The day started grim, turned nice for a few minutes, then went grim again, which was a shame as it was our last ‘Bird Boat’ of the calendar year. We didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits though and a good haul of birds were seen with 2 Black-throated Diver bobbing around in the North Channel, 1 Red-throated Diver off Gold Point and 3-4 Great Northern Diver dotted around. We had 7 Spoonbill in the Wareham Channel, a Water Pipit was off Swineham Point with 2 Marsh Harrier in that area too and a Barnacle Goose was on Arne Moors. In South Deep 2 Black-necked Grebe were bobbing about with 2 Goldeneye off Jerry’s Point and an adult male Peregrine was causing havoc in Arne Bay, upsetting c200 Curlew. In the mouth of the Frome there were c300 Avocet and the Brownsea Lagoon saw a whopping c2000 Herring Gull coming into roost. This morning there was still at least 1 Purple Sandpiper on the Sandbanks groynes, the Long-tailed Duck flew into the harbour this morning bang on 8am again along with 7 Great Northern Diver. A male Hen Harrier was seen in Lytchett Bay this morning and both White-tailed Eagles were hunkered down in Brands Bay this evening in the driving rain, keeping a low profile.

Red-breasted Merganser – South Deep

It was good to receive news today of the first record of ‘multiple’ Purple Sandpiper at Sandbanks in several years. In recent years they’ve been almost totally absent from this traditional area, with just a few records of lone, short-staying individuals over the last couple of years. There was an excellent count of c35 at Hengistbury on Sunday, so there’s a good chance we could even see a few more over the rest of the winter? Also off Sandbanks today were 3 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Razorbill, 2 Guillemot and a light passage of Mediterranean Gulls. The juv male Eider was off the Houseboats again in Bramble Bush Bay and off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe and 3 Goldeneye. Off Middle Beach, Studland 11 Common Scoter remained and 3 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver were spread across the bay. A lone Cattle Egret flew over Carey Secret Garden and a Black-throated Diver was off Whitecliff/Baiter again.

Purple Sandpiper – Sandbanks 

Purple Sandpiper – Sandbanks 

1st winter male Eider – Bramble Bush Bay – Mick Brooks

With a few Song Thrush already moving on up through the gears in regards to building their spring song, which is typical for mild mornings in late December/early January, it was a total shock upon visiting the PCW Drain this morning to also find 4 Common Chiffchaff in total full song making it feel more like late March rather than a week before Christmas. In total there were around 15 Common Chiffchaff when eventually a Siberian Chiffchaff was also found at the top end. They’ve been notable by their absence the last few years here, despite having always been a reliable site for this species. Just down the road from there in Upton CP a flock of 35 Redwing were feeding, which have also been pretty scarce this winter with only tiny flocks noted in a few areas with the same going for Fieldfare of which there were c30 at Hartland Moor. Off Jerry’s Point the Slavoniain Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 3 Great Northern Diver were counted, a ringtail Hen Harrier, 1 White-tailed Eagle and 2 Spotted Redshank were in Middlebere and out in Studland Bay there were 8 Common Scoter. A female Eider in Bramble bush Bau was new in and there were 3 Great Northern Diver off Pilot’s Point, Studland Bay.

Redwing – Upton CP – Rene Goad

A high tide this morning pushed lots of waders onto Brownsea Lagoon for the start of our Winter Safari Cruise, with 300 Black-tailed Godwit, 30 Bar-tailed Godwit, 300 Dunlin, 120 Avocet, 20 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 12 Turnstone and 6 Grey Plover. The northern harbour was otherwise quiet besides a Guillemot in the North Channel. Moving round the eastern end of Brownsea Island into South Deep there were 3 Great Northern Diver, 2 Black-necked Grebe, and the Long-tailed Duck in amongst 25 Great Crested Grebe. The sheltered fringes of Ower Bay were busy with several hundred Brent Geese, along with 3 Spoonbill and a Peregrine which landed on one of the shingle islands. In the central harbour there were 8 Goldeneye and 40 Red-breasted Merganser, and in the Wareham Channel 1 Red-throated Diver was seen along with 1 Great White Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier and 1 Red Kite.

Elsewhere a single Slavonian Grebe was off Jerry’s Point again this morning, and in Holes Bay there were 1300 Black-tailed Godwit, 331 Avocet, 90 Shoveler and 58 Pintail. A Great White Egret was also seen at Hatch Pond this evening.

Red-throated Diver – Wareham Channel – Alison Copland

Another good day across the harbour today. Nothing new as such, but still a sustained decent haul of birds with the Long-tailed Duck flying into the harbour at 8am. The 2 Black-throated Diver were still off Baiter this morning and 4 Great Northern Diver were off Pilots Point, Studland with 10 Common Scoter in Studland Bay. In between Brands Bay and Jerry’s Point today there were 6 Goldeneye still, plus the Slavonian Grebe and 3 Black-necked Grebe. In Middlebere there were upwards of c700 Avocet, 3 Spoonbill and 2 Spotted Redshank, with another Spotted Redshank in Lytchett Bay. A concentrated count of Holes Bay, from the Holes Bay locals produced 1732 Wigeon, 2143 Black-tailed Godwit, 393 Avocet, 525 Dunlin and good numbers of other common wildfowl. A male Hen Harrier was seen in Middlebere, the White-tailed Eagle pair were seen up on Ballard again.

