The weather this morning was shaping up to potentially produce a decent sea watch out in Poole Bay, however a 3-hour stint watching from Branksome Chine produced nothing more than 1 Red-throated Diver, 12 Wigeon, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Pintail, 8 Common Scoter, 1 dark-bellied Brent Goose, 2 Curlew, 6 Dunlin and 46 Gannet. Within the harbour, with wind and rain throughout the rest of the day sightings of much else were pretty limited but there were 5 Spoonbill, 2 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier and 1 Peregrine in Lytchett Bay.

Wigeon – Holes Bay

With the ENE wind continuing it was good to get some more vis-mig monitoring under our belt this morning with some pretty decent results. An amazing 17 Ring Ouzel were logged up on Ballard Down with 9 erupting out of one bush alone along the top of the ridge near Glebelands. The first passage Fieldfares were also logged with 3 over Lytchett Bay and 1 over South Haven. Other South Haven Vis-Mig totals included 1 Brambling, 222 Starling, 168 Redwing, 256 Siskin, 146 Goldfinch, 233 Linnet, 25 Lesser Redpoll and 2 Red-breasted Merganser entered the harbour at dawn. There were still 2 Osprey kicking about with 1 in Holes Bay for most of the afternoon and another in Brands Bay. In Stoborough 2 Cattle Egret were feeding with cows, and in Lytchett Bay there were 3 Spoonbill with a single Curlew Sandpiper hiding in amongst 264 Dunlin. A ringtail Hen Harrier and a Merlin were in Middlebere this morning, the White-tailed Eagle pair were also seen over there.

Cattle Egret – Stoborough – Sam Ryde

Ring Ouzel – Ballard Down – Nick Hopper

The forecast was gearing up to possibly provide some more decent visible migration this morning, although the forecast light NE breeze soon turned into a very strong easterly wind meaning the vis-mig that did get going soon faded away. There was some passage though and up on Ballard and at South Haven some moderate returns were had. Up on Ballard there were 936 Siskin, 658 Goldfinch, 535 Linnet, 29 Lesser Redpoll, 92 Swallow, 1 Brambling and a Reed Bunting. Also seen up there were 2 Firecrest, 1 Merlin and 2 Ring Ouzel. At the harbour mouth at South Haven there was another Ring Ouzel, plus 5 Redwing, 11 Song Thrush, 363 Siskin, 104 Goldfinch, 95 Linnet, 92 Lesser Redpoll, 34 Meadow Pipit, 20 Swallow and 3 Reed Bunting. A Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl were seen at Swineham and at Lytchett Fields this morning a Spotted Redshank was on the fields and a Cattle Egret flew over Lytchett Bay View.

Sanderling – Studland – Mark Wright

There are lots of things people find glorious. The light of a sunrise, the light of a sunset, vivid flower displays…God!? But what about the glory of finch migration?! When the end of the autumn migration period starts creeping into sight, many birders begin prepping themselves for cold early morning starts, and tuning their eyes and ears for an exciting and final passage of birds along our Dorset coastlines before winter takes grip. This final passage of birds is referred to as the vis-mig (visible migration) season and having looked at the forecast for the coming weeks we could be in for a treat. Northerly winds often provide the passage of birds we’re seeking, but north easterlies are undoubtedly the best. The main bulk of birds tend to be finch species. Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Greenfinch, Crossbill, Lesser Redpoll and Brambling are all in the mix and they’re all being identified by sound. Often tagging along are good numbers of Skylark, Grey and alba Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, and as October progresses we can also be treated to some decent thrush movements with several thousand each of Redwing and Song Thrush and lesser numbers of Fieldfare, Blackbird and occasional Ring Ouzel. Then, there’s the scarcities and rarities with birds like Snow and Lapland Bunting, Hawfinch, Twite, Little Bunting and Richards Pipit on all our radars. All in all is an exciting, although often tricky birding discipline to learn, but when you do finally strike lucky and witness and experience this magical birding phenomenon, then you too could become engrossed in the glory of finch migration.

These birds are often traveling through narrow, invisible migration corridors, and there are definitely hotspots to try. Durlston CP is one of the best places in the county (and country) along with Hengistbury Head. Here in the harbour our vis-mig hot spots are at South Haven, Studland and on the top of Ballard Down. Thats not to say there aren’t more, and in fact, we’ve recently learnt thats there’s likely another decent vis-mig channel off Swineham Point, between the mouths of the two rivers.

