It seems a lot of keen birders were out in force this weekend with the number of sightings reported it. The arrival of some un-settled weather certainly seemed to bring a lot more migrants as they dropped down to take shelter from the intermittent showers.

It was the ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ guided walk on Saturday, aptly names ‘Late summer at Middlebere’. An excellent range of species were seen including Osprey, 2 Whinchat, 2 Redstart, 2 Wheatear, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Tree Pipit, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, 4 Pintail, 6 Greenshank, Water Rail. It was also the Arne Raptor weekend this weekend where Osprey were the stars of the show with a max count of 3 at once. Also seen there was a Cuckoo, Black Redstart and Whinchat with another 6 Whinchat, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Redstart, Hobby and Sparrowhawk out on Arne Moors. At Lytchett Bay this weekend a Curlew Sandpiper was present along with 1 Osprey, 3 Pintail, 1 Whinchat, 12 Greenshank, 8 Green Sandpiper, 30+ Snipe, 6 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper and 2 White Wagtail, along with a record breaking 504 Teal. Up on Hartland Stud 19 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, Red-legged Partridge and 2 Tree Pipit. Off Rockley viewpoint another Osprey was seen along with a Marsh Harrier and 37 Little Egret roosted in the channel. At Swineham an Osprey was feeding out in the Wareham Channel, also there 50+ Sand Martin, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzard. On Brownsea 8 Spoonbill remained, 5 Curlew Sandpiper, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 100+ Avocet, 2 Knot, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Turnstone, 200+ Redshank, 500+ Oystercatcher, 2 Common Sandpiper and 6 Shoveler.

After all the excitement of Poole Harbour’s first Semipalmated Sandpiper at the beginning of the week, things then decided to calm down somewhat over the next few days. 9 Spoonbill continued to commute between Middlebere and Brownsea. Up to 9 Curlew Sandpiper were again on Brownsea with some other excellent wader counts. Almost 3000 birds of many different species were logged, so if you get the chance to visit Brownsea in the next week or so, I would highly recommend it. The same goes for Arne as up to 3 Osprey have been seen fishing daily around the peninsular and an early returning Hen Harrier was reported. Migrants are still pouring through with Blackcaps now on the increase, and it seems to have been an exceptional year for Garden Warbler.   

Still a few places available for our guided walk at Middlebere this Saturday follow the link for details. Should be a good one with lots of nice birds about…

http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/late-summer-middlebere

The Semipalmated Sandpiper showed well outside the lower hide for most of the day on Brownsea. We also managed to get the bird on the webcam for over an hour at very close range possibly providing the world’s first online twitch!

The lagoon was stacked with birds today, other totals included 8 Spoonbill,  1000+ Oystercatcher, 56 Avocet, 9 Curlew Sandpiper,  6 Spotted Redshank, 2 Knot, 1 Sanderling, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit,  150+ Dunlin, 52 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Tern, 1 Raven  and a White Wagtail. At Lytchett Bay today 16 Greenshank, 5 Green Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plover, 200 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 3 Peregrine, 29 Little Egret and 5 Stonechat.

Still a few places available for our guided walk at Middlebere this Saturday follow the link for details. Should be a good one with lots of nice birds about…

http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/late-summer-middlebere

It’s amazing how things can go from total calm to utter panic when birds are involved. That’s exactly what happened today when at 12pm a small, pale wader was discovered feeding just in-front of the double decker hide on our Brownsea Lagoon webcam. Small waders  are  always a nightmare to ID, especially tiny pretty much non descript ones on a less than perfect webcam screen. However, as the bird was noticeably smaller (half the size) of the Dunlin it was feeding next to even a Little Stint would have been a great find for our webcam. 

Most of the Little Stints that pass through the UK at this time of year tend to be juveniles, which show an obvious white ‘V’ on the back and are a lovely rufous colour. This bird had no ‘V’ and was very pale.

After various photos and phone conversations the bird was finally confirmed as Poole Harbour’s first SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER and only Dorset’s 9^th record. The bird showed well up until 5pm when the island closed. During our time there it was attacked by both a Sparrowhawk and a Hobby!  There is a very good chance it could still be around tomorrow, so we will check the webcam first thing to get it back on the webcam.

Also on the Island a minimum of 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Knot, 100+ Dunlin, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Ringed Plover, 40+ Avocet, 3 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank as well as Shoveler, Teal and 1000+ Oystercatcher. In Holes Bay this morning an Osprey was feeding in the northern section very close to the dual carriageway, also there 2 Whimbrel, 8 Wigeon, 46 Teal, 2 Black-tailed Godwit and a Med Gull. Nearby a Hobby and 2 Kingfisher were at Upton CP. A possible Great White Egret was seen dropping in to a ditch over near Keysworth.  

September gets off to a nice start with  2 Osprey in the Wareham Channel along with a juvenile Marsh Harrier. On Brownsea this evening 5 Curlew Sandpiper, 8 Spoonbill and 8 Spotted Redshank.  At Lytchett Bay there were 15 Snipe, 4 Green Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank and an obvious increase in Teal and Wigeon numbers. 

