More autumn delight are starting to creep through with a lovely male Firecrest in a garden in the center of Poole yesterday. From now and into October is by far the best time to find these little beauties as they often hang out in Holly bushes to feed, sometimes hovering as they pick off insects from the underside of the leaves. Goldcrest numbers will also start to rise this time of year so try and teach yourself the differences between their two calls which will almost certainly be the best way of tracking them down. Below are two records of both an autumn migrant Firecrest and an autumn migrant Goldcrest featured in publication The Sound Approach to Birding.

Firecrest – Two autumn migrants – The Sound Approach to Birding

Goldcrest – Autumn migrant – The Sound Approach to Birding 

Elsewhere the Great White Egret is still playing around in the Little Sea/ Brands Bay area where there was also 260 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 109 Redshank, 9 Dunlin, 1 Osprey, 10 Pintail and 1 Kingfisher. Also at Studland a Pied Flycatcher was at Knoll Beach with a few Chiffchaff and Blackcap and 2 Sanderling were at the House Boats. At Lytchett Bay still 2 Little Stint, 1 Ruff, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Greenshank and 5 Spotted Flycatcher. At Middlebere there was 1 Osprey plus 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 14 Knot, 3 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 180 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Peregrine, 1 Shoveler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Yellow-legged gull.

We’re now half way through the month and the goodies keep on coming. Apologies for the lack of reports from the weekend, but I didn’t have access to a computer. Bird of the weekend has to go to the Melodious Warbler that was found at Greenlands Farm on Saturday afternoon. This is the 6^th Poole harbour record and the 3^rd for Studland and a bird I’m desperate to see in the harbour, but unfortunately it didn’t hang around…surely there’s another one out there somewhere?  The Great White Egret is also still hanging around the Littlesea/ Studland area, which makes it almost a week the bird has been present. There are still plenty of migrants around with 2 Redstart, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Tree Pipit, 4 Whitethroat, 3 Pintail and 2 Dartford Warbler along the western track of Littlesea. At Greenlands Farm there were also 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 8 Chiffchaff and 1 Willow Warbler whilst in brands Bay 38 Great Crested Grebe and 14 Knot were present. More signs of winter with the first Black-necked Grebe being found off Middle Beach. At Lytchett Bay 2 Little Stint, 1 Ruff, 250 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted flycatcher, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 15 Yellow Wagtail, 10 Blackcap, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Little Grebe. In Middlebere 1 Osprey, 2 Marsh Harrier, 10 Redshank, plenty of Blackcap and Whitethroat, 1 Wheatear and 1 Green Sandpiper. On the Brownsea Lagoon a stunning 18 Spoonbill, also 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Little Stint, 350 Avocet and 650+ Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Spotted Redshank, 21 Greenshank, 1 Grey Plover and 28 Bar-tailed Godwit. At Swineham 2 Ruff were on the flooded pool next to the GP, also 1 Whinchat and a Pintail. At Holes Bay 2 Spotted Redshank. 2 Brent Geese were at South Studland. 

More signs of autumn progressing as 3 Brent Geese arrived in the harbour and circled the Brownsea Lagoon.  This is particularly early but seeming as they’ve had a decent tail wind up their chuff for the last few weeks, maybe its speeded them on a bit? Also on Brownsea today there were 17 Spoonbill, 1 Lapwing (odd for Brownsea), 374 Avocet, 164 Dunlin, 21 Curlew, 19 Knot, 1 Little Stint. 4 Curlew Sandpiper, 13 Greenshank, 8 Spotted Redshank, 640 Black-tailed Godwit and 31 Bat-tailed Godwit. An Osprey was over Arne and a Hobby hunted over Arne Moors. Along Soldiers Road there were 3 Spotted Flycatcher and a Whinchat and 3 Woodlark over head. In Middlebere counts included 477 Teal, 3 Pintail, 36 Wigeon, 1 Spoonbill, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Redstart, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler.  Three Osprey remained in the Wareham Channel and Marsh Harrier totals increased to three. 

