Right across the country autumn migration is well under, with already some big numbers of birds passing through various areas. Despite not being in the Poole Harbour area I think it’s worth mentioning Durlston CP recently had a large passage of around 200-500 Willow Warbler in one morning, not to mention this mornings 40 Garden Warbler plus a stunning Melodious Warbler, and many more of other species such as Whitethroat, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler.

I’m glad to say a similar story is occurring across the harbour with migrants popping up all over the place, including a Grasshopper Warbler that flew into the office windows at Arne. Passerines such as Garden Warbler, Redstart, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler have been popping up on various scrub areas such as the Turlin Moor side of Lytchett Bay, Swineham, Holton Lee and Upton Heath. Waders still continue to be a feature with 2 Wood Sandpiper at Lytchett Bay along with 5+ Green Sandpiper, 5+ Greenshank, 12 Snipe, 5 Whimbrel and 6 Ringed Plover. On the Brownsea Lagoon there are 5 Spotted Redshank, 5 Common Sandpiper, 6 Greenshank, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 8 Avocet and 20+ Dunlin. The 1 Spoonbill continues to commute between Middlebere and Brownsea. Any day now the first Ospreys of the autumn should reappear especially around the Middlebere/Wareham Channel area. 

Lots of interesting tit bits to catch up from today. First of all, don’t forget ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ will be at Durlston CP on Saturday morning for their annual Bio-Blitz with the Stour ringing group. We’ll be doing a ringing demonstration at 8am, so for the possibility of seeing birds like Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler and Whitethroat in the hand you should definitely try and make it down. ‘BoPH’ will also be presenting a talk at 1pm.

We have now switched the other Brownsea Lagoon camera on which will be focusing on the wader flocks and winter duck. Already some great shots of Spotted Redshank, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank

Brownsea Lagoon Webcam

A catch up on the Poole Harbour Marsh Harriers shows that there is definitely two but possibly three chicks that have fledged. The nest is still being monitored most days so we’ll be able to see them flying around a lot more very soon. In the mean time check out these great photos by local photographer Aidan Brown

A Dorset Diary

The next BoPH walk is ‘Late summer at Middlebere’ on Saturday 7^th September. We’ll be looking for Autumn migrants around this unique and unspoilt habitat.

Late Summer at Middlebere

Finally some sightings, where highlights from today included a Wood Sandpiper, 7 Greenshank, 5 Common Sandpiper, 8+ Green Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat and a Crossbill. On Brownsea today 8 Avocet arrived back along with 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Turnstone, 7 Greenshank, 5 Spotted Redshank, 3 Ringed Plover and still 150+ Common Tern still on the lagoon. At Arne/Middlebere a Spoonbill has returned and up to 4 Whimbrel, 2 Spotted Redshank and 4 Common Sandpiper were reported.

This weekend is the Durlston CP Bio-Blitz and ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ will be attending to join the Stour Ringing Group for a ringing demonstration on Saturday morning at 8am and then will be presenting a talk at 1pm followed by a short walk.

Why not come down and join us for all thing wildlife!!

Durlston Bio-Blitz

Things have certainly picked up since returning from a weekend away. I was welcomed back to a whole email inbox full of great sightings. Autumn migration is now in full swing with millions of birds right across the whole country starting (or finishing) their journey south. From now right the way through to October we will hopefully be treated to many different species passing through the harbour starting with waders and various chat and warbler species through august and september, then pipits, wagtails and thrushes through September to October.

Waders continue to dominate the list with a lovely run of birds from various locations. Totals on the Brownsea lagoon include 155 Redshank, 5 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 13 Dunlin, 3 Sanderling, 11 Ringed Plover, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Knot, 18 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel, 4 Common Sandpiper, 40+ Black-tailed Godwit, 120+ Oystercatcher as-well as 1 Yellow-legged Gull and 2 Med Gulls.  Speaking of Yellow-legged Gulls, a Poole Harbour birder recently commented on the lack of this species so far this August. Historically over the last ten to fifteen years large flocks containing anything from 100 to 300 birds could be recorded in Holes Bay, with slightly smaller flocks in places like Lytchett bay, Middlebere and Swineham. The Lytchett Bay max so far this august is three!

Highlights from Lytchett Bay over the last few days include 10+ Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank,  2 Whimbrel, 12 Snipe, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 80+ Sedge Warbler, 15+ Willow Warbler, 4 Kingfisher, 1 Hobby lots of Common Gulls now arriving. 

In the last 24 hours other parts of Dorset have had their first Whitethroats, Garden Warblers, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and decent falls of Willow Warbler

After somewhat of a quite spell wader passage has picked up again with more and more bird arriving all around the harbour. Common Sandpiper are appearing in groups of 3-4 in places such as Holes Bay, Lytchett Bay, Swineham, Brownsea and Middlebere. Redshank numbers are increasing on the Brownsea lagoon, with some stunning juvenile birds being picked up at close range on the webcam. Also on Brownsea Spotted Redshank continue to be a feature with 6 birds still present and 12 Greenshank as well as 50+ Dunlin, 10 Black-tailed Godwit and 100+ Oystercatcher. At Holes Bay Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit are making a marked return. Lytchett Bay is not holding 4-6 Green Sandpiper, also there a Spotted Redshank, 2 Teal, 3 Greenshank, 6 Black-tailed Godwit and 15+ Lapwing. Hobby are still busy picking off House Martins and Swallows at various locations such as Arne, Stoborough and Swineham. Sedge Warbler are well and truly underway with birds now pulsing through the harbour on a broad front heading south, hopefully with Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Pied Flycatcher all starting to follow suit in the next week or so. The reed beds bordering parts of the harbour have been holding nightly roosts of Sand Martin and Swallow often with 500-1000 birds present late evening.

