Long may this beautifully, sunny period of high pressure continue! It must of been October last year when we last had 4 days of consecutive sun? It’s certainly getting the birds going, with displaying and a building chorus of song developing. Even our winter birds are now seeing the bright side, with 3 Black-necked Grebe off Studland Beach mostly in full summer plumage, along with the smattering of Mediterranean Gulls there too, plus 3 Common Scoter and 1 Great Northern Diver. A random winter plumaged Red-throated Diver was ‘new in’ , settled on the water out in Brands Bay and the Long-tailed Duck was off Jerry’s Point with 1 Slavonian Grebe and 2 Black-necked Grebe. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere and 1 also flew over Swineham GP this evening. There were 2 White-tailed Eagle present with 1 in the Wareham Channel and one on Gold Point, RSPB Arne, opposite Hamworty Beach. This afternoon, 2 Red Kite drifted over the Ham Common viewpoint, there was still at least 1 Hawfinch in St Marys Church yard, Lytchett Matravers.

Red-throated Diver – Brands Bay – Mick Brooks

Partial summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe – South Haven – Studland – Mick Brooks

Apologies, there were some issues with the website so yesterday’s and today’s sightings are amalgamated.

A really stunning weekend, with calm sunny conditions both days meaning there was lots of spring activity in the harbour. More Sandwich Tern have arrived back on the Brownsea Lagoon with several pairs flying about the harbour today too. Huge total for Cattle Egret coming in to roost yesterday evening with 59 counted heading up the Piddle Valley towards the harbour which may even be a record. The 14 Spoonbill were still off Shipstal both days.

It was prime conditions for soaring birds of prey over the weekend and there were certainly plenty around from our Winter Safari Cruise this morning. 3 Goshawk were effortlessly gliding over Middlebere, 3+ Marsh Harrier were hunting in the Wareham Channel, 1 adult male Hen Harrier was hunting over Arne Moors and 1 White-tailed Eagle was here too. 4 Bearded tit showed nicely at the mouth of the river Frome from the boat trip. Later a Short-eared Owl was hunting for some time this afternoon over Arne Moors. It’s been a great weekend for Eagle sightings with multiple views of them including in Lytchett Bay, Ham Common, Middlebere, Arne, Studland with a few juveniles and the adult pair hanging around and interacting. The 3 Ruff were still present at Swineham today. 1 Bittern flew up from Swineham gravel pit late yesterday evening, along with 5 Spoonbill and 1 Barn Owl.

1 Common Guilliemot was off Poole Quay and 1 Black-necked Grebe was off Jerry’s Point. Interestingly, there were no Divers seen throughout the harbour so perhaps there’s been a clear out over the weekend. 1 early Northern Wheatear was reported on the Brownsea Lagoon this afternoon and there were plenty of waders here including c200 Avocet, 70+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 800+ Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 40 Grey Plover and 3 Ringed Plover.

Ringtail Hen Harrier – Mark Wright – Middlebere Channel

Sandwich Tern – Wareham Channel from Winter Safari Cruise this morning – Alison Copland

What a perfect way to see out February and the end of metrological winter, with what we hope is setting the tone for a beautiful and perfect spring to come. After the frost thawed out, we were left with pristine, perfect early spring day with signs of Spring all around the harbour. Another Northern Wheatear appeared, this time at Middlebere, with a handsome male on show. Common Chiffchaff were singing at Holme Lane, Carey Secret Garden, RSPB Arne and Swineham. The first 3 Sandwich Terns of the season were on the Brownsea Lagoon and Woodlark were in full song at traditional sites. Buzzards were in full display mode right across the harbour skyline and both Goshawk and Sparrowhawk were both seen displaying over harbour airspace too. Winter specialities remained, with the 5 Black-throated Diver still off Evening Hill, 10 Black-necked Grebe were off Middle Beach, Studland, the Long-tailed Duck, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver were off Jerry’s Point. Other signs of movement included a Golden Plover over Holme Lane this AM with 3 Goosander over Hatch Pond, Poole and a small trickle of Meadow Pipits were arriving in off the sea. A Great White Egret arrived in down the Frome Valley mid-morning and 5 Cattle Egret were in the Piddle Valley, and this evening 18 Cattle Egret went into the Swineham Roost along with 1 Great White Egret, 15+ Little Egret and 5 Spoonbill dropped down onto the Piddle floods to roost, plus a Barn Owl also flew through. This afternoon six different White-tailed Eagles were in the west of the harbour, moving between the Wareham Channel and the Frome Valley. The Barnacle Goose was still at Holmebridge this morning and there were single of Spotted Redshank in Middlebere and Lytchett Bay.

