It was only a matter of time, but today saw the Poole Harbour Spoonbill flock reach 53 (possibly 55) birds, breaking last year’s British record of 49. All 53 were gathered on Shipstal Point , Arne on the high tide and there is still another few weeks for the flock size to potentially grow. There are a minimum of 7 ringed birds in amongst the flock so if anyone manages to get good photos or views of the colour rings then please email them to us at info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk

Ringing records from last year’s birds showed that we have Dutch, German, Belgium and French ringed Spoonbill visiting us. Another big surprise this afternoon came when a Hawfinch settled at the top of an Oak in the Arne car park for a short while before flying off north. The first ‘urban’ Yellow-browed Warbler was also found this morning with a bird calling away in Broadstone in private gardens near Dunyeats Road. On Brownsea there were 10 Spotted Redshank, c450 Avocet, 2 Hobby and 2 Spoonbill (possibly additional birds to the Arne flock). A sea watch from Branksome produced 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Gannet, 2 Brent Geese and 5 Sandwich Tern.

A wet yucky day with not much to report other than c500 Teal, 150 Redshank, 100 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Greenshank, 1 Peregrine and a handful of Chiffchaff and Goldcrest at RSPB Lytchett Fields. Avocet numbers on the Brownsea Lagoon grew to about 400 and there were 11 Spotted Redshank and 12 Spoonbill.

A brisk easterly wind soon picked up making birding difficult but the Ring Ouzel at Middlebere stayed for its third day making the most of the berry laden Rowan Tree where it was feeding quite happily with several Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush. 18 of the harbour’s 47 Spoonbill came and settled in the Middlebere Channel. The Arne car park had a stormer of a day with a Yellow-browed Warbler in the over-flow car park, 24 Crossbill over with a few settled at the top of a Fir Tree, no less than 4 Firecrests around the visitors center and a Continental Coal Tit. RSPB Lytchett Fields was a bit quiet with 7 Greenshank, 60 Lapwing and a Peregrine the highlights. Several Marsh Harrier were out in the Wareham Channel viewed from Slepe Heath and 6 calling Woodlark went over at dusk.

Yellow-browed Warbler Alert – This autumn the country has seen an almighty influx of these once rare tiny little warblers and Dorset has already seen its fair share with birds popping up at several coastal spots. We’re asking people to keep an eye out for these stunning little birds in their gardens, local parks whilst out on walks etc as it would be great to get a scope on the true scale of this influx in the Poole Harbour area as we think there are probably a great deal more birds out there than are being found. Yellow-browed Warblers will often associate with tit flocks and are big fans of Sycamore trees. They’re busy little birds and can sometimes be quite hard to get a good view of (certainly whilst there are lots of leaves still on trees), but when they do show they’re fairly easy to ID with a bright yellow eye stripe and an obvious yellow wing bar. Be careful though as there are plenty of Chiffchaff around at present which also have a yellow eye stripe, but are plaine olive green all over with no yellow wing bar.Their call is also very recognisable. Below is a recording we made at Knoll beach, Studland last year of a bird that was moving through the scrub with a flock of Long-tailed Tits. Please report all Poole Harbour Yellow-browed Warbler sightings (and any other sightings) to info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk

Yellow-browed Warbler – Knoll Beach, Studland – 31/10/14

Another fine still early autumn day which produced a bit of fog and mist, but the sun soon burnt that off. A ringing session at Lytchett Heath saw a good mix of species including 4 late Sedge Warbler and 1 Reed Warbler along with good numbers of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Goldcrest, 2 Bearded Tit (four more present in the reeds) and 1 lone Lesser Redpoll. There was a bit of vis-mig whilst ringing too which saw 8+ Lesser Redpoll, 6 Crossbill, 2 Woodlark, 1 Redwing, several Siskin and a high flying Bullfinch. At South Haven 17 Crossbill passed over the harbour mouth with 2 Yellow Wagtail and a handful of Chiffchaff and 5 Brent Geese arrived. The Ring Ouzel (possibly 2) was again feeding in the Rowan Tree at Middlebere much to the delight of several photographers. Also at Middlebere 22 Brent Geese came down and settled in the channel and there were big numbers of Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon and Teal present. On RSPB Lytchett Fields there were 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Ringed Plover, 3 Greenshank and a Firecrest was along the lane. The Great White Egret was on the Brownsea Lagoon for most of the morning and the harbour Spoonbill flock reached 47…almost breaking the 50 mark!, also there 29 Little Egret, 16 Spotted Redshank, 355 Teal, 55 Wigeon and 83 Dunlin.

