How warm is it? With the forecast predicting 22 degrees today its no surprise many autumn vis-mig species are so low in numbers…they still think its mid-summer! Normally by now species such as Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch, Linnet and Siskin are passing in good numbers along Ballard and South Haven however numbers so far have been minimal. We really need a good cold snap to bring things back into sync and to prompt some birds to get moving. That said, a flock of 10 Barnacle Geese over Sunnyside Farm was a good record. The/a Cattle Egret was again near the Wareham Causeway, although further west towards the bypass. On Brownsea 8 Spoonbill were still present but later moved over to Arne and there were also 5 Spotted Redshank on Brownsea along with 26 Curlew, 11 Grey Plover, 10 Greenshank, 119 Black-tailed Godwit, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 397 Avocet, 18 Shoveler and 8 Wigeon. There was a Merlin on Coombe Heath and another (or the same) on Hartland Moor and a Firecrest in the Arne car park. There was a Wheatear at Lytchett Fields along with 1 Knot, 16 Dunlin and 200+ Redshank in Lytchett Bay. At Lytchett Heath a ringing session at dawn to monitor Bearded Tit numbers in the reedbed saw 23 caught (15 new and 8 re-traps).

Male and female Bearded Tit – Lytchett Heath – Paul Morton

Just like buses, you wait a couple of weeks for a Yellow-browed Warbler and then two come along at once. This morning a second in two days was ringed up on Ballard along with 26 Chiffchaff and 23 Blackcap. With the wind swinging westerly thrush passage dropped off and only 4 each of Redwing and Song Thrush were logged over Lytchett Heath. At Holton Pools a Marsh Harrier drifted in front of the hide and at Shipstal the Spoonbill flock stood at 32.

Yellow-browed Warbler – Ballard Down – Olly Slessor

Unlike most passage migrants that pass through the harbour in both spring and autumn there are some that just pass through during the latter part of the year and can sum up Autumn migration all on their own. One of those species is Yellow-browed Warbler, a bird that was once considered an extreme rarity but is now a regular migrant each October. Although several had appeared across the UK in recent weeks, it was no where near as ‘busy’ with YBW this autumn compared to recent years…that was until today. An estimated 500 turned up across the UK, mostly along the east coast but one did manage to trickle its way down to us with one ringed and logged moving through Ballard Down. With so many in the UK now (and more probably arriving) its well worth keeping an eye and an ear out for these dinky autumn delights. Also logged moving through Ballard was 27 Chiffchaff, 44 Blackcap, 1 late Common Redstart, 1 Song Thrush but only 1 Goldfinch…where are the finches??? On Brownsea there were 8 Spoonbill and c350 Avocet and later 8 Spoonbill were also in Lytchett Bay including colour-ringed bird ‘AE’ which was ringed in Holland in 2006 and has been seen regularly in Lytchett Bay/Poole harbour since 2013. Lytchett also had its first Merlin of the autumn. In Wareham at least 1 Cattle Egret remained along the causeway. A nocturnal sound recording session at Holton Lee saw thrush passage increase slightly with almost equal amounts of Redwing (45 calls) and Song Thrush (42 calls) passing over during the course of the night.

Eight Spoonbill – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Spring was back again today; although the gentle northerly breeze kept a certain autumn feel to the proceedings. That said, by mid afternoon it was almost another balmy October day. The highlight from today included a Short-eared Owl seen in Middlebere at dawn. There seem to be quite a few arriving at coastal sites across the UK so hopefully it will become an ‘SEO’ winter and even if this one was just a migrant passing through, we could see more arrive in coming weeks. Hartland Moor and Middlebere are good places to look at dawn and dusk. The Cattle Egrets were seen again on and off at the Wareham Causeway, gorging on insects on and around the cattle herd. The first 24 Brent Geese of the autumn were on Shipstal Point, Arne and a minimum of 39 Spoonbill were logged during the Poole Harbour WeBS count today. A Marsh Harrier and 2 Peregrine were in Middlebere and a Merlin was on Hartland. Vis-mig was slow but there was an obvious passage of Skylark with 40+ over Soldiers Road heading north. At Littlesea Studland 2 Great White Egret were also logged during the WeBS count and at Lytchett Fields there was a single White Wagtail. At Swineham Chiffchaff and a few Goldcrest were enjoying the sun and a flock of 5 Greenshank were on the floodplain.

