Sightings have been few and far between today, but a busy count on Brownsea Lagoon this morning with 1088 Black-tailed Godwit, 326 Avocet, 1666 Dunlin, 73 Grey Plover, 15 Knot and 64 Redshank, with a Peregrine putting up all of the birds. The male Hen Harrier was seen again at Lytchett Fields this morning, and a male Merlin was also reported from Rock Lea View perched in the salt marsh in Lytchett Bay. 2 Black-necked Grebe were present in Studland Bay this afternoon. This afternoon the Long-tailed Duck was off Redhorn Quay, Brands Bay where there was also 1 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 18 Great Crested Grebe and 14 Red-breasted Merganser.
Poole Harbour sightings blog
A record of all interesting and notable sightings from around the harbour throughout the year.
Latest Sightings
Harbour Update – posted 27/11/23
Harbour Update – posted 26/11/23
What a difference 12 hours makes. When we went to bed it was still cold, and crisp with a bright clear moonlit sky. When we woke up the drizzle had arrived and the rest of the day din’t much improve. The best from the day was 9 Cattle Egret that flew past Rock Lea View at Lytchett Bay and 3 Spoonbill were in the bay this evening. There was also 1 Water Pipit at Lytchett Fields and the male Hen Harrier was also in and around the Lytchett Fields/Bay area for the morning. In Studland Bay there were 4 Great Northern Diver on the water and a minimum of 3 Black-necked Grebe plus there was a Slavonian Grebe in Brands Bay. The weather really hampered WeBS efforts today, with limited visibility and constant rain which is a shame considering the weather yesterday.
Harbour Update – posted 25/11/23
The harbour was at it’s very best today, bar a few exceptions (Red-necked Grebe for example), it provided everything you could possibly hope for from a winter days birding. Yes the calm weather helped, but when conditions like this occur, not only does it deliver new birds, it also allows for great coverage and today pretty much every corner of the harbour was observed returning a great mix of species. We’ll start with our Low-tide Cruise this afternoon which produced an incredible 24 Great Northern Diver spread across the entirety of the harbour. We were then treated to great views of a Black-throated Diver close to the harbour entrance and then 2 Red-throated Diver close to the boat in central harbour. There was a single Goldeneye off Pottery Pier, 1 Black-necked Grebe in Brands Bay, c20 Red-breasted Merganser in central harbour, 2 Kingfisher, the White-tailed Eagle pair were in the Wareham Channel, a ringtail Hen Harrier flew across in front of the boat in the Wareham Channel and there was also an adult male and female Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel. We also only logged 1 Spoonbill (also in the Wareham Channel), c200 Avocet off Fitzworth, c400 dark-bellied Brent Geese around the harbour fringes, 1 Great White Egret (in the Wareham Channel), c400 sinensis Cormorant, c300 Black-tailed Godwit and really good numbers of typical winter birds such as Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Redshank. The best bird of the day was a newly arrived Long-tailed Duck in Brands Bay late this afternoon and there were singles of Slavonian Grebe off Jerry’s Point and off Middle Beach Studland. Also off Middle Beach were 7 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver and 4 Common Scoter. The male Hen Harrier was doing the rounds being viewed at Swineham, Lytchett Bay and Middlebere, as was the female ringtail Hen Harrier which was also seen at the same locations. This morning 3 Great White Egret settled in Lytchett Bay and 5 Cattle Egret headed up the Frome Valley just after dawn. There was a single Brambling in Arne Village and at Middlebere 1 Merlin, 1 Spotted Redshank and 6 Spoonbill. Fieldfare were moving around in small numbers this morning, there were also 7 Cattle Egret logged over Wareham Common, 1 Spotted Redshank was in Holes Bay and 12 Spoonbill were in Lytchett Bay this afternoon.
Black-throated Diver – South Deep, from Low-tide Cruise – Dorothy Windall
Red-throated Diver – South Deep, from Low-tide Cruise – Dorothy Windall
Great Northern Diver, from Low-tide Cruise – North Channel
Goshawk – RSPB Arne – Mark Wright
Great White Egrets – Lytchett Bay – Alison Copland
Harbour Update – posted 24/11/23
The cold snap certainly kicked in today which will hopefully deliver a few more birds. Strangely a small late push of Wood Pigeon went through just after sunrise with c2000 going over Lytchett Bay, but it didn’t look or sound like many others were moving elsewhere. With the northerly wind a flock of c80 Fieldfare arrived in over Lytchett Minster and were being followed by a female Merlin. There was both an adult male Hen Harrier and female ringtail Hen Harrier in Lytchett Bay this morning and an adult (perhaps the same) male Hen Harrier at Swineham this afternoon. The Great Northern Diver and Common Scoter were in Lytchett Bay again, there were 2 Great Northern Diver in central harbour and another off Jerry’s Point.
Harbour Update – posted 23/11/23
Our first Intro to Urban Birding Walk at Holes Bay this afternoon was very successful in the early evening sun. As we looked out onto the rising tide there were huge flocks of waders swirling around including c1600 Black-tailed Godwit, c200 Avocet and c300 Dunlin. A Red Kite slowly soared west over the bay as well as a couple of Common Buzzard. Short views of 1 Kingfisher darting past were well received as well as distant views of c30 Pintail and 500+ Wigeon.
An adult Peregrine was seen on the Brownsea Lagoon feeding on a Wigeon as well as 14 Spoonbill, 211 Avocet, 336 Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit and 9 Greenshank. At Lytchett Fields this morning were 2 Great White Egret and a grey male Hen Harrier as well as 1 Great Northern Diver still in Lytchett Bay. 3 Common Scoter were seen off South Haven, Studland and 2 Black-necked Grebe off Middle Beach. Middlebere had c300 Avocet, 4 Grey Plover, c200 Dunlin and 2 White-tailed Eagle.
