Merlin seem to be in short supply this winter with only a handful of reports since October. However the discovery of one on the Brownsea Lagoon this afternoon led to one of the most spectacular natural history encounters I’ve ever witnessed. A female was spotted flying low over the lagoon scanning the area ready for a launch. It settled in the Tamarisk bush for a few minutes then all hell broke loose. It targeted a small flock of 50 Dunlin which it spooked and chased around the lagoon, twisting and turning every meter or so. It then forced the Dunlin up about 200 feet in to the sky until both predator and prey were just specks in the sky flashing white then brown as the Dunlin tried their best to escape. The Merlin valiantly managed to split a single Dunlin from the flock and stooped it all the way back down to the lagoon where they then both completed another five laps of the lagoon before the Merlin finally claimed its prize…astonishing experience. The lagoon was looking stunning with around 500 Avocet, 6 Spoonbill, 200 Oystercatcher, 30 Bar-tailed Godwit plus all the usual Redshank, Greenshank, Grey Plover, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Little Egret, Brent Geese and Knot. Out in the harbour Red-breasted Merganser numbers seem to still be increasing unless birds are just congregating in bigger flocks as around 200 were seen, 50 Goldeneye, 1 Scaup, 1 Great Northern Diver, a Black-throated Diver was in the North Channel and a single Black-necked Grebe. From the RSPB anniversary Birdboat yesterday 4 Marsh Harrier around the boat was a real treat as a Peregrine came in and harassed them. Two Ring-billed Gulls have been seen over the last few days with a 1^st year bird on Swineham GP yesterday evening and a 2^nd year bird in Holes Bay on the 6^th Dec. A Yellow-browed Warbler was at Knoll Beach Studland today and a flock of 30 Crossbill were present near Rempstone Forest. A redhead Goosander came into roost on Swineham GP and Lytchett Bay still has 5 Green Sandpiper. 3 Hen Harrier (two males and a female) were out over Swineham and 7 Woodcock flew out over Arne Moors. From Bramble Bush Bay good numbers of Pintail, Teal, Wigeon, a few Sanderling, Great Crested Grebe and Brent Geese are still present and the Sanderling flock at Sandbanks continues to feed along Shore Road on a low tide.

Finally I would like to thank the wonderful ‘A Focus on Nature’ team, Lucy McRobert, Stephen Moss, Dr Rob Lambert and their 9 members who helped out on the school bird boat this morning and then hosted an incredible workshop session and talk at Stoborough School this afternoon. 

Here at ‘BoPH’ we really enjoy receiving your sightings, and many thanks to those of you that email us regularly. It has become very obvious that since we set up ‘BoPH’ it’s prompted people to start looing at Poole Harbour in a bit more detail. It’s made our year hearing all about the lifers, and harbour firsts people have been experiencing and are thrilled that people now have new, regular patches that they watch. With this in mind, we urge you to carry on sending in more and more sightings, especially of open water species. This is a cracking time of year for scarce species like Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Red-necked Grebe to arrive, so reports like this would be of great value. To give you an example I found a redhead (female or first year) Goosander off Hamworthy beach yesterday, a species seldom seen on saltwater, also the long staying Scaup that has set up home out in the middle of the harbour this winter.  There are still currently 5 Eider near the harbour mouth and the Surf Scoter doesn’t seem to be going anywhere fast. There are many decent sized flocks of Goldeneye at the moment, often containing 20-30 individuals. It’s well worth scanning through these flocks for species like Velvet Scoter and Long-tailed Duck. There are still at least 4 Great Northern Diver in the harbour with these strong winds over the next 24 hours keep your eyes peeled for Grey Phalarope and tiny Little Auk. A guided walk at Arne yesterday produced the ringtail Hen Harrier in Middlebere along with 400 Avocet, 800 Black-tailed Godwit and 200 Lapwing. The track down to Shipstal was littered with Redwing, Fieldfare, Song Thrush and Blackbird and there were 2 Dartford Warbler on Coombe Heath. Out over Swineham 3 Marsh Harrier were circling together.