Goshawk – Poole Harbour south

Spotted Redshank – Middlebere

Another eagle filled day with no less than 7-8 individuals moving around just north, south and in and around the harbour over the course of the day. There were 2 juveniles White-tailed Eagles fighting over food out in the Wareham Channel this morning, viewed from the Ham Common viewpoint. These two soon drifted off over RSPB Arne and were joined by 2 others, most likely the local pair. During March and April the Ham Common viewpoint is a great place to try and see White-tailed Eagles as they move around a lot in the spring, often flying over the Wareham Channel and the viewpoint it’s self, with mornings often providing the best opportunities of seeing them before they go off for their daily jaunts. This evening a Bittern was seen flying over Swineham GP and was last seen heading towards the Piddle Valley. In the PCW Drain, 20+ Common Chiffchaff were still present with no less than in full song along the channel, with 1 Cetti’s Warbler and 1 Firecrest also in the channel. A Red Kite drifted over Sunnyside this afternoon, 13 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne and a male Northern Wheatear was seen again on Hartland Moor. Off Jerry’s Point 1 Common Scoter, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver. 

Juvenile White-tailed Eagles food fighting – Wareham Channel – Alison Copland

Spoonbills – Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne

Hopefully, today was the last period of foul weather for a while, with a beautiful ridge of high pressure now settled in over the UK for the next week. The foul weather did deliver our first sub-Saharan spring migrant of the year, with a male Northern Wheatear on Hartland Moor. This probably one of the earliest records for Poole Harbour of this species and follows a bit of a pattern of other early migrants appearing across the UK this year. We’re now entering ‘Bittern time’, with an opportunity to possibly see Bittern moving about Swineham GP at dusk, and in a few weeks time, the possibility of watching Bittern leave. This evening one was seen flying from Arne Moors, over onto Swineham GP at around 18:30, presumably to go and roost there. It called a few times as it flew as it flew from Arne Moors to Swineham which is always a joy to hear. From our School Bird Boat this AM, Bovington Academy enjoyed views of a White-tailed Eagle flying over Shipstal Point, at RSPB Arne, also 2 Black-throated and 1 Great Northern Diver off the Brownsea Lagoon sea wall and 1 Common Guillemot off Poole Quay. Tonight we were hosting our final Sunnyside ringing demo of the winter which was a cold, still night making catching tricky but we did end up with 3 Jack Snipe caught, including a re-trap of an individual we caught in mid-November last year.

Sanderling – Sandbanks Groynes 

Spring seemingly continues to press on with more and more Sand Martin arriving across the country and a Northern Wheatear on Portland Bill today. A small handful of early migrants across the country in late February isn’t too unusual, but this year, a decent total and variety of spring migrants have already arrived suggesting we could be in for an early season?

Here in the harbour no sub-Saharan migrants have been logged yet, but this morning a small passage of Meadow Pipit were seen coming in off the sea over Studland Bay which would suggest European arrivals. This morning the 5 Black-throated Diver were still off Baiter, feeding in a small tight group out towards Salterns Marina, along with 1 Great Northern Diver and 2 Sandwich Tern. At Lytchett Bay, a Little Gull was reported on Lytchett Fields and 1 Spotted Redshank was out in the bay in the low tide. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere this morning plus 1 Spoonbill, 1 Red Kite and 1 Goshawk seen there too. It seems various White-tailed Eagles were moving around today with sightings of 1 White-tailed Eagle out over the Wareham Channel, 1 over Ballard Down, 1 over Morden Bog, 1 over Morden/Lytchett Matravers and 1 over Corfe. The Hawfinch was still in St Marys Church Yard, Lytchett Matravers. A pair of Goosander were on the river just north of Holmebridge and 5 Cattle Egret flew over Wareham Common.

