Highlight from yesterday was a Great White Egret that was found in front of the Harrier Hide that looks out across the Wytch Channel, along the Middlebere track. This discovery managed to break the record for longest saying Great White Egret ever found in Poole Harbour, breaking the previous record of 2.4 seconds! Thankfully this bird stayed a good couple of hours and was enjoyed by a handful of birders, where it then took off and was relocated to Little Sea, Studland where it probably roosted for the night. Where will it turn up next? It was very birdy elsewhere in the harbour starting at Brownsea where there were 22 Spoonbill, 57 Little Egret, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Knot, 2 Little Stint, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 9 Spotted Redshank, 10 Greenshank, 13 Curlew, 53 Dunlin, 20+ Ringed Plover, 3 Wheatear and 1 Yellow-legged Gull. The BoPH guided walk at Middlebere produced 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Whitethroat, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Osprey, 5 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier, 10+ Yellow Wagtail, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Sparrowhawk and a handful of Blackcap. There was a minimum of 4 Osprey in the harbour with 3 in and around the Wareham Channel during the morning and at the same time one in Brands Bay. Also during the Arne Raptor Weekend, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk were all recorded. At Lytchett Bay there was a Pied Flycatcher with 4 Spotted Flycatcher, also 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 1 Redstart, 150+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Little Stint, 4 Ruff, 2 Ringed Plover, 19 Knot, 1 Whimbrel and 9 Greenshank. Down at Swineham there was group of 6 Bearded Tit, also there, 1 Hobby, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 9 Chiffchaff and 4 Cetti’s Warbler. Up on Hartland there were 3 Whinchat with 8 Stonechat. A juvenile Cuckoo was seen in Middlebere, with another at Swineham.
What started off as a promising day, with overcast sky’s and an easterly air flow, soon descended into…
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