Click Here for information on a recent ringing session that took place in the west of the harbour, looking for wintering Woodcock, Snipe and Jack Snipe

DON’T MISS THESE UP AND COMING EVENTS

RSPB 20 YEAR ANNIVERSIRY BIRDBOAT – 08/12/13 (Important notice – there will be no refreshments on board so please bring tea or coffee with you)

http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/wareham-channel-rspb-cruise

MONDAY BLUE SKY’S AT ARNE  – 09/12/13

http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/monday-blue-skys-arne

EXCELLENT AVOCET RECOVERY

This Avocet was photographed in Lytchett Bay about a week ago on 30/11/12. After a bit of research and numerous emails we have finally managed to track down where it was originally ringed. It was ringed as a chick in 2012 at Ile de Re, western France. An intriguing recovery showing that this Avocet actully traveled north to spend the winter in Poole Harbour.

Ringed Avocet – Lytchett Bay 30/12/13   

Northerly route to wintering grounds in Poole Harbour   

The harbour is a joy to watch at anytime of year, but there is something truly magical about winter. Dramatic scenery drenched in peace and calm spreads out across the Purbeck Hills towards Studland as more and more birds arrive for the cold winter months. The last two days have show-cased the variety of birdlife currently in the harbour brilliantly. Starting off with Birds of prey. Finally, two male Hen Harrier were seen together (Wareham Channel) proving that there are indeed currently two individuals patrolling the harbour along with a ringtail Hen Harrier. They seem to wander far and wide, as they have been reported from Middlebere, Swineham, Wareham Channel and Lytchett Bay all within the last 24 hours! There are also currently SIX different Marsh Harrier frequentingthe Swineham/Wareham Channel area with birds also visiting Brands Bay, Middlebere and Lytchett Bay. Out on water the number of species and birds are building day by day, providing a real spectacle. Today from a School Birdboat tour around the harbour the following birds were seen. The Surf Scoter, 5 Eider Duck off Goathorn, 3 Great Northern Diver, 90+ Goldeneye, 200+ Red-breasted Merganser, 26 Spoonbill (6 Arne, 20 Brownsea), 70+ Great Crested Grebe, 340 Brent Geese, 300 Oystercatcher, 200 Avocet, 12 Greenshank, 50+ Grey Plover, 500+ Dunlin, 200+ Redshank, 50 Lapwing, a male Hen Harrier (Middlebere), and a Common Seal. Off Middle beach, Studland the Black-necked Grebe count seems to hover between 25-40 birds as they spread themselves along the bay in small parties. A flock of 24 Ringed Plover were seen at Baiter.

A decent number of reports from yesterday, but unfortunately after much searching the Glossy Ibis couldn’t be relocated at Middlebere, or anywhere else for that matter. It’s still well worth checking further up the river valleys and out on various secluded flood meadows, as these are all prime Glossy Ibis habitat.  An early morning watch at Middlebere still produced a male Hen Harrier, juvenile Marsh Harrier, 462 Avocet, c800 Black-tailed Godwit, and a Green Sandpiper. Out in Brands Bay 5 Eider have now appeared with 2 Great Northern Diver and good numbers of Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe. Out from Knoll/Middle Beach Studland a total of 40 Black-necked Grebe were in several loose flocks. In Lytchett Bay a ringtail Hen Harrier was present also there a flock of 60+ Fieldfare, 178 Shelduck, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 200+ Lapwing, 12 Snipe, 4 Raven, 4 Water Rail and 2 Greenshank. 

What a stunner of a day, the sun shone and the birds appeared. By far the best sighting of the day was of a Glossy Ibis spotted in the Middlebere Channel. Unfortunately there is no further information other than it was seen flying east towards the centre of the harbour. Glossy Ibis are a very rare bird to the harbour with only a handful of previous records. However, there seems to be an annual migratory increase across the country of this species with a handful of birds over-wintering, which could provide more local sightings.  The ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ field trip came up trumps with visits to Brands Bay, Bramble Bush Bay and Shell Bay. Sightings included the Surf Scoter, 3 Great Northern Diver, 1 Black-throated Diver, 1 Eider, numerous Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Pintail and a Marsh Harrier. In Holes Bay 9 Spoonbill were present this morning along with 2 Spotted Redshank and 150+ Avocet. Some late news from last night of 6 Jack Snipe being caught and ringed by the Stour Ringing Group at a site near Soldiers Road.

NOTICE – It was discovered yesterday that the wind farm developers ‘Navitus Bay’ were advertising ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ events on twitter completely unprompted by us. If anyone saw this, we wish to announce that we are in no way affiliated with Navitus and DO NOT support their current proposal.