Black-tailed Godwit flock – Holes Bay – Derek Morgan

Barnacle Goose – Swineham – Clive Hargrave

Once again, an impressive suit of birds spread across the harbour today, especially open water species with 2 Black-throated Diver off Baiter this morning, one close into the footpath along Whitecliff and a second further out between Baiter and Sandbanks. There were also 7 Great Northern Diver, split between the urban northern channels and off Jerry’s Point, and another was in Studland Bay, plus a single Red-throated Diver was 200m of Poole Quay again. Grebe’s were well represented again with 1 Slavoniain Grebe off Jerry’s Point, 5 Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay, 3 in South Deep and 3 in central harbour, plus c100 Great Crested Grebe spread across the harbour. The Long-tailed Duck was off the western Furzey shore again and 10 Goldeneye were out in the central harbour/south Deep area. Spoonbill were dotted around with 12 in Newton Bay and 3 in the Wareham Channel and 2 in Middlebere. There also seems to be thousands of wildfowl and common waders in the harbour currently with huge numbers of Wigeon and Teal spread between Holes Bay, the southern shores, Brands Bay and the north Wareham Channel area. Are rarity this winter but 34 Fieldfare were on Hartland Moor this morning and 2 Crossbill were at RSPB Arne. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere again and 2 Marsh Harrier were at Swineham. There were 2 newly arrived Guillemot in the harbour today too, which could have been around since the storm last weekend, but only discovered today.

10 Spoonbill in Newton Bay from this afternoons Low-tide Cruise

Avocet flock from this afternoons Low-tide Cruise

Long-tailed Duck and Red-breasted Merganser from this afternoons Low-tide Cruise

There was an obscene number of birds in Holes Bay north today with c2500 Black-tailed Godwit, 1000+ Wigeon and 800-1000 Teal,  plus excellent totals of Pintail, Avocet, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew, Shelduck and a single Tufted Duck! A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Lytchett Bay again this morning and another (or the same) was seen in Middlebere. Out in Studland Bay this after 10 Common Scoter remained with 5 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver. Brands Bay held 1 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 21 Great Crested Grebe, 51 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Black-necked Grebe, 208 Pintail and 550+ Dunlin. The Black-throated Diver was still off Baiter Beach with 1 Great Northern Diver and the White-tailed Eagle pair were seen over Hartland Moor. A Barnacle Goose was at Swineham with 4 Marsh Harrier also there. Finally, 3 Spoonbill were at the top end of Middlebere and 10 were in the Wareham Channel.

Spoonbill passing Corfe Castle – Middlebere – Alison Copland

Hen Harrier – Middlebere – Alison Copland

The cold northerly wind subsided a bit more today, making harbour viewing a bit easier for anyone that was out. Early doors saw 1 Black-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver and 3 Sandwich Tern off Baiter Park. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Lytchett Bay at dawn, and an adult male flew through later in the morning, both male Mandarin Duck are still in Poole Park, a Siberian Chiffchaff was seen at Norden sewage works and off Jerry’s Point there was 1 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver and 8 Goldeneye. There seem to be really good numbers of Kingfisher around with 4 in Holes Bay east today, 3-4 along Poole Quay and multiple individuals between Baiter and Sandbanks.

Kingfisher – Poole Quay 

Kingfisher – Poole Quay 

The harbour was at it’s coldest, wintery best today with what seemed like a monumental number of birds present, mostly common wetland birds such as Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, dark-bellied Brent Geese, Oystercatcher, Avocet and Dunlin etc but every bay and exposed area of mud was covered with birds. There was also a great suit of scarcer winter birds with the Long-tailed Duck finally pinned down off the west shore of Furzey Island. A respectable total of 16 Goldeneye were counted, most around the South Deep area, and some out in central harbour. All three diver species were logged again with 2 Red-throated Diver, (one of Poole Quay and one in central harbour), 5 Great Northern Diver, (2 off Baiter and 3 off Jerry’s Point) and 1 Black-throated Diver which flew over Brownsea and seemed to be heading for Holes Bay. A single Slavonian Grebe was off Jerry’s Point with 2 Black-necked Grebe and another lone individual was in central harbour. Off Middle Beach, Studland 4 Black-necked Grebe were feeding together and 6 Common Scoter were further out. There are great totals of Red-breasted Merganser about (cold weather arrival?) with a minimum of 150 spread across certain areas. A Great White Egret was at Swineham GP and a Water Pipit was off Swineham Point. It seems the Spoonbill are opting to feed in the sheltered areas of the harbour with only 15 in the Wareham Channel this morning. Despite their elusive nature currently there were actually 3 White-tailed Eagle around today, with all 3 circling up over Ballard Down this morning and this morning there were 2 Hen Harrier in Lytchett Bay, an adult male and a ringtail.

Red-throated Diver – Off Poole Quay 

Long-tailed Duck – Furzey western shore

Black-necked Grebe – Central Harbour