This morning was our monthly field trip, this month hosted at Challow Hill, near Corfe Castle. Despite the cold NE wind, the Challow Ridge provided shelter and a good range of species including 1 Nightingale, 2 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 3-4 Dartford Warbler, 5+ Yellowhammer, 5+ Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap and several Chiffchaff, House Martin and Swallow. At Swineham GP a summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit had settled on the newly cleared area with a Common Sandpiper and Greenshank also there. Around the pits several species of warbler were counted including 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler and 6 Cetti’s Warbler. On Lytchett Fields 2 Dunlin and 2 Ringed Plover flew in together, also 2 Greenshank and 5 Spotted Redshank were observed with 1 Whitethroat and 1 Cetti’s Warbler. Local Harrier water Peter Hadrill has confirmed that a pair of Marsh Harrier have been courting all spring with the female now on eggs in the west of Poole Harbour. 

Bar-tailed Godwit – Swineham – Peter Moore

Lesser Whitethroat – Swineham – Peter Moore

Common Sandpiper – Swineham – Peter Moore

Birds of Poole Harbour Field Trip – Challow Hill – Barbara Bisset

Constant drizzle all day would be a standard day of misery for many but for birders in spring, these are very much welcomed conditions, providing an opportunity to see ground migrants as they shelter from the rain. Evidence of this situation was prominent at the PCW Drain where a Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 10+ Blackcap and 2 Willow Warbler were feeding and tucked away. Out on Lytchett Fields there were 3 Spotted Redshank, 11 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel and 110 Black-tailed Godwit. At Middlebere a Cuckoo called early morning and a Tree Pipit called overhead. On Brownsea 5 Spotted Redshank were on the lagoon with numbers of Sandwich Tern still building slowly. 

Reed Warbler – Swineham – Peter Moore

Cetti’s Warbler – Swineham – Peter Moore

Migrants are still trickling through but not in any great numbers. A fine male Whinchat was at Lytchett Fields with 6 Whitethroat and a Red Kite drifted low over the fields. Out in Lytchett Bay there were 2 Whimbrel. At Upton CP 3 Whimbrel were near the stone bench and a female Redstart was in the field behind. At Arne a Redstart, several Whitethroat, 2 Woodlark, Swallows and plenty of Dartford Warbler were present. At Swineham there was single Sedge Warbler with a showy Cetti’s Warbler. At Holton Lee, what was we assume the same Red Kite at the Lytchett Fields bird drifted over the heath, also still Tree Pipit singing, Whitethroat, Woodlark, Dartford Warbler, Chiffchaff and Linnet all out on the heathland. 

Cetti’s Warbler – Swineham – Clive Hargrave

Sedge Warbler – Swineham – Clive Hargrave 

Red Kite – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Whitethroat – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Lytchett Fields seems to be getting a lot of attention at the moment and today the rewards came in the shape of 3 Little Ringed Plover, 1 male and 1 female Redstart, 1 Red-legged Partridge (rare here), 1 Wheatear, 1 Whimbrel and a Green Sandpiper. There were 2 Wheatear along Baiter late afternoon. At Holton Lee a Cuckoo was seen near the bird hide and a Wheatear was in the field behind. A night recording session in the Lower Frome Valley picked up 1 night migrating Little Ringed Plover, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Little Grebe and 1 Common Snipe. 

 Little Ringed Plover – Call of a night time migrant – Arne Moors 

Spotted Redshank – Call of a night time migrant – Arne Moors

Little Grebe – Call of a night time migrant – Arne Moors 19/04/16

Greenshank – Call of a night time migrant – Arne Moors – 19/04/16

Redstart – Lytchett Fileds – Ian Ballam

Cuckoo – Holton Lee – Richard Stephenson

A nice light easterly breeze saw a few more migrants make landfall, and waders are now trickling through. At Swineham GP a nice mixed flock of 17 summer plumaged Dunlin and Ringed Plover settled on the newly cleared area. This little patch looks as though it has the potential to attract a few more waders in? Also at Swineham were 2 Wheatear and a Sedge Warbler. At the PCW Drain a Common Sandpiper and 10+ Blackcap were present with a handful of Willow Warbler. Still not many Terns on Brownsea, however 2 Knot, 7 Spotted Redshank, 35 Dunlin, 1 Spoonbill, 1 Grey Plover, 3 Turnstone, 3 Greenshank, 3 Avocet, several Med Gulls and a Reed Warbler made up for that. At Lytchett Fields a stunning male Redstart was in hedges on the approach track to the viewing areas, also 2 Wheatear, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel and a Greenshank. On Stoborough Heath there was a great count of 25 Wheatear. 

