A single Long-tailed Duck was seen Studland Bay yesterday (which didn’t reappear today unfortunately), Studland had another surprise up its sleeve today. One Red-necked Grebe in Poole Harbour is a real treat, two is being spoilt but three….now we’re just being greedy, but today saw two off South Beach, whilst another was in Shell Bay at the same time. Today also saw a Brownsea landing RSPB bird boat trip take place. As usual we were treated to a whole host of waders out on the Brownsea Lagoon including 10+ Spotted Redshank, 20+ Greenshank, 400 Avocet, 300 Black-tailed Godwit, 150 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20+ Knot, 100 Grey Plover, 200 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone plus Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, 2 Pintail, Redshank, Oystercatcher and plenty of Cormorant. 36 Spoonbill were out on Shipstal Point again and the main body of the harbour saw 200+ Red-breasted Merganser dotted around and 80+ Goldeneye. There was a Great Northern Diver off Shell Beach and 3 off Middle Beach plus 11 Black-necked Grebe and 11 Common Scoter there too.  2 Purple Sandpiper were in front of the Haven Hotel and 40 Sanderling moved between North and South Haven. The Great White Egret was seen again at Eastern Lake, Studland and 7 Sandwich Tern were in Brands Bay.

An update regarding the ringed Hen Harrier that was photographed at Middlebere about a week ago, it looks like it is part of a Scottish scheme, I’ll provide some more info when I get it. 

An interesting report of 9 Long-tailed Duck out in Studland Bay today including a single male and 8 females….a sight I would certainly like to see. Also out in Studland Bay 4 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Common Scoter and several Great Crested Grebe.  Today was also the Arne Raptor weekend where good views of male and female Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier and Peregrine were all had.  34 Spoonbill were out on Shipstal for most of the day and there were over 1000 Brent Geese down near Middlebere. 

Firstly, we’ve recently been sent some information from Natural England regarding the Poole Harbour SPA (Special Protection Area) and a developing initiative looking at bait digging and other recreational activities in the harbour. To read about this please click HERE.

Sightings wise, there was a bit to report including news from Middlebere of 3 adult Yellow-legged Gull, 768 Avocet, 684 Black-tailed Godwit, 427 Dunlin, 96 Redshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 300+ Lapwing, 176 Wigeon, Teal c.250, Brent Goose c.600 and a female Hen Harrier. There was a Scaup off Redhorn Quay and the Great White Egret was still in the Littlesea, Studland area. A Merlin was chasing Grey Plover, Dunlin and Knot over the Brownsea Lagoon and 25+ Spoonbill were still present at Shipstal.

Talking of Spoonbill, I’ve had information back from a colour-ringed individual that I photographed at Lytchett Bay on 30/12/14.

It was ringed as a chick at Markiezaat, Spuitkop, The Netherlands on 2^nd June 2014 at has been seen subsequently at the following sites…

30-7-2014 Scherpenisse, Scherpenissepold Kees Vliet Vlieland 51,53N  4,10E The Netherlands 15 km

12-11-2014 Grevelingen, Kabbelaarsbank Mark Hoekstein 51,75N  3,87E The Netherlands 43 km

30-12-2014  Dorset, Poole Harbour, 446 km away nesting ground –  Paul Morton

Firstly, I have recently uploaded some more up and coming field trips on our events page. To book on to one of our trips just email us at info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk or phone on us 01202 641003. To view the events click HERE.

