2 Firecrest were active with several Common (collybita) Chiffchaff and 1 Siberian (tristis) Chiffchaff. Spoonbills were out on Shipstal  Point and in the Middlebere Channel. 

The cold crisp weather continued to impress with the most incredible sunrise as everything was dusted white with frost. There was what seemed to be a mini thrush arrival with good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare at places like Holton Lee, Upton CP and Arne. The Brownsea Black Guillemot decided to leave its favored spot off the Brownsea SE corner and bravely ventured 200m east and sat in and around the harbour mouth mid morning with a Common Guillemot replacing it by the afternoon. The Smew was still present in Holes Bay south with 4 Goldeneye, 4 Red-breasted Merganser and 2 Kingfisher and on the railway embankment its self were 93 Oystercatcher, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Turnstone and 23 Little Egret. At Holton Lee Great Spotted Woodpecker started drumming and there was what seemed to be a mini thrush arrival with a decent Fieldfare and Redwing flock out in the fields (decent in comparison with recent totals at least). Out in the Wareham Channel there was 1 Great Northern Diver, 3 Goldeneye and good numbers off Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser. At PC World at least 2 Firecrest were in the scrub with 10+ Chiffchaff and at Norden Sewage Works the 2 Firecrest continue to show really well on the filter beds and surrounding scrub. Off Baiter there were 2 distant Great Northern Diver, 6 Shoveler off the Brownsea north shore, 13 Turnstone and 4 Dunlin on the sea wall. 

Last night saw the coldest night of the year (apparently), and the frost on the ground was a welcome change from the familiar thudding and splashing of torrential rain. There were some nice highlights including now 2 grey male Hen Harriers seen in and around the Middlebere/Hartland Moor area along with a Short-eared Owl. At Studland there were 14 Black-necked Grebe (11 Middle Beach and 3 off the Houseboats), 1 Great Northern Diver off Middle Beach, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Merlin from the houseboats and a Kingfisher, 1 Spoonbill, 31 Sanderling and 2 Great Northern Diver in Brands Bay. From the Middlebere hide were 2 adult Yellow-legged Gull, 10 Spoonbill, 1 Peregrine, 1 Green Sandpiper and a flyover Crossbill. At Swineham were 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Marsh Harrier with another 2 Marsh Harrier over Wytch Lake. At the Holes Bay outflow a single Spoonbill and 2 Spotted Redshank were feeding with plenty of Avocet, whilst behind PC World there were 2 Firecrest and a single Siberian Chiffchaff with a minimum of 10 Common Chiffchaff. 

Spotted Redshank – Holes Bay outflow – Ian Ballam

Rock Pipit – Holes Bay outflow – Ian Ballam

Avocet – Holes Bay outflow – Ian Ballam

Not much to report from today other than the Smew in Holes Bay south and 2 Spotted Redshank and 3 Spoonbill in Holes Bay north at the outflow channel. Off Baiter there were 2 distant Great Northern Diver and a Guillemot. At Shore Road, Sandbanks there were 129 Bar-tailed Godwit on the low tide including the returning summer plumaged bird which has been arriving in Poole Harbour in this plumage for many years now. 

Bar-tailed Godwits – Shore Road, Sandbanks – Ian Ballam

It was always on the cards, but I was expecting our ‘break in the weather’ to last a bit longer than just a day, but as we looked out of the window this morning it was situation normal with wind and rain back on the agenda! However, all was not lost as it was the Poole Harbour WeBS count (Wetland Bird Survey) today and the recent cold snap showed signs that there may have been a bit of an arrival of wildfowl into the harbour. Holes Bay north held a minimum of 2000 birds with 2 Spotted Redshank, 550+ Dunlin, 120+ Avocet, 180+ Redshank, 140+ Black-tailed Godwit, 450+ Wigeon, 400+ Teal and 8 Pintail. There was also a report of a Great White Egret near the railway bridge in Holes Bay north and a Kingfisher there too.  There seem to be several Blackcaps now entering people gardens feeding on fat blocks around the harbour with birds in Upton, Poole, Creekmoor and Hamworthy. WeBS count totals from the southern shores of Poole Harbour produced roughly 3000 birds with 744 Brent Geese in the mouth of the Wytch Channel, 77 Grey Plover, 271 Avocet, 3 Spoonbill, 1 Spotted Redshank, 227 Shelduck, 42 Red-breasted Merganser and reasonable numbers of common wader. The 2 Firecrest at Norden Sewage works were still showing brilliantly next to the fence and another was in a Wareham garden mid-morning. From Brands Bay there was 1 Spoonbill, 1 Great Northern Diver. The Brownsea Lagoon was tough going on the low tide with 232 Shoveler Duck, 4 Spoonbill, 1 Greenshank and 1 Spotted Redshank. At Lytchett Bay a ringtail Hen Harrier was present again, with 176 Avocet out on the mud, 2 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Water Pipit and 7 Scandinavian Rock Pipit. From the Raptor Hide at Arne there were 2 Marsh Harrier at dusk with1 Barn Owl.