Redstart – Lytchett Fields – Paul Morton

Dunlin and Ringed Plover – Swineham GP – Richard Stephenson

Dunlin and Ringed Plover – Swineham GP – Richard Stephenson

What started off as a stunning still (but cold) spring morning, with frost on the ground turned into an even colder and chilly rest of the day, with birds few and far between. Best bird of the day (although you still can’t count them) was a Great Bustard that flew low over Sea View Road, Upton and headed towards Lytchett Minster. This will almost certainly be one of the birds from the Salisbury Plain reintroduction scheme, possibly making its way back to the site for the summer. The harbour’s first Lesser Whitethroat was heard in Boarder Road, Lytchett Bay. There was a nice record of a Common Sandpiper at Hatch Pond with another in the PCW Drain. At Arne, a Cuckoo was calling at dawn and there were 3 Whimbrel in the mouth of Middlebere plus a constant trickle of Swallow, House and Sand Martin overhead all day with 2 Tree Pipit and a Peregrine. A Hen Harrier was in Poole Harbour west at dawn and a Ring Ouzel was on Stoborough Heath. Common migrants are still passing through each day with Blackcap and Willow Warbler arriving on territory as each day passes. Its well worth keeping your eye out in the garden as migrants will often pass through, feeding along the way.

Blackcap – Holes Bay  – Colin Moyes

Today was a super still day that saw Hirundines on the move all day, pulsing over, some at great height in waves. A few waders arrived too with a Common Sandpiper at Lytchett Fields also 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 female Redstart, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler and 20+ Blackcap. It was also noted that a ringed Reed Warbler which was ringed as an adult at Lytchett Bay in June 2012 is now back again for its 5^th year in a row singing from exactly the same bush as where it was originally photographed in 2014, a pretty mean feat for such a tiny bird. At Studland there were 4 Yellow Wagtail at Greenlands Farm, 6+ Wheatear and c100 Swallow north and in Brands Bay a Great Northern Diver was still present with 177 Black-tailed Godwit. At Arne Woodlark and Dartford Warbler continue to display out on the heathland and another Cuckoo was heard along the Arne Road. A Red Kite was seen drifting over north. 

‘Old Faithful’ Reed Warbler – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Yellow Wagtail – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Common Sandpiper – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

With Portland going through a bit of a purple patch there was hope in the harbour for some similarly good finds. With so much decent habitat around the harbour finding rarities can take some time but we’re sure there are some out there somewhere.  Around mid morning an Osprey drifted in to the harbour via Studland, across over Brownsea and drifted towards Arne. 7 Spoonbill were seen to fly on to the Brownsea Lagoon. There have been several reports and sightings of Peregrine hunting over Poole Town Centre in recent weeks, sometimes carrying prey. We would like to gather as many Peregrine sightings as we can from in and around Poole Town to try and pin down a possible breeding location. They do breed outside the harbour (Wareham Forest, Old harry/Ballard) but not actually within the town…as far as we know! At Swineham there were 2 Sedge Warbler, 3 Willow Warbler, 4 Cetti’s Warbler, Whimbrel and 200+ Hirundines. On Brownsea there were singles of Spotted Redshank and Knot. At Challow hill, Corfe a Nightingale was back on territory, also there 4 Dartford Warbler, 6 Yellowhammer, several Willow Warbler and Stonechat. In Holes Bay North, a small fall of Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat appeared in the PCW Drain along with a single Sedge Warbler. There was another Little Ringed Plover at Lytcehtt Fields and in Middlbere 2 Spotted Redshank, 6 Ringed Plover and a ringtail Hen Harrier.

Willow Warbler – Fleets Corner – Paul Morton

Although the grim wet weather put most birding attempts to bed for most of the day, after it cleared around 3pm migrants were turning up left right and centre, hoping to grab a quick snack before moving on. The waste ground next to the Twin Sails Bridge saw 15+ Wheatear and a Whitethroat feeding on the short- cropped grass. At the PC World Drain a Sedge Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 10 Blackcap and several Willow Warbler. At Lytchett Fields 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 50+ Swallow, 2 Reed Warbler and 3 Greenshank were present. At Middlebere 42 summer plumaged Dunlin were out from the hide, also 1 sub-adult female Marsh Harrier and 200+ Black-tailed Godwit. A Whinchat and Cuckoo were on Canford Heath. 

Wheatears – Twin Sails Bridge

Blackcap – Lytchett Fields 

Sedge Warbler – PC World Drain

Yellow Wagtails – Lytchett Fields

This morning another Osprey was found, this one sat in a tree on the edge of the Holton Lee site eating a fish, viewed from Lytchett Fields. It then went back to Lytchett Bay, caught another fish and then flew off NW high carrying its brunch along the way. Also see out on Lytchett Fields were the 2 summer plumaged Water Pipit, a summer plumaged Spotted Redshank and the sites first Reed Warbler of the year. Another different Hen Harrier buzzed through the harbour this AM, this one a compact juvenile male which was seen high above Swineham before making its way back towards Arne. The harbours first Whitethroat appeared at the PCW Drain along with 3 each of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. A Ruff was also noted in Holes Bay NE with a Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine passed over. In Middlebere there were 4 Spotted Redshank (2 summer plumaged), c40 summer plumaged Dunlin, c200 summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit and a single Spoonbill. Cuckoo’s are now popping up here and there with one on Canford Heath and another on Hartland Moor.

Osprey – Holton Lee (viewed from Lytchett Fields) – Ian Ballam