Autumn goodies came thick and fast this morning starting with a Ring Ouzel feeding in Rowan Trees with Mistle Thrush along the track at Middlebere, then news came in of the harbours first Yellow-browed Warbler at South Haven. Then, whilst a vis-mig count was being conducted a Hawfinch passed by calling, a true harbour rarity. Also noted during the vis-mig session was 254 Swallow, 12 Alba Wagtail, 1 Grey and 1 Grey Yellow Wagtail, 13 Meadow Pipit, 20 Chiffchaff, 95 Siskin, 16 Linnet, 21 Redpoll, 16 Greenfinch, 165 Goldfinch, 49 Chaffinch and 1 Mistle Thrush. A Cetti’s Warbler was also at South Haven with 20+ Goldcrest. At Lytchett Bay there were 2 Bearded Tit at the end of footpath 12 with numerous Blackcap and Goldcrest. At Lytchett Fields there were 8 Stonechat and 1 Whinchat, 50 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover, 2 Greenshank and 6 Green Sandpiper.

There was a nice surprise at South Haven when a Snow Bunting passed across the harbour mouth at first light. Snow Bunting are really tricky to catch up with in the harbour with individuals only turning up once every few years. Studland is certainly the place to look with majority of sightings. Also at South Haven Studland 17 Crossbill with 247 Swallow, 1 Grey Wagtail, 40 Alba Wagtail, 41 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 5 Song Thrush, 441 Goldfinch, 305 Siskin, 108 Linnet, 24 Redpoll, 28 Chaffinch all north and 3 Spoonbill across the harbour mouth. At Greenlands Farm there were 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Wheatear, 13+ Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat and 10 Chiffchaff. There are still 6 Marsh Harrier making up the west harbour roost and a Merlin was seen on Coombe Heath, Arne.

There was a nice bit of coverage from around the harbour today, starting of at Glebelands, Ballard where another vis-mig recording session was held. It took a while for birds to get moving, but when they did they just kept on coming. If you get a chance to experience this its well worth the effort as at times parties of birds were migrating just feet above our heads. Totals included 8 Crossbill, 8 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Yellowhammer, c500 Siskin, c700 Goldfinch, c100 Alba Wagtail, 4 Grey Wagtail, 17 Lesser Redpoll, c50 Linnet, 14 Chaffinch, c400 Swallow, 2 Sand Martin, 9 Skylark as well as 1 female Merlin, 1 Peregrine and 1 Kestrel. In the bushes on top of Glebelands Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Stonechat were present in moderate numbers and a late Whitethroat was noted too. Out in Studland Bay 7 Common Scoter, 4 Black-necked Grebe and 11 Brent Geese were out on the water and the Great White Egret was roosting at Littlesea. At Greenlands Farm 2 Wheatear and 3 Yellow Wagtail were on the open pasture. At Middlebere a reasonably late Pied Flycatcher was around the barns with 2 Spotted Flycatcher and from the hide the tide was perfect for holding lots of birds at the top of the Middlebere channel with 525 Avocet, 644 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Knot, c50 Redshank, 11 Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, c200 Wigeon, 8 Pintail, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Peregrine. At Lytchett Bay View 6 Crossbill went over and an adult Yellow-legged Gull was present. Lytchett Fields held a pretty standard set of waders including Dunlin, Greenshank, Redshank, Lapwing, Snipe etc and a Marsh Harrier passed over too. The female Merlin is still present on Hartland and 6 Marsh Harrier left the west Poole Harbour roost. On Brownsea the Spoonbill total remained at 42 today.

Below are two recordings from this mornings session up on Glebelands, Ballard. The first is of the party of 8 Crossbill, which were migrating with several Goldfinches. These birds passed just feet above our heads giving a great opportunity to record their lovely yip yip call.

Crossbill – Party of 8 autumn migrants passing over Gleblands, Ballard – 30/09/15

There are a heard of 10 cattle on the top of Glebelands which act as an excellent Yellow Wagtail magnet. Any passing Yellow Wagtails instantly get drawn in by the small insects around the feet of the cows and often call the whole time they’re there. The birds in this recording literally fell out of the sky as they were migrating to stop off and take advantage of the cows.