We love receiving your sightings and photos, so with the excitement of autumn just around the corner please email us your photos and sightings no matter how common or scares they are.

info@birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk

News came in from Swineham today that the first view of a Harrier chick was confirmed. The youngsters are probably still a day or so away from fledging, but they will be strengthening their wings, lofting just above the reed bed for short periods of time. Once fledged they will hang around the nest site area for a number of days whilst they continue to be fed by the parents. Young Marsh Harriers are a rich chocolate brown with a striking golden crown, however the ‘adult’ male of the parents has also got a very similar plumage to it’s offspring, meaning dad may not be a fully grown adult.

Elsewhere in the harbour, waders continue to be the main feature. On the Brownsea Lagoon 112 Dunlin arrived in, 6 Spotted Redshank, 12 Greenshank, 243 Oystercatcher, 103 Redshank, 56 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plover and 1 Avocet.  At Lytchett Bay there were 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 3 Snipe and 2 Lapwing. Elsewhere in the county the first Willow Warblers and Grasshopper Warblers of the autumn are passing through and many young birds are now dispersing from their breeding grounds, so be on the look out for young Terns, Waders even birds like Skua’s along the coast.

The breaking story of the day is that Marsh Harrier have successfully bred in Poole Harbour this year. The birds were seen courting in late April and were monitored on an almost daily basis to see if a breeding attempt would be made. By mid May it was obvious that the birds were going to settle and by June the female was settled on eggs. The young hatched about four weeks ago, so the young should be fledging anytime in the next week. For the full story follow this link to our news page…

http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/poole-harbour-news

Although the late spring had a serious affect on the arrival of birds, it seems to have been a successful breeding year for many birds as Whitethroat were seen today still carrying food to a nest site today. Also, at Lytchett Bay today 6 Greenshank, 2 Whimbrel, 12 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Green Sandpiper, 4 Sedge Warbler and a Kingfisher. In Holes Bay 4 Common Sandpiper were just south of the railway line. On the Brownsea lagoon were 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Greenshank. 

The ferocious thunderstorm and down pour that the whole of Poole experienced last night was a welcome relief for many plants and animals as the rain drenched everything in its path. All the dried out cracked bare patches of dirt are now lovely wet, muddy pools that look perfect for attracting waders such as Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint and possibly even Pectoral Sandpiper…wishful thinking I know, but they have all appeared in the UK over the last couple of days, so why not?

Over the last few days, a number of exciting birds are begging to pass through the harbour in drips and drabs. Over the centre of Poole yesterday a Honey Buzzard was seen carrying what looked like part of a wasp nest. At Lytchett Bay a Wood Sandpiper went over calling with 7 Green Sandpiper, also there 5 Snipe, 3 Greenshank, 1 Ruff, 8 Sedge Warbler and 8 Teal. Some exciting news from Brownsea where it was confirmed that Teal had bred this summer, not a common sight in Dorset. Also on Brownsea 2 Roseate Terns again made an appearance, 6 Spotted Redshank, 7 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper and 2 Dunlin. An Osprey keeps popping up at various locations around the harbour so keep a look out for a large bird of prey out fishing on open bodies of water. Already large flocks of 500+ Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow are gathering at reed bed sites around the harbour to feed and roost before heading south.

Due to the extremely cold spring and this recent glorious weather it seems there could be a number of birds that are still trying to squeeze a late brood in before the summers end. Blackcap can still be heard at various sites around the harbour for mid July is almost unheard of. The Great Crested Grebes at Swineham have just hatched a new second brood of the season and commoner species such as Greenfinch, House Sparrow and Goldfinch have all been reported in the last few days feeding newly fledged chicks. If you see any late breeding activity we’d be really interested to hear about it.

Wader movement continues with the arrival of the first 3 Snipe of the autumn at Lytchett Bay. Also there the Ruff remains, 6+ Green Sandpiper, 10+ Lapwing, 1 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper and good Curlew numbers.  At Holes Bay a wholesome 200+ Redshank were feeding, also 60+ Curlew, 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Whimbrel and a number of juvenile Little Egret. The first Sedge Warbler of the autumn was ringed on Wednesday, as were two juvenile Kingfishers that had made their way down into the harbour.

A White-rumped Sandpiper was recently found at Lodmoor, Weymouth, in amongst a small flock of Dunlin, so it’s well worth checking through any wader flocks you come across thoroughly for a lovely hidden gem!

It’s been quite quiet over the last few days. The Ruff, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank and 13 Lapwing were still at Lytchett Bay.  At Swineham the Kestrel family have now fledged with 3 young noisily screeching near the Curlews Cottage. Hobby are now active over numerous ponds and lakes catching Swallows and House Martins rather than Dragonflies as to fatten their chicks up. Still no early signs of passerine movements, but we will expect birds such as Willow Warbler, Pied Flycatcher and Garden Warbler to start passing through the area in about two weeks.