Today we led our monthly field trip at Swineham with the hope of witnessing a perfect Poole Harbour sunrise. When the walk was first advertised a few months ago we’d seen nothing but wind and rain for quite some time, so the title of the walk ‘sunrise at Swineham’ was quite tongue in cheek. However we did experience one of the most spectacular sunrises so far this winter with a ground frost and still calm conditions to boot. Highlights included 3-4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 2-3 Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, several Cetti’s Warbler calling, 2 Chiffchaff, c20 Shoveler, c10 Tufted Duck, 4 Gadwall, 3-4 Kingfisher, c20 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare and several Reed Bunting. At Norden Sewage Works the 2 Firecrest were still showing brilliantly next to the fence. Out in the Wareham Channel there was 1 Great Northern Diver, 14 Goldeneye, 1 Sandwich Tern and 2 Woodcock were seen at Holton Lee the night before. At Lytchett Bay 8 Egyptian Geese flew overhead towards the Wareham Channel (still surprisingly scarce here) and a ringtail Hen Harrier hunted out over the fields. There was also a remarkable find at Arne of what is almost certainly a Great White Egret skull, down near the Shipstal Hide. This may sound bizarre (which it is), but this coincides with a report of a sickly looking Great White Egret down in that area back in October last year, when a group from a guided walk were able to approach a GWE at quite close quarters as it just stood on the footpath looking back at them. The Brownsea Lagoon was counted and totals included 22 Knot, 10 Spotted Redshank, 2 Lapwing, 80 Grey Plover, 70 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Turnstone, 5 Greenshank, 600 Dunlin and 2 Kingfisher. There were also 2 Firecrest near the Villa on Brownsea with 24 Siskin and a pair of Bullfinch. From the Pottery Pier end of Brownsea looking west there were 7 Black-necked Grebe, the 1^st winter drake Eider, 17 Spoonbill at Arne, 4 Great Northern Diver and 1 Razorbill near Castle Quay. In Holes Bay north 2-Spotted Redshank were feeing in the outflow channel and 8 Spoonbill came in to feed there too. 

Presumed Great White Egret skull – Found at Shipstal, Arne – Joe Stockwell

A few more sightings today which included a ringtail Hen Harrier over Giggers Island in the Wareham Channel with 4-5 Marsh Harrier in the area too, also 8 Spoonbill feeding out in the Channel and good numbers of common waders. In Holes Bay NE a Spoonbill was feeding in the outflow channel at low tide with a Spotted Redshank. In Middlebere there were 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine and a singing Dartford Warbler. At Arne a male Hen Harrier was seen, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and a Great Northern Diver were off Shipstal Point and there were 29 Spoonbill asleep. Avocet were in plentiful supply at both Middlebere and Shipstal. There were 2 Firecrest, 4 Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff at Norden Sewage Works and a Merlin along Soldiers Road.

Not much to report from today other than only two Hen Harrier went into roost in the west of the harbour and 4-5 Marsh Harrier. So here are a selection of photos from the last few days to make up for the lack of sightings…

Wigeon – Holes Bay – Keith Rawling

Turnstone – Baiter Park Keith Rawling

Great Crested Grebe – baiter Park – Keith Rawling

Great Northern Diver – Baiter Park – Keith Rawling