A crisp morning and stunning sunrise for our Winter Safari Cruise this morning which started off well with a flock of 14 Barnacle Geese flying over Poole Quay and heading towards the Wareham Channel. This is a good record as a rare winter visitor to Poole Harbour. A flock of 10 was later picked up in a field to the west of Swineham gravel pit. Still very good numbers of Great Northern Diver around the harbour with 15 logged on the trip and probably more lurking in other parts of the harbour. We also had 11 Spoonbill off Fitzworth, 2 Marsh Harrier, 12+ Goldeneye, 1 Great White Egret and 1 Pochard at Swineham.

Elsewhere in the harbour the first Scaup of the winter turned up with a female in Brands Bay. Also in Brands Bay were 1 Golden Plover and 1 Slavonian Grebe. In Holes Bay, there were 5 Knot in the NW along with 1 Greenshank and 500+ of both Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit and the 1 Black-throated Diver was still in the South.

Female Scaup – Brands Bay – @birderOtbt on twitter

Another freezing day which made for a chilly ringing demonstration this evening, but it was still a success with 6 Woodcock, 2 Common Snipe and 1 Jack Snipe caught and ringed at Sunnyside Farm. The Black Redstart was still at Studland at The Pig this morning. Also reported at Studland from Jerry’s Point was 1 Great Northern Diver and several distant Goldeneye. The Black-throated Diver is also still in Holes Bay not far from the shore opposite Premier Inn, with a count of 21 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 500 Black-tailed Godwit, 750 Wigeon and 95 Oystercatcher in the SE. Reports from Lytchett Bay included 2 Green Sandpiper, 90 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 10 Snipe, 1 Spoonbill and 1 Peregrine. At RSPB Arne highlights from Coombe Heath were 2 White-tailed Eagle, 12 Spoonbill and 1 male Hen Harrier during the morning.

Spoonbill – Coombe Heath – Kate Plater.

Another stunning but very cold day in the harbour today with easterly winds making for a chilly but none the less successful Year-list Kickstarter Cruise. Great Northern Diver were again showing in good numbers with views all across the harbour including just off Poole Quay for a total of at least 14 throughout the harbour. The Wareham channel was very busy with an  element of low-tide providing views of c200 Dunlin, c150 Avocet, c100 Lapwing, c30 Grey Plover and 1 lone Spoonbill on the Gull Islands. At least 4 Marsh Harrier were over Keysworth and Swineham with 2 Pochard being on the gravel pit at Swineham. A real highlight of the trip were the great views of Goldeneye all round the harbour including 3 in the Wareham Channel and at least 8 others around South Deep.

Elsewhere in the harbour the Black-throated Diver was still showing well in Holes Bay this morning. 2 Great White Egret flew over Wareham Common along with 2 Goosander on the River Piddle here. The Black Redstart was still showing well today at Studland to the East of the Pig Inn viewable from the coastal footpath. 1 Slavonian Grebe was still in Brands Bay along with 50 Grey Plover, 420 Pintail, 300+ Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Knot and 17 Common Snipe.

Black Redstart – Studland – Rob Johnson

What stunning light it was today, perfect for photographers that have been waiting for the monochrome, dull, grey overcast sky of 2023 to finally disappear. It was therefore fortuitous that some of the harbours most charismatic species were on show, delighting those who were lucky enough to encounter them. Raptors were well represented today with Goshawk, Peregrine, Marsh and Hen Harrier, White-tailed Eagle and Merlin all registered around the Arne Peninsular. The White-tailed Eagle pair were in the Wareham Channel with both on Shag Looe around midday before then departing. The Black-throated Diver was showing well again in Holes Bay south, giving point blank views at times. Off Jerry’s Point and around Redhown the Long-tailed Duck was still feeding and there was at least 1 Slavonian Grebe there too (possibly up to 3). Once again it was Great Northern Diver galore with no less than 10 around Studland. A Black Redstart (the first for the 2023/24 autumn/winter period) was in Manor Road at Studland, near the Banks Arms. There was also 10+ Red-throated Diver out in Poole Bay, 5 Spoonbill in Lytchett Bay.

Peregrine Falcon – Arne Peninsular – Mark Wright

Goshawk – Arne Peninsular – Mark Wright

Hen Harrier – Arne Peninsular – Mark Wright

Over the last few years, Purple Sandpiper have been few and far between, however, finally, 2 were found today at North Haven, roosting on the third groyne north from the harbour entrance. Another great find today was the first Velvet Scoter of this winter period which was seen from Middle Beach distantly out in Studland Bay. 1 White-tailed Eagle flew over Wareham Common towards the harbour this morning, flushing 9 Cattle Egret. The Black-throated Diver was showing well again in Holes Bay South today. 3 Great Northern Diver were also seen off the Brownsea lagoon sea wall. Wader counts on Lagoon were lower this morning, but decent numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit, with 79 seen, with 9 Grey Plover, 9 Sanderling and 6 Greenshank amongst the other species counted. A higher count of 89 Bar-tailed Godwit were at Whitley Lake this morning and interestingly, 1 adult Peregrine was seen back on the “Barclays” building today. 1 Spoonbill was feeding in Lytchett Bay this morning and there was 1 Slavonian Grebe and 2 Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point. This evening, c.143 Gannet were counted during a sea watch from North Haven. Plus….the Waxwings are getting closer! There were 15+ in Southampton today. Our prediction is we’ll see some next week…..maybe.

