Having been fairly wrapped up in a certain Hen Harrier campaign over the last few days my sightings blog seems to have gone slightly awry!

Well, a nice sea watch off Branksome this morning certainly added a bit of variation to the norm with 1 Arctic Skua, 3 Manx Shearwater, 1 Shearwater sp, 8+ Fulmar, 10+ Gannet, lots of Sandwich and Common Tern and 3 Common Scoter. Up on Slepe/Hartland there was a nice selection of migrants with 3 Wheatear, 2 Redstart, 3 Whitethroat, several Willow Warbler and still plenty of Dartford Warbler and Stonechat. In Middlebere there were 4 Spoonbill, 1 Osprey sat on the post, 10 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 30 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Willow Warbler and 1 Reed Bunting. There were also 2 Osprey feeding in the Wareham Channel again. 

Several years ago I met Mark Constantine for the first time at Arne RSPB reserve whilst he was out sound recording with his wife Mo. They had been out recording Dartford Warbler for his new Sound Approach title (un-named back then) Catching the Bug, and I was intrigued within seconds. I knew the Sound Approach’s first and very much ground-breaking title ‘The Sound Approach to Birding’, but was thrilled to hear that there was going to be a new book coming out that wasn’t just focused on sound, but also mainly focused on Poole Harbour… AMAZING!

In 2012 the printed version of Catching the Bug was released and the Sound Approach including co-author Nick Hopper were yet again praised for another masterpiece. Two years down the line, time and technology have moved on and the Sound Approach have now started publishing their books digitally on iPad and the results are jaw dropping.

By bringing the Sound Approach on to this platform it allows them to interpret their sounds in the way they had always hoped. With the simple tap of the screen, or the swipe of your finger you invited in to an astonishingly well-crafted title that sits on the very brink of modern publishing. With their self-named eSonagrams, you can see the sounds as well as hear them, making the learning journey so much easier.

If you want to learn about Poole Harbour and its natural history then buy this book. If you want to learn about the fine details of Poole Harbours bird life then buy this book. If you want to be treated to 200 beautiful digital recordings then buy this book. If you love birds and love Poole Harbour…BUY THIS BOOK!

To purchase iPad version or to download a free sample CLICK HERE 

To purchase printed version CLICK HERE 

If you still haven’t seen Osprey yet this year then the Wareham Channel area seems the place to be at the moment. There are currently two hunting most mornings out in the middle of the channel which can be viewed from somewhere like Swineham, Rockley viewpoint, or Slepe Heath. From the Hartland, Slepe Heath area there was 3 Hobby, 1 Peregrine, 1 Redstart, 8 Woodlark, plenty of Dartford and Stonechat. At Swineham 1 Hobby was hunting over the main pit, also a few migrant Willow Warbler, several parties of Great crested Grebe, and a Wasp Spider. On the Brownsea Lagoon 59 Redshank, 15 Avocet, 9 Greenshank, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 18 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel and still some fledgling Common Tern. Over the last five days there has been a big movement of juvenile Sedge Warblers moving through the Poole Harbour reedbeds with a small handful of Grasshopper Warblers, beginning to show that many birds have had a good breeding season. 

The low level cloud and early morning rain looked promising for a drop of migrants, and indeed one particular species certainly did arrive en mass through the reed beds at dawn. A three-hour ringing session in the north of the harbour produced a record breaking 232 birds, 191 of them Sedge Warbler. This was only a tiny percentage of the total amount of Sedge Warbler present with birds still passing through late afternoon. Its possible between 400-700 (even more?) passed through that area today. Two Osprey were again present in the Wareham Channel early on with both sets of Marsh Harrier young, which are now getting a lot more adventurous and wandering quite far and wide. In Holes Bay there was 122 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Gull, 4 Redshank and  1 Common Sandpiper.

There was a nice selection of birds from around the harbour today. Starting off with two Osprey, one seen flying over the Upton bypass and another being mobbed in the Wareham Channel by a Peregrine. Holes Bay saw a good selection of waders including a Knot that was roosting with the 136 Black-tailed Godwit, also an adult Spotted Redshank, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls and several Redshank. At Holton Lee there was a Garden Warbler, 5+ Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap and 5 Green Sandpiper. The Wood Sandpiper was again at Lytchett Bay also 1 Greenshank, 3 Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine. There was also a report of 2 Otter in Middlebere this morning.

