This morning we hosted our first Winter Safari of the season, and the trip title certainly lived up to it’s name with a chilly easterly wind whipping across the harbour. The bird list also fitted the bill as more winter birds begin arrive into the harbour. In Ower Bay a Slavonian Grebe was feeding with 4 Red-breasted Merganser and in the Wareham Channel 5 Black-necked Grebe were off Shag Looe. The Brownsea Lagoon held 31 Spoonbill and another 8 were off Fitzworth on the mud banks, plus there were 12 Greenshank, c50 Avocet, c30 dark-bellied Brent Geese, c15 Bar-tailed Godwit and c200 Dunlin also on Brownsea.  Swineham was Marsh Harrier central with a minimum of 6 moving between Swineham, Giggers Island, Keysworth and Arne Moors and up on the Stilt Pools at Swineham, 2 Ruff were feeding with the Lapwing flock and a 1st winter Peregrine was also hunting Shelduck off Giggers island. There was an amazing FOUR White-tailed Eagles in Brands Bay too, which consisted of our local pair G466 and G463 plus two new arrivals in the shape of two 2-year olds from the IOW project named (confusingly) G644 and G641. Elsewhere male Osprey ‘511’ continued his long stay in the harbour by eating another large flatfish in Middlebere. A ringing session at Lytchett Bay this morning produced a really late Reed Warbler which was checked and double checked to make sure it was nothing rarer, plus a Yellow-browed Warbler. A Black Redstart was in a Parkstone Garden this morning which isn’t a surprise as there seems to be good numbers along the Dorset coast this late Autumn, and there’s a good chance there are more out there to be found! At Holmebridge an amazing 59 Cattle Egret were feeding just west of the bridge and a Great White Egret was feeding on the floodplain next to the road along the Wareham bypass. On the Asda building at Holes Bay 2 Peregrine were on the block of flats, including what looks like a new colour-ringed individual, with a red ring (and white lettering?) on the left leg. It would be good to try and confirm the ring number if anyone’s in town shopping over the next few days/weeks.

Slavonian Grebe – Ower Bay – Alison Copland

Reed Warbler – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson

Yellow-browed Warbler – Lytchett Bay – Shaun Robson