Sightings wise, the 3 Purple Sandpiper continue to feed on the sea wall at North Haven, Sandbanks. A Barnacle Goose of un-known origin was in Poole Park with Canada Geese. Turnstone, Sanderling and Bar-tailed Godwit are easy to see off the cycle/foot path at Shore Road/Whitley Lake.  At Middlebere Creek there were 8 Spotted Redshank, 781 Avocet, 331 Black-tailed Godwit, 75 Redshank, 423 Lapwing, 2 ad Yellow-legged Gull, Marsh Harrier juv and also a male on Wytch Creek side of peninsula. First winter Spoonbill in front and at Arne 1 Firecrest in the car park. From Old Harry there was 1 Slavonian Grebe and 1 Red-necked Grebe off South Beach, 10 Razorbill in Studland Bay and 2 Guillemot. From Middle Beach 1 Red-throated Diver, 10 Black-necked Grebe, 14 Common Scoter and several auks. There were 3 Great Northern Diver together off the Brownsea north shore and 20+ Spoonbill on Shipsatl Point. There were plenty of Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser out on the open water and 500 Brent Geese on the marsh at Shipstal Beach. There is also currently a ringed Hen Harrier in the harbour that we’re trying to get the details of. As soon as we hear anything we’ll post the info asap. 

Today was a quieter day today with everyone back at work, but still some nice finds. A Bearded Tit at Hatch Pond was a good find, as records of this species here aren’t too frequent.  At Holes Bay NE there was still 1 Goldeneye, 1 Spoonbill, 2 Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine as well as a Red-throated Diver just south of the railway bridge. Off Middle Beach 1 Red-necked Grebe, 27 Black-necked Grebe, 3 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 2 Red-throated Diver, 1 Black-throated Diver, 14 Common Scoter, 15 Gannet and 8 Auk sp. At Manor Farm there were 17 Yellowhammer, which is a good count and there was 1 Great Northern Diver off Baiter. I have also uploaded a new video, this time of Sanderling and Bar-tailed Godwit feeding at Shore Road, Sandbanks. You can watch the video HERE

Holes Bay NE continues to be flavour of the month as not only are the 2 Spoonbill, 4 Spotted Redshank and vast numbers of Wigeon Teal, Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Common Sandpiper still putting on a good show, but they were joined by a redhead Smew today too, until it was flushed by a canoeist. The Black Guillemot spent most of the day sitting off the Brownsea southern shore, obliging at times, and not at others.  A Bittern was again at Swineham GP, which flew east along the pits. At least 8 Marsh Harrier were present there too along with 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel and 1 Peregrine. 16 of the Poole harbour Spoonbill flock were in the Wareham Channel, an area that has also seen a big rise in gulls coming into roost in the last few days. A Red-necked Grebe was out in Shell Bay with 4 Black-necked Grebe and a single Purple Sandpiper was in-front of the haven. Off Middle Beach there were 13 Common Scoter, 1 Red-necked Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe and 20 Black-necked Grebe.

The Black Guillemot was located off Brownsea again during the morning and was then later found near the harbour entrance. My prediction is this general area is where it will hopefully now settle for a period of time, but given its previous behaviour it could well go missing again for a few weeks! The 2 Red-necked Grebe where off South Beach with one later moving to Shell Bay. With a Slavonian Grebe there too.  At Lytchett Bay a male Merlin, ringtail Hen Harrier a Marsh Harrier were all noted. A flock of 8 Pintail on Brownsea was the second highest total ever-recorded on Brownsea with 11 in January 1986 being the highest. This is pretty remarkable considering there are often 50+ in Brands Bay less than half a mile away and a couple of hundred in the harbour each winter. Black-necked Grebe were spread right along Studland Bay with 7 just inside the harbour mouth and off Middle Beach 13 Common Scoter, 1 Great Northern Diver, 5 Great Crested Grebe and 3 Sandwich Tern were counted.  A Little Gull was in Brands Bay. In Holes Bay there were 2 Spoonbill, 176 Avocet, 420 Black-tailed Godwit, 188 Teal, 396Wigeon, 127 Shelduck, 1 Peregrine and a Firecrest along back drive.  Swineham GP still holds Pochard, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall and plenty of Greylag and Canada Geese. I’ve also uploaded some new videos of the Spoonbills in Holes Bay and Fieldfare in Wareham which you can watch HERE