After our Nightjar walk on Saturday evening I ventured out to Middlebere in the pitch darkness to record waders out of the Middlebere hide. The activity was incredible with birds arriving and leaving the whole time I was sat there. In the recording you can even here the birds feeding as their bills sift through the mud. Obviously, the other challenge recording in total darkness is knowing what you’re actually listening too. Having listened back to my recordings several times I’ve managed to pick out a number of species. The most obvious are Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew, the prior creating that constant chattering sound and the latter resonating that all to familiar Curlew like cry. The highlight was a Curlew Sandpiper (or possibly several) which you can hear doing its familiar trill like call at 0.24, 0.29, 0.43, 0.59 and 1.11. Also in the recording is a Water Rail (0.46), Redshank and Herring Gull. The recording is best listened to with headphones.

Autumn migrants continue to pop up in various places as another Pied Flycatcher was feeding with 3 Willow Warbler and 3 Dartford Warbler on the Soldiers Road/Slepe Heath boarder. Willow Warbler on the whole are certainly more numerous with bright yellow juveniles tagging along with mixed tit flocks along tree lines on heaths and in woodlands all around the harbour. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll start seeing a real surge in migrants with the likes of Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler and Blackcap all passing through in good numbers. Looking on early, still mornings along hedgerows and field edges can really pay dividends, as you’ll often see mixed flocks containing several species feeding and moving through the bushes. On Brownsea little change but good variety with 65 Redshank, 16 Greenshank, 7 Avocet, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Curlew, 48 Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plover, 2 Sanderling, 2 Turnstone, 2 Common Sandpiper, and 300+ Oystercatcher. The Sandwich Terns on Brownsea haven’t faired so well this year with only 20 fledged juveniles compared to last years 110+. In Holes Bay a few Whimbrel can be found on the low tides along with 120+ Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Common Sandpiper. Finally some more good raptor news in that the second Marsh Harrier nest has produced 3 juveniles meaning that with the other 4 from nest one Poole Harbour has produced an incredible 7 young this year…FANTASTIC! 

By far the most exciting news from today was the news that an adult Aquatic Warbler was ringed at Lytchett Bay. This is the 4^th Aquatic Warbler at this site in four years, which is great considering there had been an almost 15 year gap for any Poole Harbour records. Aquatic Warbler is classed as globally threated as their breeding habitats in Eastern Europe are getting drained and disappearing at an alarming rate. Here’s hoping for some more easterly winds and some more of these striped beauties. On our Nightjar walk the rain gave everything a good soaking but we were treated to warm clear, mosquito filled skies. Several Nightjar were heard and we even managed to get one in the scope sat on a post 20m away from us. Also seen in the Middlebere Channel 6 Spoonbill, 1 Greenshank, 322+ Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Yellow-legged Gull and a Hobby, 475 Curlew were seen by another observer. The Bar-heaed Goose was in Poole Park again

Holes Bay is looking great at the moment on the rising and falling tides and I’m just waiting for something good to turn up there. Although unfortunately despite its close proximity to Poole Town Centre it’s a hugely under watched site. The NE corner tends to attract good numbers of birds but the rest of Holes Bay also needs covering quite often with historic records of Wilsons Phalarope and Collared Pratincole you never know what could be out there. I dashed down quickly on my lunch break and for a split second thought I had a Caspian Tern in my scope, but it wasn’t until a few heart stopping seconds later that I realised I was only watching a Common Tern, but with the heat haze intensely magnifying all the features. I did take a quick photo to highlight this, but didn’t realise at the time there was a great comparison taking place just below the Tern as a Whimbrel and Curlew walked past each other. At Lytchett Bay there were 2 Wood Sandpiper.  A Redstart was up on Hartland, hopefully the first of many in the coming months, also 3 Woodlark, 4 Dartford Warbler and big numbers of Swallow and Sand Martin heading to the Swineham reedbed to roost. A Marsh Harrier seemed to be hunting around the Little Egret colony spooking them all, revealing 31 Little Egret and 2 Grey Heron. 

It really has begun! Autumn migration is now underway with the first few migrants starting to drop into various places. This morning on the edge of Upton CP a Pied Flycatcher was found and 2 Garden Warbler were there yesterday. Juvenile Willow Warblers are cropping up in twos and three, but it won’t be long until a mass wave of these birds will pass through the area heading south. In Holes Bay there was 108 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Whimbrel and 2 Common Tern. At Lytchett Bay the Spotted Crake was seen again and was joined by a Wood Sandpiper, although this area of Lytchett Bay is strictly private with no access. On the Brownsea Lagoon 27 Little Egret, 260 Oystercatchers, 72 Redshanks, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 3 Avocet, 2 Dunlin, 1 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel and 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Gull and the Bar-headed Goose was reported again a Poole Park.