Afternoon Sun at Holes Bay
Harbour Update – posted 22/11/23
It was beautifully calm, cold winter day but sightings wise it was a bit thin on the ground. Out in Studland Bay there were 6 Black-necked Grebe and 6 Common Scoter. Off Jerry’s Point there were 3 Great Northern Diver and the Black-throated Diver was in the River Frome again off the footpath at Swineham Point, as you look south out down the river. At Rockley viewpoint a White-tailed Eagle was just off the beach then settled over on the Arne shoreline and in Lytchett Bay a male Hen Harrier was over the fields and the Common Scoter and Great Northern Diver were still in the bay. Also, a ringing session targeting Water Pipit at Lytchett Bay saw success with 3 new birds colour-ringed as part of a national Water Pipit colour ringing scheme.
Harbour Update – posted 21/11/23
It properly began to feel like winter today as the wind swung round from the north, delivering us a consistent and chilly breeze all day. The birds didn’t seem to care with various areas offering some top birding despite the cold. Up on Ballard down a small, ringtail harrier sp drifted in along the ridge and headed west. Sadly it couldn’t be confirmed to species, but it’s size and structure suggested that Pallid Harrier was a possibility. It frustratingly drifted out of view pretty quickly, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye out for over the coming days. Also up on Ballard were 2 late Swallow, 2 Brambling, a good count of 363 Chaffinch and best of all a flyover Snow Bunting. Our Winter Safari this morning produced the goods right around the harbour with a great mix of birds. This included a Black-throated Diver at Swineham, in the river just off the public footpath, 8 Great Northern Diver spread around with 3 in central harbour, 3 near the harbour mouth and 2 in the Wareham Channel, 2 distant Slavonian Grebe off Round Island, 1 Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point, 3 Eider off Brownsea north shore, 5 Marsh Harrier at Swineham including 2 displaying high over Giggers Island, 1 Goshawk hunting over Rempstone, 16 Spoonbill off Fitzworth, 1 Great White Egret over Swineham GP and c10 Bearded Tit at Swineham Point, c300 Avocet, c10 Ringed Plover, 7 Greenshank, c30 Bar-tailed Godwit, c300 Eurasian Teal, c15 Curlew and a mix of Gadwall, Wigeon and Shoveler all on the Brownsea Lagoon. There were also c300 Dunlin in the Wareham Channel and another c500 in Brands Bay where there were also 3 Goldeneye and another Great Northern Diver plus a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen at RSPB Arne.
Black-throated Diver at Swineham from Winter Safari Cruise – Robin Morrison
Eider in Central Harbour from Winter Safari Cruise – Clive Hargrave
Spoonbill and Fisherman off Fitzworth from Winter Safari Cruise – Annabel Sharpe
Goshawk causing havoc over Ower Bay from Winter Safari Cruise – Annabel Sharpe
Harbour Update – posted 20/11/23
A typical mid-late November day with some good counts, certainly in the Holes Bay area where there were 1305 Wigeon, 238 Teal, 211 Shoveler (a likely site record), 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Kingfisher. Off Middle Beach Studland it was much of the same with 3 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Black-necked Grebe and 6 Common Scoter. In Brands Bay this afternoon 1 Great Northern Diver, 28 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Black-necked Grebe and 36 Red-breasted Merganser were in the pre-roost. The Common Scoter and Great Northern Diver were STILL in Lytchett Bay and it seems there’s currently more Fieldfare around than Redwing this year with a decent flock of 70-100 Fieldfare around Middlebere in recent days but only a handful of Redwing are being logged.
Harbour Update – posted 19/11/23
We had an excellent but blowy Winter Safari Cruise this morning with gusts of up to 45mph! But those who braved it were rewarded throughout the trip with a Kingfisher and Great Northern Diver to start, just close off Poole Quay while we were loading on to the boat. As we then headed up the Wareham Channel 5+ Marsh Harrier were wheeling around over Swineham and Arne Moors as well as the first Black-throated Diver of the season, a juvenile just off the Keysworth shoreline. The action continued with an adult male Hen Harrier heading up the channel and into Arne Moors. We were just about to return to the main harbour when a juvenile Peregrine was seen mobbing a Marsh Harrier off Keysworth and was soon joined by a White-tailed Eagle meaning all three birds of prey could be seen in one view interacting with each other!
2 Eider were still in Central Harbour along with several Red-breasted Merganser and 2 more Great Northern Diver. We finished at the Brownsea Lagoon where thousands of waders were roosting at high tide including c300 Avocet, c400 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Grey Plover, c200 Dunlin, c20 Ringed Plover and 2 Greenshank.
In Lytchett Bay today was 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Common Scoter and a ringtail Hen Harrier.
Juvenile Black-throated Diver from our Winter Safari Cruise – Andy Ryde
White-tailed Eagle and Marsh Harrier from our Winter Safari – Andy Ryde
Harbour Update – posted 18/11/23
A pretty uninspiring day with the wind and rain, although a few folk made it out it seems. Off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Great Northern Diver and off Middle Beach at least 1 Black-necked Grebe. The Common Scoter and Great Northern Diver were still in Lytchett Bay and at Middlebere a flock of c50 Fieldfare were roving around and there were some more late Swallows with 2 at Middlebere and 1 at Hartland. A Short-eared Owl was battling the wind around Middlebere this evening and 4 Marsh Harrier were at Swineham. The White-tailed Eagle pair were around the Wareham Channel area this morning.
Fieldfare – Middlebere – Mark Wright
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