Black-throated Diver – Holes Bay South – Tony Furnell

Wow, that was one hell of a down pour. So much so that it seemed every road bordering the harbour was flooded out. A shame really considering this morning was near perfect winter birding conditions. Best find was a new Black-throated Diver in Holes Bay south. The northern sector of Holes Bay was looking unbelievably rich on the low tide with masses of Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, 16 Knot, 1 Common Snipe and c50 Avocet. Holes Bay north has certainly become a wildfowl and wader hotspot over the last decade, attracting way more numbers than it ever used to, plus drawing in new ones too. Knot for example were always a Holes Bay rarity/scarcity but it’s now the best place to try and see them in the harbour, away from the Brownsea Lagoon on a high tide. There were also 2 Firecrest in woodland between Upton CP and Holes Bay NE and 24 Spoonbill were at Shipstal.

With only a few sightings today, we’d like to thank Garry Hayman for compiling some really interesting information that he’s gathered from the Middlebere Hide, an area we know many of you like to visit. He’s collected in the 2023 diary which many visitors write in and contribute to when they visit. Below are some notable sightings and dates that Garry has extracted whilst giving some comparisons to previous years from the same location. Garry has also installed a new 2024 diary and pen, so don’t forget to write your sightings in there next time you visit.

Middlebere Hide Diary Sightings 2024 – Garry Hayman

Despite the wind and white horses galloping and whisping over the surface of the water, our first Winter Safari and bird boat cruise of 2024 got off to a flying start with the White-tailed Eagle pair seen flying along the Hamworthy shoreline before then settling in the Wareham Channel. Female G466 then proceeded to start hunting not far off the side of the boat in search of fish along the eastern edge of the Wareham Channel. A fantastic sight for the start of the year. At Swineham there were 2-3 Marsh Harrier and Swineham GP hosted 18 Tufted Duck. There were Great Northern Diver everywhere again with a minimum of 9 out in central harbour and around the islands, with 12+ logged around the Studland Peninsular meaning there was a minimum of 21 about, however the North Channel and Whitley Lake wasn’t properly checked today so there could have been way more than that. The Brownsea Lagoon looked great and had c1000 Black-tailed Godwit, c60 Bar-tailed Godwit, c700 Dunlin, 7 Sanderling, c400 Avocet, c50 Grey Plover and good numbers of wildfowl spread across the lagoon. There were 26 Spoonbill on the Fitzworth shoreline and off Poole Quay, before we even left there was a Guillemot and Red-breasted Merganser feeding and Peregrine Falcon hunting overhead. Seen elsewhere but not from the cruise, the Long-tailed Duck was sheltering in Brands Bay and there were 2 Slavonian Grebe off Jerry’s Point. Off Middle Beach, Studland a Black-throated Diver was feeding and there were 6 Black-necked Grebe and a Common Scoter there too. A Great White Egret was off Goathorn, a ringtail Hen Harrier was in Lytchett Bay and 2 Spotted Redshank in Middlebere.

White-tailed Eagle G466 flying across Wareham Channel from Winter Safari Cruise – Alison Copland

Great Northern Diver – Central Harbour, from Winter Safari Cruise – Alison Copland

Sparrowhawk sat on Brownsea Lagoon sea wall, from Winter Safari Cruise – Alison Copland

Come on 2024, give us something a bit different…….please!! We ended the year with 3 months of storms and torrential rain, and have started the year with….well, storms and torrential rain. That said, we did notice a slightly lighter sky this evening when leaving the office just after 5pm, so things are on the up. The cold spell forecast for next week will hopefully? maybe? shake things up a bit. It’s going to be interesting to see if the storms over recent days have brought in more Great Northern Divers, and whether there’s another record total out there? There’s currently 10-15  around the Studland Peninsular alone at the moment, and with the harbour record broken last month on Dec 15th, with 25 logged there’s a good chance we could see that number toppled over the next week. Also today the Black-throated Diver was off Jerry’s Point again and the Long-tailed Duck was in Brands Bay with a decent count of 9 Goldeneye, there was 1 Slavonian Grebe off Redhorn and 5 Black-necked Grebe in Studland Bay. On Lytchett Fields there were 3 Spotted Redshank and the White-tailed Eagle pair were back in the harbour along the southern shores.

Little Egret – Poole Park