If you can get out at the moment, then I highly recommend it as many more migrants are currently passing through, and Poole harbour is also now starting to see some scarcities. The Great White Egret was showing well in the Little Egret roost on Little Sea, Studland and I even managed to get some pretty dire heat hazy video footage, which you can view HERE. Thanks Steve Smith (http://birdingpooleharbourandbeyond.blogspot.co.uk/) for the photo of the bird in flight showing a peculiar orange tinge to the wing coverts, possibly pointing to it being a juvenile? It seems this bird is fairly settled and may hang around a while, so to try and view it scan from the High Hide which is up the track, opposite the entrance to Greenland’s Farm, or like today out in Brands Bay where it spent some time. Another stunning bird from today was Poole Harbours second White-winged Black Tern in two years! Seeming as there has only ever been one previous Poole Harbour record going back to 1961, this is quite something. It was found feeding by Graham Armstrong along the Brownsea shoreline, viewed from the House Boats at Studland where it quite happily fed for around an hour before heading up over Brownsea Castle and then disappearing towards Shore Road. I also hosted a guided walk this morning for Dorset Bird Week around the Soldiers Road, Slepe/Hartland area where my group and I were treated to a real migrant spectacle. The focus was migrants of Purbeck and they certainly didn’t let us down with 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 1 Tree Pipit, 5 Woodlark, 6 Dartford Warbler, 100’s of Swallow, 100’s of Meadow Pipit and to top it off 2 Osprey feeding out in the Wareham Channel with one getting mobbed by a Peregrine. At Little Sea, Studland there were 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 2 Whitethroat and 5 Stonechat. At Lytchett Bay 7 Wigeon were present also 2 Ruff, 50 Yellow Wagtail, 77 Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Green Sandpiper.

Highlight from yesterday was a Great White Egret that was found in front of the Harrier Hide that looks out across the Wytch Channel, along the Middlebere track. This discovery managed to break the record for longest saying Great White Egret ever found in Poole Harbour, breaking the previous record of 2.4 seconds! Thankfully this bird stayed a good couple of hours and was enjoyed by a handful of birders, where it then took off and was relocated to Little Sea, Studland where it probably roosted for the night. Where will it turn up next? It was very birdy elsewhere in the harbour starting at Brownsea where there were 22 Spoonbill, 57 Little Egret, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Knot, 2 Little Stint, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 9 Spotted Redshank, 10 Greenshank, 13 Curlew, 53 Dunlin, 20+ Ringed Plover, 3 Wheatear and 1 Yellow-legged Gull. The BoPH guided walk at Middlebere produced 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Whitethroat, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Osprey, 5 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier, 10+ Yellow Wagtail, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Sparrowhawk and a handful of Blackcap. There was a minimum of 4 Osprey in the harbour with 3 in and around the Wareham Channel during the morning and at the same time one in Brands Bay. Also during the Arne Raptor Weekend, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk were all recorded. At Lytchett Bay there was a Pied Flycatcher with 4 Spotted Flycatcher, also 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 1 Redstart, 150+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Little Stint, 4 Ruff, 2 Ringed Plover, 19 Knot, 1 Whimbrel and 9 Greenshank. Down at Swineham there was group of 6 Bearded Tit, also there, 1 Hobby, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 9 Chiffchaff and 4 Cetti’s Warbler. Up on Hartland there were 3 Whinchat with 8 Stonechat. A juvenile Cuckoo was seen in Middlebere, with another at Swineham.

With these easterlies setting in over the coming days, the opportunity to find nice birds continues. That has certainly been the case with common migrants popping up at all the usual sites. There has also been the arrival of the first winter duck in a few places. In Brands Bay there were 16 Pintail, 8 Wigeon, 18 Teal, 270+ Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 1 Dunlin and an Osprey fishing. There were also still 3 Osprey commuting between Middlebere and the Wareham Channel, and another (or one of the three) fishing in Lytchett Bay. It seems there is currently only 1 Marsh Harrier at the moment, but I’m sure that total will rise over the coming weeks. Middlebere and Hartland have seen good numbers of Whinchat and Redstart with at least 5 of the former near the Hart Hide and 3 of the latter along the track. South Haven and Greenlands has been receiving some nice coverage recently with just reward too, consisting of 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 5 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 4 Wheatear. Up on Old Harry there were 2 Redstart, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Reed Warbler, and at Studland Church Yard, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Redstart and several Blackcap and Willow/Chiff. Out in Lytchett Bay there were 5 Little Stint and 3 Ruff. On Brownsea there were 2 Little Stint, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 100+ Avocet and 4 Spotted Redshank.

