More signs of spring at Lytchett Fields today with two Little Ringed Plover present, as well as 3 breeding plumage Water Pipit. The Garganey present in Lytchett Bay yesterday was not there today, however, this evening one was found on the Swineham scrapes which could be the same bird or a new one? There was also a redhead Goosander on the main pit at Swineham. Around Upton Country Park, 7 Chiffchaff and 1 Firecrest were heard singing, with 2 Sand Martin seen over Holes Bay, in addition to 563 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Dunlin, 8 Pintail and 14 Shoveler. 1 Red Kite was seen over Holton Lee early this afternoon heading south, and 1 Green Sandpiper was reported on Holton Pools. There were 2 Wheatear on Hartland Stud and a Merlin was in Middlebere. Chiffchaff have well and truly arrived with singing adults pretty much back in most woodlands we’ve been in over the last three days but the female Brambling was still on the feeder briefly at Lytchett Fields yesterday.

It’s also just 1 week until our online Osprey Project Talk, which will be running at 7pm of Monday 28th March. Remember to book a ticket through our website to be sent the link prior to the talk going live.

Little Ringed Plover – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Green Sandpiper – Holton Pools – Clive Hargrave

Another beauty of a day and plenty more Red Kite were on the move with multiple counts of 2 or more right across the harbour with 4 over Holes Bay, 3 over Arne, 1 over Swineham, 4 over Lytchett Minster, 1 at Lytchett Bay, 4 over Brownsea and 3 at Morden Bog. The springs first Garganey of the year was found in Lytchett Bay and reappeared later in the day in the Turlin Channel, viewable from the Turlin shoreline. Another evening vigil for Bittern returned no ‘barking’ departures but there were 2 Marsh Harrier present. On Brownsea, wader and wildfowl totals included  97 Avocet, 57 Bar-tailed Godwit, 32 Brent Geese, 12 Grey Plover, 4 Greenshank, 27 Dunlin, 20+ Shoveler, 400+Black-tailed Godwit & 75+ Redshank along with 6 Sandwich Tern and 55 Med Gulls. There was a Great White Egret at Middlebere with 2 Spotted Redshank and a Marsh Harrier, with another Marsh Harrier in Lytchett Bay with a tardy Jack Snipe. With April fast approaching and a few early migrants already having turned up elsewhere in the UK (Sedge Warbler in Kent and Bristol, Willow Warbler, Cornwall Portland etc), plus, with this coming weeks weather looking fine and decent for some more early migrants, it now finally feels like the torrid winter period of 2021/22 is over and we can try and make the most of what the coming months provide in terms of ornithological interest!

Greenshank – Brownsea Lagoon – Martin Adams

Shoveler – Brownsea Lagoon – Martin Adams

Despite the glorious sunshine, the incredibly strong ESE wind seemed to hamper many birding attempts! A few Red Kite were on the move with 1 over the Piddle Valley, 2 over Lytchett Minster, 2 over Canford Heath and 2 over Fleetsbridge. Other than that, there was very little reported across the harbour today. There were 3 Spoonbill on Shipstal, 4 Chiffchaff singing at Swineham, 2 Marsh Harrier over the Wareham Channel and 5 Sandwich Tern on the Brownsea Lagoon. Lets hope for a calmer day tomorrow, and more sightings received!

Red Kite – Swineham – Alison Copland (earlier in March)

Another beauty of a day, and a real taste of spring. Comma, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral Butterfly were all on the wing and in sheltered spots out of the wind plenty of bee’s were attracted to newly early emerged early spring flowers. The high pressure once again forced the tide much lower than predicted and this evening all of the harbours bays were drained of water with thousands of gulls entering the harbour before dark. Med Gulls were streaming over Poole Quay, heading towards Brownsea and Whitley Lake. There were still 2 Guillemot off Poole Quay The high pressure got a few more birds of prey moving with Red Kite of Candford Heath and Fleetsbridge. Brownsea Island opens tomorrow and there was still plenty on the lagoon with c100 Avocet, 3 Greenshank, c50 Oystercatcher, c50 Black-tailed Godwit and a few Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Wigeon. At Lytchett Fields this evening a Merlin was hunting and a Sand Martin passed over. White-tailed Eagle G801 was on the Keysworth side of the Wareham Channel first thing, but we’ve since heard from Tim Mackrill that she’s now in mid-Devon! Our events manager Joe, was also at Swineham last night and managed to get a great recording of the two Bittern leaving at dusk.

