The blustery wet south-westerlies look set to dominate over the next week (or longer) but today was a tale of two halves with a horrendous morning but actually quite pleasant afternoon and a lovely still night. No surprises that there wasn’t much coverage during the morning but by the afternoon reports started coming through. There was a Yellow-browed Warbler in Nutcrack Lane, Stoborough mid afternoon and a Great White Egret seen at Middlebere. Around the Studland area there were 3 Black-necked Grebe, 4 Common Scoter, 1 Swallow and a Firecrest from Middle Beach. In Brands Bay 3 Black-necked Grebe, 61 Great Crested Grebe, 45 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Goldeneye, 5 Common Scoter, 3 Grey Plover, 1 Knot, 1 Woodcock and 3 Sandwich Tern were noted. At Littlesea the Great White Egret was seen and there were 5 Common Scoter at South Haven. 

The less said about today the better. It was wet from start to finish and the long faces of the 11 Spoonbill getting sodden on the Brownsea Lagoon webcam summed it all up!

The weather really did put a dampener on things with 15 Turnstone and 21 Ringed Plover out on Baiter Park being the only notable new sighting. There were 11 Spoonbill on the Brownsea webcam along with 6 Greenshank. There was a male Brambling at the Arne VC and the ever-present Firecrests. There was a minimum of 5 Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay. 

The rain continues to be a wet inconvenience but small bits of coverage from around the harbour still trickle in. A Woodlark was seen migrating over South Haven at dawn. 5 Common Scoter also entered the harbour early doors and a dark looking Peregrine also passed by. A Brambling at Boarder Road brought Lytchett Bays year total up to 157 species, equaling the best ever total for the site. There was also a Firecrest at Lytchett Bay and  good numbers of the usual species out on the wet fields. A Short-eared Owl was out across Arne moors and a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen from Middlebere. There seem to be separate Spoonbill flocks now with birds roosting at Shipstal, Middlebere and Brownsea on the high tides. A Magpie roost at Hatch Pond consisted of 91 individuals.

Despite the rain and fog there was quite a bit of coverage today. Only 4 Marsh Harrier were seen to come out of the west Poole Harbour roost, however at the same time both a Merlin and Peregrine were sat out on posts on Hartland and a ringtail Hen Harrier was out over the Wareham Channel. Middlebere saw a good haul of birds too with 3 separate Marsh Harrier, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Merlin, 475 Avocet, 600+ Black-tailed Godwit, 8 Spotted Redshank, 5 Grey Plover and 2 Greenshank. Off Middlebere Beach, Studland there were 9 Black-necked Grebe and 6 Common Scoter, whilst a vis-mig session at South Haven produced 291 Goldfinch, 1+ Brambling, 47 Meadow Pipit and an adult winter Little Gull entered the harbour mouth. 

Another foggy, dreary day with few reports. RSPB Lytchett Fields was holding its own though with 2 Firecrest, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hen Harrier, a whopping 130 Snipe, 86 Redshank, 36 Dunlin and 106 Black-tailed Godwit. Spoonbills were spread between Brownsea, Shipstal and Middlebere. There’s been no sign of the male Hen Harrier since last week but ringtails were seen at Middlebere and Hartland Moor. 

The beginning of the month started off very mild and then the dreaded fog rolled in. Still, there was a nice spread of birds. AT RSPB Lytchett Fields there were 2 Marsh Harrier over the fields and 5 Greenshank on the fields, along with the usual spread of common waders and wildfowl. There was also a Merlin there and the first Brent Geese and Great Crested Grebes of the winter (for Lytchett Bay) were out on the water. The Black Redstart was seen again in the allotments on Slogh Lane, Upton and another on the farm building at Arne. At Upton CP and Holes Bay the Goldcrest influx was obvious with birds in almost every bush and tree, also 3 Sandwich Tern and a Common Sandpiper south of the railway bridge. There have also been several comments regarding the Peregrine Falcon that’s been visiting the lagoon in as much that the black hood, dark appearance and all round structure of the bird seems slightly odd. If anyone has managed to get photos of this bird over the last week or two we’d be really interested in seeing them. Up on Slepe Heath there were 4 Lesser Redpoll, plenty of Reed Bunting and a Hen Harrier was seen catching a Water Rail. At Middlebere there were 160 Wigeon, 126 Lapwing, 62 Avocet, 12 Spoonbill, 9 Spotted Redshank, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier, 1 Marsh Harrier and 2 Chiffchaff

Today was the Arne Forage Festival and we (along with the Stour Ringing Group) were invited to host a ringing demonstration for the public. The event was a huge success, not only because we ringed over 100 birds, but because the public engagement element of the demo worked brilliantly with visitors oooing and ahhhing at the range of species on show. Highlights were 2 Firecrest, 4 Redwing, 3 Nuthatch, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and a good mix of common woodland/garden species. Also on the reserve were 19 Spoonbill at Shipstal, a brief Yellow-browed Warbler in the car park along with similarly brief Brambling behind the visitors centre and 2 Black Redstart around the Farm Buildings. There was surprise Yellowhammer at Arne yesterday, the first in quite some years There are now 3 different Hen Harrier in the harbour, 2 ringtails and a grey male, which were seen around the Hartland area. There were 5 Marsh Harrier in and around the Wareham Channel.  At RSPB Lytchett Fields there were over 1000 Teal gathered on all fields with 4 Spotted Redshank there yesterday. There was an impressive 1200+ waders and wildfowl on all fields today with good numbers of Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Lapwing, Dunlin and Black-headed Gulls along with 2 Green Sandpiper and a Peregrine being a menace. Off Knoll/Middle Beach 14 Black-necked Grebe gathered in the evening roost with 3 Common Scoter. At Studland (Knoll) car park 2 Firecrest were present with another 4 at Greenland’s Farm. Vis-mig over Greenlands consisted of 46 Skylark, 6 Bullfinch, 5 Linnet, 138 Fieldfare, 4 Redpoll and a Brambling that settled for a short while. A Short-eared Owl was seen at dusk along the Arne Road.

Ergh! A wet, rainy day that didn’t produce very much…at all! Highlights were a minimum of 5 Brambling outside the Arne visitors center again and 2 Firecrest elsewhere in the car park. 31 Spoonbill were on Brownsea and a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen briefly in Middlebere with another (or the same) seen out over Slepe Heath with a late Hobby.

Saturday 31^st October – Arne Forage Festival at Arne RSPB Reserve

Our Birds of Poole Harbour charity will be there discussing our work and we’ll also hosting a ringing demo in partnership with the Stour Ringing Group from 10am to 2pm. Our marquee is the first on the left as you enter the field.

The 6 Brambling at Arne remained settled behind the Visitor Centre. They rarely show all at the same time but are present for most of the day, feeding in amongst the Chaffinch and Greenfinch, but all the finches seem particularly flighty, rarely staying on the ground for longer than a few seconds. It was a Black Redstart day too with one at French’s Farm, Lytchett Bay, 1 briefly at Arne Farm and two at South Haven, Studland. There were also 3 Black-necked Grebe out in Shell Bay. There is a good number of Greylag and Canada Goose appearing on Lytchett Fields at the moment, which could in turn attract in a wandering White-fronted or Pink-footed Goose. There were again 2 Firecrest in the Arne car park and a Barn Owl was seen out hunting along the Arne Road at dusk. A Great White Egret flew along the Wareham Channel at dusk towards the main Poole Harbour egret roost and 6 Marsh Harrier came into roost. The 32 Spoonbill remained on Brownsea along with 12 Spotted Redshank. There are good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing arriving now with flocks of various sizes passing overhead at dawn in many places.