It’s certainly a good time to be out birding at the moment, as it seems there is something of interest in every bush or passing overhead.  Migration is in full swing and by visiting your local patch, or some area of the harbour you can be rewarded with a little gem such as Redstart or Whinchat as it busily feeds up. Overhead passage currently consists of Swallow and House Martin in good numbers. Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail are other classic September migrants and identifying them by sound as the pass overhead is a great way of honing in on your listening skills. Below are two recordings of both Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail, so take a listen and see if you can pick out any whilst you’re out birding. I’ve even had several Tree Pipit pass over my garden within the last week. I have also included Meadow Pipit calls for comparison.

Tree Pipit – calls of a migrating flock – Catching the Bug

Meadow Pipit – calls of migarting flock for comparison

Yellow Wagtail – flight calls – Catching the Bug

There are still currently 3 Osprey around with 2 in the Wareham Channel and 1 in Lytchett Bay.  At Swineham there were 17 Spoonbill off the point, which is encouraging for another large autumn arrival, also there 37 Chiffchaff, 6 Willow Warbler, 11 Sedge Warbler, 19 Reed Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 5 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 Whinchat, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Hobby, 1 Whimbrel and 48 Yellow-legged Gull out in the Wareham Channel. Out in Lytchett Bay today there were 3 Ruff, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Little Stint, 1 Knot, 6 Greenshank and 3 Green Sandpiper. A flock of 17 Yellow Wagtail were up on Hartland Stud. Before the Black Kite excitement yesterday, from Slepe/Hartland other raptors counted included 2 Hobby, 1 Peregrine, 1 Marsh Harrier, several Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawk. Elsewhere around the harbour, Redstart, Whinchat, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and Blackcap are all being reported in good numbers.

There was a nice selection of species seen in the harbour over the last couple of days, which I will write a full report on tomorrow. However, the main highlight today was a Black Kite that drifted low over Slepe and Hartland then over towards Middlebere. Black Kite are a rare bird in Dorset with possibly only one possibly two records a year. It seems there are also 3+ Osprey in the harbour at the moment with the post in Middlebere holding two feeding birds today.

Osprey passage is really picking up with 3 in the Wareham Channel yesterday, one in Lytchett Bay this morning and another sat on the Middlebere post. Admittedly, there is probably some duplication somewhere but the most I’ve ever seen at once in Poole Harbour is 6! This was during the Arne Raptor Weekend in 2010, so maybe this year’s Raptor Weekend which is hosted on September 6^th and 7^th will beat the record? There are currently 5 different Marsh Harrier roosting in the harbour, including the adult male still. Also in the harbour lots and lots of Terns around, mainly Common and Sandwich Tern, but a juvenile Arctic Tern was at the harbour mouth this morning and hopefully the odd Black Tern will arrive over the coming weeks. Also out in Poole Bay today 2 Fulmar, 1 Peregrine, plenty more Terns and lots of Gannet, including one that entered the harbour and started fishing just off Brownsea! In Middlebere there was a whopping 26 Greenshank and 6 Spotted Redshank, which surely has to be a record. Out in Lytchett Bay a Little Stint was with Dunlin and also 2 Ruff there. 

Like everyone else, I got easterly fever this morning so did a mini tour of the harbour before work starting at Greenlands around 5:45am. I personally thought things were a lot quieter today compared to recent weeks, but still a few things about. Greenlands Farm – Tawny Owl, light passage of Meadow Pipit. Middle Beach – Masses of Terns out in Poole Bay, Gannet 10+, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Blackcap. Hartland Moor – 200+ Linnet and Goldfinch flock, 1 Whinchat, 2 Whitethroat. Slepe Heath – 4 Redstart, 2 Tree Pipit, 1 Whitethroat. Hartland Stud – 2 Wheatear. Baiter – Decent numbers of Common Tern, 3 Turnstone Harbour Mouth – Again, big numbers of Terns mainly Common Tern and a good number of Sandwich Tern. I’m sure if I spent longer there an Arctic or Black Tern would have popped up eventually. Arne – 1 Osprey sat on the Middlebere post for two hours. Middllebere – 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Redstart, 7 Yellow Wagatail, 2 Marsh Harrier, 4 Whitethroat and 2 Yellow-legged Gull. There are currently 3 Marsh Harrier going into roost in the Wareham Channel including a new adult male.