After yesterdays very brief Velvet Scoter which disappeared almost as fast as it was found off Jerry’s Point, there was an even briefer Long-tailed Duck this evening which also appeared and then disappeared off Jerry’s Point. Maybe this is becoming Poole Harbours equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle, where all good birds just vanish for eternity. It’s a good job the Surf Scoter hasn’t entered the harbour yet then, having remained off Middle Beach, Studland for all of it’s stay so far, where it was still present today along with 1 Black-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver and 12 Common Scoter and 2 Black-necked Grebe. Off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Great Northern Diver, 40 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Goldeneye, 28 Red-breasted Merganser and 11 Spoonbill were off the Furzey foreshore. It’s been a great winter so far for variety of open water, diving species with all 3 species of diver, 3 species of scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Goldeneye, Eider and Goosander all logged between Nov 1st and Dec 3rd, plus 4 of the 5 grebe species with Red-necked Grebe being the only absentee for the list. Elsewhere the White-tailed Eagles were seen in Brands Bay and later in the day in the Wareham Channel. A Purple Sandpiper was on a groyne directly off the Sandbanks main beach car park and an over-wintering Common Sandpiper was seen in Lytchett Bay with a Spotted Redshank. 

Avocet – Middlebere