The open bodies of water are well worth checking this time of year, as you never know what might be bobbing along in amongst the Mergansers and Cormorants. December is a classic time for species like Long-tailed Duck and Red-necked Grebe to arrive in the harbour, and depending on severity of the weather species like Smew sometimes get found in the odd bay. Scanning back and forth out towards the centre of the harbour off Baiter Park or Shipstal can produce good numbers of birds, likewise if scanning from South Haven and Redhorn Quay. Today from a School bird boat trip it was the open water species that stole the show. 4 Eider Duck were off Jerry’s point with a Black-throated and Great Northern Diver just meters away from them. Another Black-throated Diver was off Gold Point, Arne and a Scaup was out in central harbour. Goldeneye numbers seemed low with only about 10 birds seen, but Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe still pulled strong. The Surf Scoter is still off Redhorn, Brands Bay and 3 Black-necked Grebe there too. On Brownsea Lagoon the 26 Spoonbill were present and Shoveler, Avocet, Knot, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover and Dunlin were all present in good numbers. 4 Spoonbill were also present in Holes Bay. Finally an incredible 52 Black-necked Grebe were out in Studland Bay

The western and side of Poole Harbour is a real draw for over-wintering birds of prey. The lowland heathland and moor-like habitats provide excellent hunting and roosting grounds for a number of species. There are currently 5 different Marsh Harrier frequenting the mouth of the Wareham Channel, best viewed from the end of the footpath at Swineham, also two Hen Harrier (one male and one female) commuting between Sunnyside and Hartland Moor along with a Merlin at the latter site. This time of year can be great for Short-eared Owl, however from the numbers seen elsewhere in the UK, it doesn’t look like its going to be a bumper SEO winter, well worth looking out for if out around dawn or dusk. I’d like to be proved wrong. The current 27 over-wintering Spoonbill seem to have mixed taste of feeding areas. Whilst all 27 can be located on the sand spit at Arne on a high tide, they all disperse to various feeding zones across the harbour with Holes Bay, Lytchett Bay, the Frome/Piddle Mouth and Middlebere all seeing feeding birds on a low tide. Also in Holes Bay up to 20 Pintail and a handful of Shoveler from the stone bench at Upton CP.  Red-breasted Merganser and Goldeneye numbers continue to rise slowly, with two’s and three’s of each species now viewable off Baiter car park, and many more out in central harbour.

Although yesterday was a stunning winter scene, darker grey sky’s are back and forecast for the foreseeable future. However, the discovery of a Great Grey Shrike out on Hartland Moor certainly brightens things up quite a lot. These are scarce, but almost annual winter visitors with one or two being discovered on the heathlands surrounding Poole Harbour each winter. They can be easily located (sometimes) by scanning the very tops of small pine trees and gorse bushes. A Peregrine flew over Holes Bay early yesterday morning with some prey. If you get the chance to visit Lytchett Bay on a low tide then I can highly recommend it, as it is filled with hundreds of waders and wildfowl including Avocet, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck and Brent Geese. There were only 4 Spoonbill in Holes Bay yesterday morning and another count of 7, possibly 10 Woodcock came out of their roost near Soldiers Road again last night. Off Knoll Beach, Studland there were 2 Slavonian Grebe, 23 Black-necked Grebe and 7 Common Scoter. The Surf Scoter remains in Brands Bay.

Follow this link for a Tranquil Scene at Lytchett Bay

Don’t miss the next ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ field trip around the inner and outer bays of the Studland Penninsular. There are plenty of birds on offer at the moment with all 3 species of Diver present at the moment, Black-necked and Slavonian Grebe, Eider and even the long staying Surf Scoter should be on the tick list.

For full details follow this link http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/three-bay-bumble and to book on either…

Email us at – info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk

Tel – 01202 641003

Here is a brief round up from around the harbour today. 8 Woodcock were counted coming out from their daytime roosts near Soldiers Road also a Jack Snipe and 2 Common Snipe. This is a great time of year to look for Woodcock flying out of woodlands onto open fields to feed, literally 10-20 minuets before total darkness. At Lytchett Bay a male Marsh Harrier flew through, 159 Avocet, 152 Dunlin, 192 Lapwing plus good numbers of Curlew, Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Redshank and Oystercatcher also 1 Redpoll and 300+ Wood Pigeon overhead. The Surf Scoter was still out in Brands Bay and Great Northern Diver were present near the harbour mouth and off Brownsea. Off Baiter 2 Goldeneye, 4 Red-breasted Merganser and 5 Great Crested Grebe.