Thankfully the local impacts of last nights storm didn’t seem too bad, with just some minor flooding on the roads and a couple of downed trees. Hopefully everyone stayed safe and well. On the birding front, the impacts of the storm were equally uneventful locally with high anticipation and expectation for this mornings sea watch, only for it to not produce very much! Weirdly when we headed out at 6:30am there wasn’t a breath of wind, so the best we could muster from Branksome Chine was 1 drake Eider, 1 Great Northern Diver, 6 dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 1st winter Kittiwake, 8 Sanderling and 1 Turnstone all west, with c30 Gannet heading both east and west. At the harbour entrance 2 small diver sp entered the harbour, almost certainly Red-throated Diver and a Razorbill was in Shell Bay. However, later in the day another vigil at Branksome did produce a few decent birds including a European Storm Petrel and then 2 distatnt petrel species, also 110 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Common Scoter and a Merlin flew across Poole Bay. The storm did produce the goods for one area though, and that was Lytchett Bay as it hosted it’s first Common Scoter in 30 years, with a juv/female type present at dawn. Elsewhere there were 12 Cattle Egret in the Frome Valley at the Wareham – Stoborough causeway. Then, late this afternoon an incredibly late Hobby was over Arne Moors.

Common Scoter – Lytcehtt Bay – Ian Ballam

It’s always promising when the first (unofficial) day of winter starts with a raging storm. So while we sit and wait to see what Storm Ciaran blows in tomorrow, here’s todays limited highlights. A sea watch at South Beach, Studland produced 16 Kittiwake and this morning 2 diver flew into the harbour, 1 definitely a Red-throated Diver and the other unidentified. There were 12 Spoonbill at RSPB Arne, 4 Marsh Harrier at Swineham and 7 Red-breasted Merganser off Hamworty Beach. Talking of which………

A fairly wet Halloween this year but still plenty of good birds around. 1 male Ring Ouzel was still at Godlingston Hill. Lots of sightings of White-tailed Eagle as well with 1 being seen first thing in the morning at Lytchett Heath along with 2 Marsh Harrier and then the pair later on at Middlebere.

The high tides in the harbour are continuing and with plenty of floodwater a lot of waders are being pushed out of some of their usual sites. Holes Bay had very few Black-tailed Godwit but there were 714 Wigeon, 40 Dunlin and 3 Common Snipe and at Middle Beach, Studland, 3 Razorbills were out at sea. The high tide in the Middlebere Channel produced 2 Great White Egret, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Grey Plover, 1550 Black-tailed Godwit, 350 Avocet, 1 Pintail and 7 Red-breasted Merganser. 1 Cattle Egret was still present at Holmebridge amongst several Little Egret.

Finally the Brownsea Lagoon had some very impressive counts of waders including 3 Curlew Sandpiper, 1420 Dunlin, 5 Sanderling, 28 Knot, 620 Avocet, 4 Spotted Redshank, 18 Greenshank, 2470 Black-tailed Godwit, 39 Bar-tailed Godwit and 25 Spoonbill.

Curlew Sandpiper – Brownsea Lagoon – Hamish Murray

Several torrential downpours and an exceptionally high tide made for a slightly wet final Autumn Safari of the year this morning to say the least, but none of that could dampen our spirits when we were rewarded during the dry spells with 1 Great White Egret, 1 Cattle Egret, 2 White-Tailed Eagle, and 3 Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel, 3 Red-breasted Merganser in the central harbour, plus 27 Spoonbill, 300 Avocet, 500 Dunlin, 5 Rock Pipit on the Brownsea Lagoon. Great White Egret were also reported elsewhere with two over Lytchett Fields first thing and one over Middlebere early afternoon along with 2 Spotted Redshank. Cattle Egret were present at Holmebridge once again with 6 mixed in amongst 10 Little Egret. At Brands Bay this afternoon there were 5 Brent Geese, 131 Wigeon, 14 Pintail, 7 Avocet, 7 Grey Plover, 131 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Bar-tailed Godwit, 139 Redshank, 3 Knot, 88 Dunlin and 2 Sandwich Tern. And in Holes Bay there were nearly 1000 Wigeon, over 100 Teal and doubles figures of Shoveler and Pintail, 500 Black-tailed Godwit, 100 Redshank and few each of Oystercatcher and Curlew. In the Ulwell gap 3 Ring Ouzel were still feeding on berries and there were 3 Firecrest up on Ballard Down.

Cattle Egret – Holmebridge – Mark Wright

The on/off down pours made it difficult to get out birding today for long periods but there were several highlights including a very late juv Common Tern which was flying around the Brownsea Quay. If both the Arctic Tern from the last few days and this Common Tern hang around for a few days more, then there’s the ridiculous possibility of having 3 tern species (possibly 4 if the Forster’s Tern is still about) still present in the harbour into November as there were also 5 Sandwich Tern in Poole Park this morning. Also on Brownsea was 1 winter plumage Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, 17 Greenshank, 35 Grey Plover and 12 Knot, with a Brambling there yesterday too. The Red-throated Diver flew into the harbour early doors and an amazing 18 Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost. A Ringtail Hen Harrier was over the mouth of the River Piddle in the Wareham Channel and 4 Cattle Egret were with 6 Little Egret up at Holmebridge. Finally, there were 5 Spoonbill in the mouth of Wytch Mouth this evening.