Two Bittern departing Swineham GP – 17/03/22 – Joe Parker

With yesterdays dire weather passing over night, we were welcomed with bright sunshine today and glorious weather which combined with a big spring tide and full moon was perfect for our last ‘winter’ low-tide cruise and a Bittern watch at Swineham this evening. The latter activity was well worth while with 2 Bittern lifting from the far western end of the pits, circling over the main pit for several minutes at 18:50, calling plenty before then heading off NE into the night. Never fear though, a couple of other Bittern calls were logged from ground level meaning that if they haven’t left tonight then there’s more chances over the coming evenings to hopefully see some more leave. The tide today for the low-tide cruise was exceptionally low and produced a whole range of species including the long(ish) staying Velvet Scoter off Brownsea north shore, 2 Guillemot, c400 dark-bellied Brent Geese, c30 Red-breasted Merganser, plenty of Curlew, Oystercatcher and Black-tailed Godwit. There was a flock of c40 Great Crested Grebe which flew off together giving an unusual and infrequent viewing experience, and we wouldn’t want to try and accurately estimate the number of gulls that were present across the whole harbour but there were tens of thousands in total including good numbers of Mediterranean Gulls. The Brownsea Lagoon still had c150 Avocet and a few Shoveler. It was stunning to see several groups of Wigeon lift out of the Wareham Channel, climbing high to the NE into an inky blue sky, probably leaving us for good, until next winter! Elsewhere a Red Kite drifted over Lytchett Bay this morning, there was a Wheatear on Hartland and there was still a single Slavonian Grebe off Middle Beach. There were 7 Spoonbill on Shipstal and the female White-tailed Eagle, G801 was still in the Wareham Channel area. A Cattle Egret passed over Wareham, heading east and the Siberian Chiffchaff was still at the eastern end of the main pit at Swineham. Marsh Tit were logged in the Piddle Valley and Norden and there was a Great White Egret on Slepe Moor. Finally, there were 5 Sandwich Tern on the Brownsea Lagoon, 2 of which were in full display mode, ‘dancing’ with one another.

Great Crested Grebe – Wareham Channel – Derek Morgan

Velvet Scoter – Central Harbour – Alison Copland

Bittern departing Swineham – Steve Smith

Yesterdays arrival of second White-tailed Eagle, G318 saw her and the 2nd cal year female G801 spend the day together out towards Keysworth where they spent the morning flying around occasionally and settling in small Silver birch trees. The eagles were often harassed by up to 3 Marsh Harrier, 2 of which were also causing mayhem over the gull islands all morning which was interesting behaviour to observe. A Sand Martin was also over the Wareham Channel and there were a minimum of c30 Great Crested Grebe rafting together out there too. There was another Wheatear this afternoon, this time at Greenlands Farm, and the Velvet Scoter was off Shipstal Point again out in central harbour. Both the Poole male and female Peregrines were on the Asda tower block. Summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwit are passing through now and appearing with some of our duller over-wintering individuals, with c200 in Holes Bay along with the over-wintering Common Sandpiper.

Black-tailed Godwit – Holes Bay – Martin Adams

There were more firsts today with the harbours first Wheatear of the spring in fields around Sunnyside Farm. Plus, the first UK Ospreys were logged today at different sites including Rutland, Hertfordshire and the Loch of the Lowes in Scotland. Although we don’t expect to see some of our Ospreys back until later in March or early April, the first Poole Harbour passage migrant could be any day now, with last years 1st occurring on March 23rd. Female White-tailed Eagle G801 was once again active around the Wareham Channel and viewed from Slepe Heath. At Swineham, an evening vigil for Bittern resulted in a negative count however a roosting Cattle Egret in scrub along the south edge was good to find and could well be the individual that was in a field up near Purbeck school this morning, plus 2 Sand Martin were hawking over, 2 Marsh Harrier were off Swineham Point and 2 redhead Goosander flew over, heading NW. The Black Brant was off Ower again and 2 Red Kite were over Wareham during the morning. At the mouth of the Middlebere Channel, 5 Spoonbill were feeding and the Velvet Scoter was still off out in central harbour. There were 5 summer plumaged Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point yesterday evening.

Spoonbill – Middlebere Channel – Alison Copland

Despite the chilly wind, it was at least a SSW/E wind meaning some new Sand Martin were deposited with 2 at Swineham GP along with a migrant Red Kite over there too. Up to 5 Marsh Harrier were still in the west harbour area and female White-tailed Eagle G801 was active in the Wareham Channel being seen over Swineham, Keysworth and even from Lytchett Fields mid-morning. A Great White Egret was at Middlebere and the Velvet Scoter was still out in central harbour. The Black Brant was still off Ower and 3 Egyptian Geese moved down the Piddle Valley. There also seemed to be some sort of Starling migration going on with multiple groups of 20+ heading NE throughout the morning. In Holes Bay NE the Common Sandpiper was seen again, the first time in a while and there were still 27 Pintail and c300 Wigeon present. The 3 Tundra Bean Geese were still in the paddock at Swineham and the Siberian Chiffchaff was seen again at the end of the main pit. Chiffchaff were in full voice at multiple sites across the harbour, suggesting the first arrivals had made their way back and a Brambling was still on the feeders along Slough Lane and Lytchett Bay.

Red Kite over Swineham – Alison Copland