Yellow Wagtails – Several birds stopping off to feed as they passed over Glebelands, Ballard – 30/09/15

Another day and yes…more Spoonbills! There were 42 on the Brownsea Lagoon today and there are plenty more along the south coast at present hopefully making their way here. I would love to see 50 by the end of the week…fingers crossed. There were a minimum of 4 Bearded Tit along footpath 12, Lytchett Bay and at Lytchett Fields there were still 2 Whinchat, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Wheatear. The fields were generally quiet with 30+ Dunlin, 4 Greenshank and 4 Green Sandpiper. Two Kingfisher have been reported from Poole Park over the last couple of days, apparently showing very little fear of people and perching up on posts just yards from the general public. Great photo opportunities, especially with this late evening sun we’ve been getting.

Below are a couple more sounds from recent recording sessions up at Glebelands, Ballard. The first is a party of Siskin that passed very low overhead. Both Siskin and Goldfinch seem to be moving in big numbers at present so learning the Siskins chattering and tiu calls will alert you to their presence as they pass over in small groups.

Siskins – Calls of a migrating party over Glebelands, Ballard – 28/09/15

The second recording isn’t actually a migrating call, but in fact an alarm call from a Blackcap. This bird was in a bush behind and obviously didn’t like me standing where I was. This can be a common sound in scrubby habitats at this time of year so well worth knowing if you’re out and about.

Blackcap – Alarm calls of a male at Glebelands, Ballard – 28/09/15

The Spoonbill total on Brownsea seems to be going up day by day with 37 counted on the lagoon. Last year, when the British record was broken for the largest flock ever gathered in the UK (49) numbers were still growing in late October. So considering we’re already on 37 and its not even October yet, I would hazard a guess we could see another record-breaking year for this species. Also on Brownsea were 2 Firecrest, 1 Hobby, 200+ Avocet and 2 Sandwich Tern. On Hartland Moor a female Merlin is still present, harassing Meadow Pipits and it looks as if there are now 6 Marsh Harrier in the west Poole Harbour roost. The lower part of Studland was quiet with a single Cetti’s Warbler at South Haven (very rare here) and reasonable numbers Goldfinch, Linnet, Siskin, Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipit passing overhead. In Studland Bay there are already 4 Black-necked Grebe back and they were joined by 1 male Common Scoter. A sound recording session up Glebelands, Ballard was well worth the effort with many birds on the move including 1 Crossbill, 1 Yellowhammer, 8 Yellow Wagtail, 22 Pied Wagtail, 5 Grey Wagtail, 20+ Siskin, 40+ Redpoll, 500+ Linnet and Goldfinch, 500+ Meadow Pipit and 10+ Skylark. It also seems Song Thrush are now on the move with several passing over in the dark just before sunrise. When will the first Redwing be heard?

With several visits to Glebelands recently we have a few more sound recording to upload. The first is Lesser Redpoll a species that will move right the way through October and in to November too. This recording gives nice examples of both the che-che-che and pyuee call that they do.

Lesser Redpoll – Flight calls of an autumn migrant – Glebelands, Ballard – 28/09/15

The second recording is of a migrating Yellowhammer. Not always thought of as a migrant, Yellowhammer will move around singularly or in small flocks looking for feeding areas. This was my first migrant Yellowhammer of the autumn and it’s p-lick sounding call can be heard at 9, 11, 15, 19 and 23 seconds.

Yellowhammer – Flight calls of an autumn migrant– Glebelands, Ballard – 28/09/15

Very quiet around with only birds of note being 4 Pintail at Lytchett Bay, 3 Brent Geese arriving at Whitecliff and the Spoonbill flock on Brownsea reaching 35. A vis mig session at South Haven, Studland produced 18 Chaffinch, 11 Greenfinch, 9 Lesser Redpoll, 32 Linnet, 309 Goldfinch, 119 Siskin, 19 Pied Wagtail, 13 Meadow Pipit 14 Swallow, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Merlin and 1 Sparrowhawk. There were 5 Yellowhammer at Brands Bay. General birding around the harbour at present is still very rewarding with good numbers of common waders and wildfowl now back and especially with this gorgeous late summer sun, making migrant birds active.