Newly arrived Brent Goose flock – Shipstal Point, Arne

Wigeon – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad

Dartford Warbler – Upton Heath – Rene Goad

At last there has been some nocturnal migration with birds (mainly thrush) arriving from the north. Last night over Holton lee we logged 37 Song Thrush calls and 7 Redwing calls, meaning the thrush invasion will begin building up nicely over the coming weeks. Despite the wet and the wind, it actually cleared quite quickly by early afternoon when 2 Cattle Egret were found next to the road on the Wareham to Stoborough causeway. It goes to show how times are changing when 2 Cattle Egret are spotted out of the car window and you barely raise an eyebrow, which is exactly what happened. Over the last two winters, Cattle Egret have become increasingly regular with flocks containing up to 20 birds in other areas of the country, and its our predication that this winter and following winters (and perhaps summers) Cattle Egret will soon become an expected sighting on a days out birding around the harbour. At Lytchett Fields there wasn’t much change with 104 Redshank, 12 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank on the high tide. Around the urban areas Baiter saw 22 Oystercatcher, 19 Turnstone, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Sandwich Tern whilst at Poole Park a count of 32 Coot almost certainly suggests some new arrivals had settled there now for the winter. On Brownsea just a handful of Spoonbill were present and c250 Avocet. There was also a nice mix of waders on Holton Pools during the rain with both Black and Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Green Sandpiper and a Redshank.

Cattle Egret – Wareham Causeway – Jol Mitchell

Redwing – Call of passing night migrant – Holton Lee 06/10/18 @ 01:47 

It’s always good fun trying to take a large school group out on a bird boat when a dense thick fog sets across the harbour. Without being able to see where the water ended and the skyline began our school group were treated to one of the most eerie voyages we’d ever done as various vessels appeared out of the gloom like ghost ships. That said, by midday (and just as the trip ended) the fog cleared giving way to another balmy, hot early October day.  With the sun beating down, the late summer migrants wouldn’t feel out of place with 2 each of Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail enjoying them selves at Sunnyside Pools and a light trickle of Swallow going over for most of the day. A late Grasshopper Warbler was ringed at Lytchett Heath and at Middlebere there was 3 Spotted Redshank, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Grey Plover, c50  Avocet and 12 Wigeon. On our Brownsea Lagoon webcam a flock of 25 Spoonbill dropped in around 2pm and the Peregrine was sat on the Tamarisk Island for most of the day.

Things were a bit quieter today but it was good to hear that 2 Merlin were back out on Hartland Moor, sparing with one another. These may just be migrants passing through or could be over-wintering birds returning but regardless, by late October/early November that area is a good place to try and see Merlin. There were also 2 different Marsh Harrier out over Arne Moors and there were 35 Spoonbill on Shipstal, Arne but just singles of Spotted Redshank and Greenshank in Middlebere. Seeing common birds in ‘odd places’ can usually be expected this time of year and a Coot in Holes Bay NE was actually a first for many years in that area, plus there were also c150 Black-tailed Godwit and 300+ Wigeon.

Coot – Holes Bay – NE 

Early October normally sees a transition of migrants from warblers and chats to finches and thrush’s. We’re currently right at the beginning of that transition and any night now thrush passage should pick as mainly Song Thrush, Redwing and Blackbird arrive from the north with finches hopefully becoming more conspicuous at dawn. This morning a ringing session on Lytchett heath saw a mixture of both mid-autumn and late autumn passage with 3 Blackcap and 24 Chiffchaff still being ringed but also a light passage of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch overhead along with 4 migrating Mistle Thrush and a couple of Song Thrush. Also ringed during the ringing session was 1 Firecrest, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Reed Bunting and a mixture of common species. This evening a large flock of c650 alba Wagtail also roosted at Lytchett Heath. In Holes Bay NE there were 381 Wigeon, 4 adult Yellow-legged Gull and a single Knot. In Poole Park a Sandwich Tern opted for an easier meal by fishing in the main boating lake. In Middlebere there were 150+ Avocet, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank and 3 Spoonbill and on Shipstal 32 Spoonbill. Several winter Kingfisher are now back on territory with birds regularly being seen at Holton Pools, Holes Bay NW near the PC World outflow, Brownsea Lagoon and hopefully soon Poole Park!

