The overcast dawn and light rain in the air made things feel very different from the warm, windy days of late, but it also felt perfect for a few new migrants to ‘drop in’. Perhaps a Hoopoe or a Red-rumped Swallow? No…neither of those, but instead a very wintery Pink-footed Goose! These have been incredibly rare in the harbour over the last few decades, with the last confirmed record in 2017 of one very briefly at Holmebridge. It was first found in Lytchett Bay this morning, but soon flew off towards the Wareham Channel direction where it was re-found this evening off Swineham Point with 4 Canada Geese. A great spring record and seemingly the first ever April record for the area. There was also a good number of hirundines over Swineham GP this evening, mostly Sand Martin, but with Swallow mixed in too. There was another good ‘harbour north’ record today with a Little Ringed Plover in the NE sector of Holes Bay which flew off calling east over McDonalds. This is only the 3rd site record for Little Ringed Plover at Holes Bay and shows that a bit of cloud and light rain really does bring the birds down. There were 2 un-ringed Osprey about, with the female (Beaky) on the Middlebere nest platform pretty much all day, and another eating a fish at Morden Bog. Red Kite were moving around once again with 3 at Lytchett Bay, 4 over Wareham Common and  2 over RSPB Arne. The Forster’s Tern was once again on the Brownsea Lagoon.

Pink-footed Goose – Swineham Point – James Leaver

Hello April! The year is already flying by and the sun continues to shine. More migrants are arriving and this morning saw the first proper (small) pulse of Swallows arrive with c20 seen flying north across the surface of the water this morning from our Spring Safari Cruise. The stiff ENE wind made things tricky, but we certainly weren’t left wanting, and manged to also log the 1st winter Little Gull at Swineham, along with 1 male Bearded Tit at Swineham Point, plus c800 summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Red Kite over, 1 House Martin, c80 Sand Martin and we also managed to witness a food pass (of a rat?) between a male and female Marsh Harrier. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Forster’s Tern showed really well at the northern end along with c200 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Avocet, 5 Grey Plover, 4 Ringed Plover, 4 Sanderling and c40 Sandwich Terns. There were several different Osprey around the harbour today, all un-ringed, with individuals seen at Middlebere, the Wareham channel and Morden Bog.

Marsh Harrier food pass – Sue Ketteridge

Sandwich Tern – Shipstal – Sue Ketteridge

Forster’s Tern, Sandwich Terns, Black-headed Gull and Mediterranean Gulls – Brownsea Lagoon – Sue Ketteridge

Black-tailed Godwits – Wareham Channel – Sue Ketteridge 

Osprey – Morden Bog – Ian Ballam