Spoonbill – Wytch Lake

There are some nice totals building in the harbour as autumn progresses with more and more winter birds arriving. A high tide count on the Brownsea Lagoon this morning produced a whopping 19 Greenshank, along with 440 Dunlin, 32 Grey Plover, 281 Avocet, 138 Redshank, 21 Bar-tailed Godwit and 25 Spoonbill also logged. In the Wareham Channel this evening, yesterdays Arctic Tern was still around, hunting in the mouth of the River Frome and a ringtail Hen Harrier was active in the mouth of the River Piddle. The White-tailed Eagle pair were chilling out on the edge of the Wareham Channel this evening in the dimming light. Off Jerry’s Point the Common Scoter was still present and there were 19 Great Crested Grebe and 3 Red-breasted Merganser. In Lytchett Bay this morning 6 Little Grebe were across the bay, 6 Lesser Redpoll flew over and a Marsh Harrier was over Otter Island. In Middlebere 2 Great White Egret were feeding on the high tide, a Merlin was on Hartland and the Red-throated Diver was seen flying into the harbour at dawn.

Double Rainbow over Wareham Channel from Slepe Heath

There was a real wintery vibe across the harbour today, especially from our Low-Tide Cruise this afternoon. And although the tide didn’t drop as much as predicted due to the low pressure, there was still plenty to enjoy. There was 1 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Common Scoter off Jerry’s Point with 6 Great Crested Grebe. In Central Harbour 3 Eider were loafing with 7 Red-breasted Merganser and a Red-throated Diver was off the SW corner of Brownsea. A surprise, late Arctic Tern was in the Wareham Channel and 3 Marsh Harrier were at Swineham in the mouth of the Frome where there were also 3 Greenshank, 1 Ruff and 11 Lapwing. The Brownsea Lagoon had 17 Spoonbill, 3 Rock Pipit, 1 Kingfisher and a large gull roost this evening. Across the low tide in the harbour there was a typical late October total of common waders and wildfowl with moderate numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher and dark-bellied Brent Geese. The rising tide in Lytchett Bay tonight saw 1 Spotted Redshank, 6 Greenshank, 7 Little Grebe, 200 Dunlin and 160 Redshank and a Water Pipit was logged at Lytchett Fields. This morning in the PCW Drain, behind KFC there were still 7 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Firecrest, 1 Kingfisher and 4 Goldcrest. A Spotted Redshank was in Middlebere, the White-tailed Eagle pair were on Brownsea this morning and a ringtail Hen Harrier was also at Middlebere. An (over-wintering?) Common Sandpiper was on the Brownsea north shore.

Arctic Tern – Wareham Channel, from Low-Tide Cruise – Harry McBride

The rain soon gave way this morning leaving a really calm day ahead. Off Old Harry this morning a Goshawk, a White-tailed Eagle, 3 Brambling, 112 Swallow, 2 Sand Martin, a mega late Tree Pipit, 6 Chiffchaff and 5 Firecrest. Sunnyside was flooded out and as a result attracted in 1 Greenshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Green Sandpiper and best of all, a Sunnyside tick in the form of a Spotted Redshank. At Holes Bay a Red Kite drifted through and a Wheatear was still along the cycle path. There were at least 3 Ring Ouzel still in the Ulwell Gap and a Spotted Redshank was at Lytchett Fields. There was a minor arrival of Redwing after the rain stopped, but the next few days look like it could deliver more, and by the looks of things further east, we could even have Waxwings by Christmas!

Red Kite – Holes Bay – Rene Goad

Birdguides map highlighting the latest Waxwing sightings from today across the country. next stop…Poole!

Another grey day today in the harbour but the Ring Ouzel are still passing through with 7 being seen at Ulwell Gap. Curlew Sandpiper have also been spotted in the harbour today with 1 at Middlebere and 2 on the Brownsea Lagoon, mixed in with flocks of Dunlin as well as 24 Spoonbill on the Lagoon. Also in the Middlebere Channel were c320 Avocet, 6 Spotted Redshank and 1 female Merlin. On Hartland Moor 1 male Merlin was chasing Meadow Pipit in the late afternoon. In Lytchett Bay there were 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Pintail, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Peregrine. Holes Bay saw 1300+ Jackdaw leave the roost from Pergins Island this morning as well as 1 Cattle Egret, 6 Avocet, 260+ Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Pintail being present in the bay.

Male Pintail with Eurasian Teal – Holes Bay – Tony Furnell