It’s ‘terning’ out to be quite an exciting autumn so far in the harbour with a Poole Harbour first (Semipalmated Sandpiper) and a Poole Harbour second (White-winged Black Tern) in the same month. With the constant south-westerlies in the coming week it’s well worth keeping an eye out for species such as Pectoral and Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, the latter only record for the first time in Poole Harbour on the Brownsea Lagoon in September 2011. 

Other new arrivals this week have included the first Merlin of the autumn seen hunting along Arne Moors. There are now 10 Spoonbill using the Middlebere Channel to feed and roost in. At least 2 Osprey remain with birds commuting between Lytchett Bay and Arne.  2 Black Tern were seen off Arne and Sandwich Tern are being noted from pretty much every beach in the harbour.  There are large numbers of 1000+ Hirundines congregating at the moment with House Martin and Swallows and to a lesser extent Sand Martin making use of the reed beds in the north and the west of the harbour to roost in.  On Brownsea, Spotted Redshank numbers are staying around 8-10 birds, with slightly larger groups of 5-10 Knot. Black-tailed Godwit numbers continue to rise with an estimated 1000+ birds present at the moment in the harbour.