Massive high tides in the harbour today meaning lots of birds were pushed out of their usual feeding areas and roosts, making the Brownsea Lagoon very popular. Good numbers of Grey Plover, Knot, Dunlin and Sanderling were all seen on the lagoon as well as more Black-tailed Godwit than there have been with most feeding up in the Avon Valley floodplain. At least 6 Waxwing were showing well at Upton, Dacombe Drive with plenty of people seeing them feeding low in the mistletoe. At Arne, RSPB 1 ringtail Hen Harrier was still present and 3 White-tailed Eagle were seen from Hydes Heath. A Bittern flew across Swineham GP again this evening and on Wareham Common there were 19 Cattle Egret. This morning 3 Red Kite drifted over Wareham Common and buzzard were displaying en mass…..and so were Woodlark at traditional sites, albeit in lesser numbers!

Our first Winter Pop-up watch was very successful with the warm sunshine bringing lots of people out this morning in Holes Bay. Plenty of birds to be seen with highlights of c100 Pintail, c150 Avocet, c100 Redshank, c30 Common Snipe and 1 Mediterranean Gull. You can find the full list here. We’ll be stationed at Jerry’s Point, Studland tomorrow morning from 9am-12pm looking for more open water species like divers and grebes as well as plenty of waders and waterfowl. Drop in at anytime during the session, but the weather certainly looks better earlier on!

Common Redshank – Holes Bay North East – Alison Copland

Holes Bay Pop-up Watch – Barbara Bisset

A very changeable day meaning some shelter was needed when birding the harbour. This didn’t stop our Studland ID course from being a success with highlights of c30 Sanderling in Shell Bay, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver off Jerry’s Point and c30 Grey Plover, 10 Mediterranean Gull, c400 Dunlin, c30 Knot 6 Bar-tailed Godwit and c200 Pintail from Redhorn Quay. Just at the end a flyover from female White-tailed Eagle G801 was a nice surprise coming in from the coast and then heading slowly over Brownsea as well as 1 Peregrine shortly after.

Elsewhere in the Harbour there were 13 Spoonbill and 2 Sandwich Tern at Shipstal Point, Arne and 1 ringtail and 1 adult male Hen Harrier around Middlebere. In Lytchett Fields 1 Water Pipit was still on Pools Field as well as 3 Spotted Redshank and 1 Goshawk from Rock Lea Viewpoint. The 8 Waxwing were still present today, seen at both Dacombe Drive, Upton and Asda, Canford Heath. 1 Bittern was also seen at dusk over Swineham Gravel Pit. The Black-throated Diver flew out of the harbour this evening and roosted in Poole Bay and there was a single Black-necked Grebe off Middle Beach, Studland.

A count of 4200 Black-tailed Godwit was made in the Avon Valley today, probably enjoying all the floodwater, providing lots of feeding areas locally and explaining why they have been so thin on the ground in the harbour recently.

Jerry’s Point, Studland on today’s Winter Birds ID Course

A rather pleasant day today which got some raptors moving about. There was a stunning young female Goshawk circling over Holmebride this morning where there were also 2 Marsh Harrier. There were numerous Common Buzzard soaring and displaying and the White-tailed Eagle pair were both hunting in the Wareham Channel this morning. The Upton/Canford Waxwings were still giving good views at both sites (Upton this AM and Canford this afternoon). Yesterdays very early Swallow was apparently still hawking off the Studland Beaches and out in Studland Bay. There are plenty of Med Gull now coming into summer plumage which are venturing into the harbour more frequently. There was also a noteworthy logging of a yaffling Green Woodpecker in Upton CP, a bird thats sadly become scarcer and scarcer around the harbour.

Female Goshawk – Holmebridge

The rain hampered birding opportunities for most of the day, but at Lytchett Fields there were 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank and 2 Firecrest this morning.

Spotted Redshank – Lytchett Fields – Mick Brooks

With calm weather settling over the area it allowed for folk to get out and explore before the next bought of rain appears! Lots going today with a Black-throated Diver and a raft of 3 Great Northern Diver near the chain ferry at Sandbanks. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Water Pipit, a Spotted Redshank and 2 Marsh Harrier. In Middlebere a White-tailed Eagle flew over along with 1 Merlin and there were 3 Spoonbill in the channel. The 8 Waxwing were in Upton again at Dacolme Drive. Off Jerry’s Point there was a single Slavonian Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver. A ringtail Hen Harrier was at Swineham and a Merlin was over Wareham Common again.

Spoonbill – Middlebere – Chris Snook

Common Snipe – Middlebere – Chris Snook

Dartford Warbler – Middlebere – Chris Snook

The forecast looks a bit mixed for the next few weeks, suggesting we need to make the most of the breaks in the weather when we can. It was amazingly mild this morning, so much so that Redwing were singing at Carey Secret Garden. There were also 2 Mandarin Duck that flew over the Lower Piddle Valley this morning, over the heads of the 24 Cattle Egret that were on Wareham Common. The Mandarins headed up river towards Trigon, just as a Merlin bombed down and headed towards Wareham. This afternoon there were 5 Spoonbill at Shipstal, RSPB Arne and 1 dropped into Holes Bay briefly. The White-tailed Eagle pair were in the south of the harbour briefly before heading off in different directions. A ringtail Hen Harrier was at Middlebere and what was probably the same was in Lytchett Bay this morning. The 8 Waxwing were at Dacombe Drive, Upton this morning. In the blustery conditions there were still good numbers of wildfowl in Holes Bay north this morning with Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Shoveler all present in good numbers.

Shoveler, Pintail, Wigeon and Teal – Holes Bay north.

Really not very many people out birding today! Put simply…….Waxwings were the only order of the day…. 8 at Canford Asda, then 8 at Upton, Dacombe Drive, then 8 back at Canford Asda again. Simple.

Oh yeah, and 23 Cattle Egret on Wareham Common!

Waxwing – Dacombe Drive, Upton – Clive Hargrave

The Wareham Channel low tide was teeming with waders and gulls on this morning’s Winter Safari Cruise, with 150+ Avocet spread across the mud, plus 400+ Dunlin, 30+ Grey Plover and 400+ Lapwing giving stunning aerial displays in tight flocks. Hidden in amongst them was a single Golden Plover, a scarce species in Poole Harbour where its favoured upland and farmland habitats are thin on the ground! Raptors were the other key highlight from the trip with a single Peregrine speeding overhead towards the panicked waders, 5 Marsh Harrier quartering the reedbeds, and both male and ringtail Hen Harrier hunting over the Arne peninsula. Also seen were at least 10 Great Norther Diver, 70+ Red-breasted Merganser and 3 Goldeneye. Elsewhere the 8 Waxwings were reported from Dacombe Drive in Upton, and both Pilsdon Drive and the trees behind Asda in Canford Heath. There were also 100+ Bar-tailed Godwit feeding in Whitley Lake viewed from Shore Road, and in Lytchett Bay 3 Water Pipit were present at Sherford Pools.

Golden Plover – Winter Safari Cruise – Scott Usher