Happy New Year everyone! The Poole Harbour birding year started off with a bang today with several good species recorded. The Black Guillemot has finally entered the harbour and was seen feeding of the SE corner of Brownsea. The Great White Egret was seen again on Littlesea at dusk. It was confirmed that there are indeed 2 Red-necked Grebe in the Studland area as one was feeding off Shell Bay whilst another was off South Beach. There were also 6 Black-necked Grebe and 10 Common Scoter off Middle Beach and a Slavonian Grebe 3 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Sandwich Tern off Shell Beach. A group of 3 Great Northern Diver were off the Brownsea north shore. A Little gull was seen over Furzey Island and then later seen at Lytchett Bay. An impressive 5 Hen Harrier were noted going into roost and Marsh Harrier were seen at several sites around the harbour.  There was a Merlin at Middlebere along with the usual channel species. Spoonbills were seen in Brands Bay, Lytchett Bay, Arne Bay and Brownsea Lagoon. Today’s video is of the Spotted Redshank flock that’s been choosing to feed at the mouth of the outflow of Holes Bay over the last few days…

TIP: To watch in HD, when watching the video, hover your curser over the screen so the panel at the bottom of the video screen appears. Click on the cog shaped symbol and then click on 1080HD. This will turn the video into HD after a few seconds

Wow, what a year, and what a great end to the year too with the discovery of a Green-winged Teal in Brands Bay this afternoon. The Black Guillemot was seen briefly off the harbour mouth again whilst 3 Purple Sandpiper gave exceptional views down to 5 feet on the sea wall at North Haven. There were 32 Spoonbill at Arne, and another 2 feeding in the outflow at Holes Bay, again giving stunning views down to less than 10m away as were 3 Spotted Redshank. Out of Middle beach there were 13 Common Scoter, 18 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Slavonian Grebe. Both Holes Bay and Brands Bay were both full of birds again on the low tide consisting of many Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit etc. The rising tide at Shore Road pushed 15 Sanderling close into the sea wall and 100+ Bar-tailed Godwit. 2014 has been an exceptional year for birds in Poole Harbour and I’ll be writing an annual review in the coming weeks, but until then thanks again for all your support and interest in our work and we wish you a very happy and birdy 2015.

I spent today videoing some of the harbours ‘best show’ off birds and will upload them over the coming days, but for now I hope you enjoy these Purple Sandpiper that were feeding at North Haven today and HAPPY NEW YEAR! (TIP: To watch in HD, when watching the video, hover your curser over the screen so the panel at the bottom of the video screen appears. Click on the cog shaped symbol and then click on 1080HD. This will turn the video into HD after a few seconds)

Another bird filled day starting with the Studland area. The Great White Egret was on Littlsea mid morning and 22 Black-necked Grebe were off Middle Beach with 13 Common Scoter and a handful of Great Crested Grebe. Brands Bay looked incredible on the falling tide with the sun lighting it up.  The bay its self was full to the brim of Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, and Avocet, not to mention the odd Shoveler, Gadwall and Goldeneye. Down by the houseboats in Bramble Bush Bay were 17 Sanderling and 15 Ringed Plover with 2 Purple Sandpiper on the sea wall of North Haven. Holes Bay saw 21 Spoonbill with another 2 including a colour-ringed bird at Lytchett Bay. Also at Holes Bay a group of 5 Spotted Redshank were near the outflow along with 2 Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher. At Swineham a Bittern was noted near the gravel pits and off Swineham Point 2 Jack Snipe, 12 Rock Pipit and numerous Bearded Tit groups. There are currently 3 Hen Harrier patrolling the marshes between Middlebere and the Wareham Channel and a minimum of 10 Marsh Harrier. I was also sent some information today regarding a colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit that was seen out in Lytchett Bay this weekend. The data that has come back from the BTO states that the bird was first ringed in Iceland on the 13th June 2003, making the bird 11 years old!