Firecrest – Lytchett Heath – Shaun Robson

Cetti’s Warbler – Lytchett Heath – Paul Morton

There was a distinct autumnal feel today as a fresh westerly wind kicked in early on. A few passerines were on the move up on Ballard but due to cloud cover and wind direction, not in any significant numbers with c30 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit, c50 alba Wagtail, 7 Skylark, 1 Wheatear, 30 Goldfinch, 6 Linnet, c50 Swallow, c70 House Martin, 1 Sparrowhawk and a single Golden Plover all heading west. In Studland bay the first 4 Black-necked Grebe of the winter were back along with 7 Common Scoter, also 1 Gannet and a male Kestrel arrived in off the sea from out in Poole Bay. In Brands Bay a great early autumn find of 3 Goosander was unusual as cold weather is usually the trigger for this species to occur in open areas of the harbour. Also in Brands Bay were 13 Wigeon, 3 Pintail, 2 Grey Plover, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit and just 4 Black-tailed Godwit. At Middlebere there were 4 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 65 Redshank, 15 Lapwing, 4 Avocet, 10 Knot, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 10 Wigeon, 1 Sandwich Tern and 1 Wheatear. In Holes Bay NE an adult Caspian Gull was reported and photographed which is accepted will only be the 2^nd Poole Harbour record. At Sunnyside Pools a Red Kite drifted towards Hartland Moor.

With winter bird numbers now increasing, it’s important that we (the public) keep disturbance down to an absolute minimum. With the most sensitive sites such as Middlebere, Holes Bay North and Brands Bay being so vital for feeding birds its key to remember these are labelled ‘over-wintering bird sensitive areas’ and that disturbing birds in those areas can be detrimental to their survival over the course of the winter. The National Trust have recently put together a statement about protection in Brands Bay this winter which would be good for anyone visiting that site to read…

Brands Bay is a very popular feeding ground for winter waders and wildfowl. The sheltered mudflats exposed at mid to low tide are a fundamental part of the designation of Poole Harbour as a site of international importance for birds.

These birds are quite nervous and are likely to take flight with any human or dog presence on the shoreline. Whilst this is not fatal itself, regular disturbance of birds can make them more susceptible to predation, both by weakening them and forcing them into the air.

This autumn and winter the National Trust are looking to reduce the amount of disturbance to wintering wildfowl in Brands Bay. Our team of staff and volunteers will be engaging visitors, looking to reduce human and dog presence on the shoreline.

We’d love to get an idea of how often the birds are disturbed this year – please email your observations to tom.clarke@nationaltrust.org.uk or text/message/send an image to 07483 929 544.

Autumn really getting underway now…well, kind of, with the first Redwing flying over Upton at dawn yesterday morning which had actually been recorded during a nocturnal listening station. The first 2 Merlin of the autumn were out on Hartland Moor at dawn, ‘sparing’ with one another and in the Wareham Channel 3 Marsh Harrier came out of the roost. Near Swineham a Whinchat was on a hay bale plus a minor bit of passage up the Frome Valley included c20 Meadow Pipit, 3 Grey Wagtail, 10 each of Chaffinch and Goldfinch and 15 Swallow. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine (which took a Starling), 8 Greenshank, c50 Lapwing, 4 Common Snipe and 4 Green Sandpiper. At Sunnyside Pools the Black-tailed Godwit was still there and a Wheatear was in the fields. In Middlebere there were 388 Avocet and it seems Woodlark are dispersing to over-wintering sites with 3 seen in fields along Holme Lane and several in loose flocks on patches of heathland along the southern edge of the harbour near Hartland.