As the weather calmed down, and a mild, Christmas stillness settled across the harbour this afternoon, there was plenty to be cheerful for today with all the favourites from the last few weeks putting in an appearance. Plus, when our local White-tailed Eagle pair aren’t playing ball, it’s always good to rely on another one or two to fill the void, which is what happened this afternoon when 2 juvenile White-tailed Eagles appeared over Brands Bay, heading south over Greenlands Farm. This evening 35 Cattle Egret flew in over Wareham train station, heading towards the Swineham roost. The 2 Black-throated Diver were off Baiter/Whitecliff again and 3 Great Northern Diver flew into the harbour this morning whilst 2 were out in Studland Bay. The 1st winter male Eider was off Redhorn Quay again as was 1 Slavonian Grebe and this morning an adult male Hen Harrier flew through Lytchett Bay.

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle – Brands Bay – Mark Wright

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle – Nope, not the highlands of Scotland, but Brands Bay – Mark Wright

With a much calmer feel across the harbour today, it allowed for some tranquil birding, even though the bird list from the last few days remained pretty much the same, with both Black-throated Divers still off Baiter/Whitecliff, in-between Redhorn Quay and Jerry’s Point the 1st winter male Eider was still there, plus 3-4 Great Northern Diver, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 6 Black-necked Grebe, 3 Goldeneye, 21 Red-breasted Merganser and 21 Great Crested Grebe. In Brands Bay the Pintail flock was large again and logged 452 in total. It would be great if it could hit the 500 mark over the New Year. Out in Studland Bay/Middle Beach tehre were 3-4 Great Northern Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe and 12 Common Scoter. Spoonbill were dotted around again with 3 in Middlebere, 9 at RSPB Arne, 3 at Lytchett Bay and 2 in the Wareham Channel. A ringtail Hen Harrier was in Middlebere this morning and both White-tailed Eagles were around Ballard this afternoon.

Spoonbills – Middlebere – David Turner

A blustery, cold, cold day, with the wind feeling really icy on fingers and faces. Still lots of good birds around though with the Long-tailed Duck in-between Green Island and Goathorn where there were also 2 Great Northern Diver. The 2 Black-throated Diver were still off Baiter/Whitecliff and 2 Red-throated Diver were off Jerry’s Point. The 1st winter male Eider was off Redhorn Quay with 5 Goldeneye and 1 Great Northern Diver. A new Yellow-browed Warbler was found in the Lower Piddle Valley, behind Swineham and 2 Ruff were with the Lapwing flock there. There were 2 Spoonbill over Middlebere this morning and 16 off Gold Point, RSPB Arne. Off Middle Beach, Studland there were 3 Great Northern Diver, 5 Black-necked Grebe and 10 Common Scoter. 

Northern Pintail – Poole Harbour south – Mark Wright

With most people out Christmas shopping on the last Saturday before Christmas Day, sightings today were a little bit limited, but despite the building gusts, various areas were still watched and surveyed. There was a count of 41 Cattle Egret at Holmebridge this afternoon and a Great White Egret on Wareham Common. Off Jerry’s point the 1st winter male Eider was still about and 6 Goldeneye, 2 Great Northern Diver and 2 Black-necked Grebe were also logged. There was also another big count of Pintail in Brands Bay totalling 412. Out in Studland Bay there were 4 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver and 12 Common Scoter. Lytchett Bay/Fields saw 6 Spoonbill, 1 Hen Harrier and 1 Spotted Redshank. There was also a male Hen Harrier seen in Middlebere.

Firecrest – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

It was a stunning start to the day, with a cold, crisp (and dare we say it) Christmassy feel to it, but it soon deteriorated to more wind and rain, making birding tricky. This morning the 2 Black-throated Diver were both still off the Whitecliff/Baiter footpath and there was a real sign of the times when a Great White Egret dropped into Poole Park lake where both Mandarin Duck were still present. Off Redhorn Quay/Brands Bay there was a good count of 10 Goldeneye, plus 2 Great Northern Diver, a massive 374 Pintail and the 1st winter male Eider had moved round to there. In Middlebere a male Merlin landed on a post in front of the Middlebere lookout and 3 Marsh Harrier were in also in Middlebere and a lone Spotted Redshank was in Lytchett Bay.

Great White Egret – Poole Park – Clive Hargrave

Merlin – Middlebere – Alison Copland

The day started grim, turned nice for a few minutes, then went grim again, which was a shame as it was our last ‘Bird Boat’ of the calendar year. We didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits though and a good haul of birds were seen with 2 Black-throated Diver bobbing around in the North Channel, 1 Red-throated Diver off Gold Point and 3-4 Great Northern Diver dotted around. We had 7 Spoonbill in the Wareham Channel, a Water Pipit was off Swineham Point with 2 Marsh Harrier in that area too and a Barnacle Goose was on Arne Moors. In South Deep 2 Black-necked Grebe were bobbing about with 2 Goldeneye off Jerry’s Point and an adult male Peregrine was causing havoc in Arne Bay, upsetting c200 Curlew. In the mouth of the Frome there were c300 Avocet and the Brownsea Lagoon saw a whopping c2000 Herring Gull coming into roost. This morning there was still at least 1 Purple Sandpiper on the Sandbanks groynes, the Long-tailed Duck flew into the harbour this morning bang on 8am again along with 7 Great Northern Diver. A male Hen Harrier was seen in Lytchett Bay this morning and both White-tailed Eagles were hunkered down in Brands Bay this evening in the driving rain, keeping a low profile.

Red-breasted Merganser – South Deep

It was good to receive news today of the first record of ‘multiple’ Purple Sandpiper at Sandbanks in several years. In recent years they’ve been almost totally absent from this traditional area, with just a few records of lone, short-staying individuals over the last couple of years. There was an excellent count of c35 at Hengistbury on Sunday, so there’s a good chance we could even see a few more over the rest of the winter? Also off Sandbanks today were 3 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Razorbill, 2 Guillemot and a light passage of Mediterranean Gulls. The juv male Eider was off the Houseboats again in Bramble Bush Bay and off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 3 Black-necked Grebe and 3 Goldeneye. Off Middle Beach, Studland 11 Common Scoter remained and 3 Black-necked Grebe and 2 Great Northern Diver were spread across the bay. A lone Cattle Egret flew over Carey Secret Garden and a Black-throated Diver was off Whitecliff/Baiter again.

Purple Sandpiper – Sandbanks 

Purple Sandpiper – Sandbanks 

1st winter male Eider – Bramble Bush Bay – Mick Brooks

With a few Song Thrush already moving on up through the gears in regards to building their spring song, which is typical for mild mornings in late December/early January, it was a total shock upon visiting the PCW Drain this morning to also find 4 Common Chiffchaff in total full song making it feel more like late March rather than a week before Christmas. In total there were around 15 Common Chiffchaff when eventually a Siberian Chiffchaff was also found at the top end. They’ve been notable by their absence the last few years here, despite having always been a reliable site for this species. Just down the road from there in Upton CP a flock of 35 Redwing were feeding, which have also been pretty scarce this winter with only tiny flocks noted in a few areas with the same going for Fieldfare of which there were c30 at Hartland Moor. Off Jerry’s Point the Slavoniain Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebe and 3 Great Northern Diver were counted, a ringtail Hen Harrier, 1 White-tailed Eagle and 2 Spotted Redshank were in Middlebere and out in Studland Bay there were 8 Common Scoter. A female Eider in Bramble bush Bau was new in and there were 3 Great Northern Diver off Pilot’s Point, Studland Bay.

Redwing – Upton CP – Rene Goad