Having just returned from a week in France it was excellent to see a whole inbox of emails reporting lots of interesting sightings from around the harbour in the last week. I’m sorry I couldn’t report for you while I was away, but below is a summary from the last week.

I would also like to apologise for the lack of coverage on the webcam. This is an issue we are aware of and are trying to rectify it as soon as possible.

Don’t forget it’s our next ‘Birds of Poole Harbour’ guided walk this Saturday the 7^th – Late Summer at Middlebere, a guided walk with Paul Morton looking for autumn migrants including Osprey, Harriers, Warblers and Chats. For more info follow this link – http://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/late-summer-middlebere

As the summer warmth continued through the week, migrants of all shapes and sizes arrived and passed through the area at various spots. In date order…

August 24^th – 3 Grasshopper Warbler at Lytchett Bay, along with 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat and a Whitethroat at Turlin Moor and 242 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Sandwich Tern out on the mud. At Sunnyside Farm 2 Whinchat and 3 Wheatear. 

August 25^th – A Red Kite drifted along the A35 near Holton Lee. A Black Tern was fishing in the stretch of water between Arne and Hamworthy shore. On the Brownsea Lagoon – 85 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 1,043 Oystercatchers, 110 Dunlin, 32+ Avocet, 12 Greenshank, 3 Spotted Redshanks, 6 Turnstone, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Sanderling, 4 Med Gulls, 40 Sandwich and 14 Common Terns.

August 26^th – At Lytchett Bay 1 juv Marsh Harrier, 10 ringed plover, 7 Dunlin, 10+ Greenshank, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Yellow Wagtail a few Wigeon and the 1^st Wheatear for the autumn at this site.

August 27^th – 2 Osprey commuting between Arne, Lytchett Bay and the Wareham Channel, also in Lytchett Bay 4 Curlew Sandpiper.

August 28^th – No sightings

August 29^th – At Middlebere 7 Spoonbill, 21 Yellow Wagtail, 8 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Teal. 1 Osprey again in Lytchett Bay.

August 30^th – 2 Osprey in Lytchett Bay and 1 in the Wareham Channel with a juv Marsh Harrier. A juv Ruff out on the mud at Lytchett Bay with 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper and 10+ Green Sandpiper. At Middlebere 7 Spoonbill again, 2 Barn Owl, 3 Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Greenshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Ringed Plover, seven Yellow Wagtail and a Hobby.

August 31^st – 1 Osprey sat on the post at Middlebere for 2 hours, 20+ Ringed Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Whinchat, 30+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Yellow-legged Gull and large numbers of Swallow. 

As you hopefully know by now, Poole Harbour hosted its first successful pair of breeding Marsh Harrier in 50 years this year with three young birds fledging the nest in August 2013. The nest was situated on private land at Swineham and was monitored on an almost daily basis by local Harrier expert and addict, Peter Hadrill, from a distant viewpoint, providing a detailed picture into this historic event.

Peter has kindly allowed Birds of Poole Harbour to publish his day by day, month by month account which explains how these birds overcame unwelcomed visitors and an exceptionally cold spring.

Poole Harbour 2013 breeding Marsh Harriers

Again, some decent sightings from various areas of the harbour with the Brownsea Lagoon showing off some impressive wader totals. Firstly an Osprey was fishing out in Lytchett Bay at 06:40am and then another/the same bird was over near Arne. In the Middlebere Channel 7 Spoonbill appeared and started to feed out in front of the National Trust hide.

A full wader count was conducted on the Brownsea Lagoon today, here are the totals…1093 Oystercatcher, 529 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 74 Dunlin, 32 Avocet, 155 Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 16 Curlew, 54 Ringed Plover, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Knot, 2 Turnstone, 1 Sanderling, 2 Shoveler, 31 Sandwich Tern, 7 Common Tern and plenty of Little Egret.

Migrants are passing through in good numbers now with Redstart, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Whinchat, Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler appearing in many scrubland/heathland habitats so well worth keeping your eyes peeled.

Great to see a few Osprey sightings now being reported with at least 1 bird being seen daily at the moment around the Arne peninsular. Birds have been seen carrying fish of various sizes up and down the Middlebere Channel wit early morning or late evening being best times. Over the next few weeks more and more birds should start to arrive as they pass through on their migration south. It’s not impossible to have 3-4 birds fishing in the same area at the same time in early September. Also around Arne nice views of 1 Whinchat, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Redstart, 60 Willow Warbler and a Whitethroat. Out in the Middlebere channel  2 Spoonbill, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls, 1 Greenshank and 2 Whimbrel. At Swineham there was 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 5 Willow Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 150 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 2+ Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and 2 Snipe. A Wood Sandpiper was seen again at Lytchett Bay along with the usual supply of Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Lapwing and Snipe. Sporadic sightings of Redstart include birds at Stoborough Heath, Turlin moor and Upton Heath.