Ringtail Hen Harrier – Middlebere – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle and Common Buzzard – Lytchett Matravers

An interesting day with torrential rain at dawn, but blindingly bright sunshine and a brisk SW breeze by this afternoon. The warmth of the day got many of the over-wintering Common Chiffchaff in the PCW Drain singing with 10+ along the channel warming up for the season ahead. The harbour faithfuls were still spread around with 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Long-tailed Duck and 3 Great Northern Diver off Jerry’s Point. There was at least 1 Black-throated Diver still off Evening Hill, Sandbanks, there were up to 9 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne. A random Jack Snipe was wandering around out on one of the lawns of the Brownsea Lagoon, seen during the boat trip this afternoon. Up to 3 Sandwich Tern were in central harbour, the Hawfinch was in Lytchett Matravers church yard again, a Spotted Redshank was in Holes Bay, a female Merlin was hunting in Lytchett Bay this morning and both adult Peregrines were on their usual balcony on the Asda flats at Hole Bay. Finally, a huge thanks to birder and photographer Simon Johnson for providing us with this great info he’s received back from a colour-ringed Turnstone he photographed at Baiter late last year: This female Turnstone was ringed on 08.03.2024, and is believed to have hatched in 2023 or earlier. Ringing took place near Alert, Nunavut, Canada Lat 82.49167 Lon -62.34167. Alert is the northernmost continuously inhabited place in the world and about 4000km away!!

Jack Snipe wandering around on Brownsea Lagoon lawn this afternoon seen from Winer Safari this afternoon – John Bishop

Great Northern Diver amongst the waves – Brownsea south shore from Winter Safari this afternoon – John Bishop

Turnstone ringing location in Alert, Northern Canada in March 2023 and over-wintering site in Poole

Well, at least we had one day of sun and slight spring warmth, but today it was back to rain. However, we’ve been keeping an eye on the national birding news over the weekend and it’s great to see a whole suit of early spring migrants have already arrived! Last week the first Northern Wheatear was found in Avon, a Little Ringed Plover was in Suffolk yesterday, multiple Sand Martin have been recorded across the country and even a few Swallows have been seen. These are early, but it’s not unusual if the correct weather systems are in place for this group of species to arrive in late February, with the weekends (and certainly todays) weather system blowing in all the way from southern Europe, which has deposited these early arrivals. The weather patterns over the next couple of weeks seem a bit all over the place, so whether we see more early arrivals is a bit unsure, but we know many people will be keeping an eye out.

Yesterday afternoon a juvenile Glaucous Gull was reported off the Brownsea south shore, in-between Brownsea and Furzey Island. This is the best time for scarce gulls to arrive into the harbour with Glaucous, Iceland and Caspian all found in Poole Harbour during late Feb and during March. A Black-throated Diver was off Parkstone Yacht Club, a Spotted Redshank was in Holes Bay and the Barnacle Goose was seen at Swineham GP again. The White-tailed Eagle pair were over Middlebere this morning before seen heading towards Corfe area. The Hawfinch was still in St Marys Church yard, Lytchett Matravers.

Pintail – Holes Bay NW

A glorious Spring day in the harbour with for the sunshine providing some warmth for the first time in a long time. There was lots of activity as a result with plenty of bird song and movement. At least 1 Hawfinch was still present just outside of area at St Mary’s Church Lytchett Matravers and one of the juvenile White-tailed Eagles tracked west over this area too this morning. In Lytchett Bay there was 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Greenshank and 1 Red Kite. 1 Spotted Redshank was also in Holes Bay.

4 Spoonbill were in the Middlebere Channel but numbers do seem to be dropping in the harbour as spring passage gets going. 24 Spoonbill arrived back at Holkham in north Norfolk yesterday, to get ready for breeding, so there has clearly been a push out of wintering sites in the last couple of days. From our boat this afternoon the local pair of White-tailed Eagles were back on their usual spot of Shag Looe in the Wareham Channel. The Barnacle Goose was still at Swineham, swapping between the gravel pit and Arne Moors. 2 Marsh Harrier were also hunting Teal here. More and more Mediterranean Gulls are moving around and arriving back into the Wareham Channel and 1 male Goldeneye was also here. 2 female-type Common Scoter were in Central Harbour and 5+ Great Northern Diver were spread throughout the harbour including one that flew out the harbour entrance. Off Jerry’s Point there were 6 Black-necked Grebes, 4 Slavonian Grebe, 1 male Common Scoter and 1 Long-tailed Duck.

Goshawk – RSPB Arne – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle – Wareham Channel BoPH Winter Safari Cruise – Sue Ketteridge

Mediterranean Gull in breeding plumage – Wareham Channel from BoPH Cruise – Sue Ketteridge