With a north wind kicking in last night, some of our team were out this morning to see what was on the move. At South Haven, Studland there were 124 Siskin, 2 Brambling, 11 Lesser Redpoll, 42 Linnet, 4 Redwing, 13 Chaffinch, 6 Goldfinch and 17 Meadow Pipit. Following the same flight line north across the harbour mouth was 1 Merlin, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Common Snipe. Through the harbour entrance were 27 freshly arrived dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great White Egret and 4 Little Egret and on Shell Beach were 7 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin and 16 Turnstone. Meanwhile, up on Ballard, also heading north were 63 Lesser Redpoll, 15 Crossbill, 177 Siskin, 2 Brambling, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Ring Ouzel and a nice bonus Short-eared Owl. No doubt we’ll be out more over the coming days and weeks to see if the passage builds during the month.

Elsewhere around the harbour today saw 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Spotted Redshank and a Great White Egret in Middlebere with the Forster’s Tern moving between Shipstal and Middlebere all day. There were c50 Spoonbill on Brownsea and an amazing 13 Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost with a Merlin. The White-tailed Eagle pair were in the Wareham Channel, a Wheatear was at RSPB Arne. It was also the Poole Harbour WeBS today and it was great to see the first Avocet ‘packs’ feeding together in their usual favoured feeding areas off Shipstal and in the mouth of Middlebere and Wytch Lake. There were already decent numbers of Wigeon and Teal across all sectors and there was a good count of 34 Knot off Round Island. At Lytchett Bay/Fields there were 7 Green Sandpiper, 1 Merlin and 2 Spotted Redshank. Finally there was a good candidate for an eastern/Siberian Lesser Whitethroat seen on Rempstone before WeBS but it soon disappeared unfortunately.

Avocet flock – Wytch Lake 

A colder but brighter day today made for an excellent Autumn Safari Cruise this morning. After the bad weather yesterday some birds were deciding to head on migration including an Osprey which came up off Brownsea and began circling high in the sky. Another was seen in the Wareham Channel heading towards Middlebere, presumably 511, which was seen later eating a fish at Coombe Heath. There were sightings of Osprey over Lake Pier and also in Holes bay so at least 3 birds still in the harbour today. Also from the boat this morning we saw 2 Marsh Harrier over Arne Moors and Swineham as well as 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Snipe and several migrating Meadow Pipit and Skylark. On Brownsea 5 Spoonbill gave a good flyover in addition to 45 being on the Lagoon. Also present were 5 Grey Plover, c200 Avocet, 7 Greenshank, 1 Kingfisher, and 1 juvenile male Sparrowhawk.

In the Middlebere Channel alongside Osprey 511 were 1 Great White Egret, 1 Goshawk and a flyover Red Kite. Lytchett Fields had 1 Marsh Harrier, as well as 16 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank and 1 Curlew Sandpiper. The Forster’s Tern was still at Shipstal point, RSPB Arne. The Cormorant roost is also building up in the harbour with over 300 coming in to roost in the Piddle valley.

Osprey 511 – Middlebere – Mark Wright

Great White Egret – Middlebere Channel – Mark Wright

Another excellent school bird boat round the harbour this morning with some very good species to show the kids. The first passage Red-throated Diver of the season was in the Wareham Channel and all the children got their binoculars on it with encouraging levels of enthusiasm! An Osprey also flew over the boat along the Arne shoreline, unfortunately it was while the kids were eating their snacks downstairs! Luckily good views of at least 2 Marsh Harrier around Swineham made up for this. On the Brownsea Lagoon the Spoonbill gave great views with 74 being present along with c150 Avocet, 10+ Grey Plover and c200 Oystercatcher. From Poole Quay 2 Ringed Plover were on the rocks and a Peregrine flew over the town.

Elsewhere in the harbour at Lytchett Fields there were 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank and 3 Greenshank. The 1 Red-breasted Merganser was still in Brands Bay along with 1 juvenile Osprey, 1 Peregrine, 5 Pintail, 1 Avocet, 6 Grey Plover, 2 Sanderling, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Red Knot and 1 Greenshank. In Holes Bay 1 Spoonbill and 1 Cattle Egret were present NW first thing, but they soon departed and a Peregrine was seen hunting in the area. A Ruff was on the scrapes at Swineham and the Forster’s Tern is still around, showing well at Shipstal from RSPB Arne.

One of two Sanderling – Brands Bay – @HargraveClive on Twitter

It was great to get our School Bird Boat program going today with our first outing of the season seeing us take out Stoborough Primary School. It’s always good to get the kids connected to decent birds and this morning they were treated to 2-3 Marsh Harrier and a Great White Egret at Swineham, c250 Cormorant feeding in the Wareham Channel, 64 Spoonbill, c150 Avocet and c200 Oystercatcher on the Brownsea Lagoon and 2 Sandwich Tern at Poole Quay. It was frustrating they didn’t arrive for their trip a few minutes earlier as an Osprey flew over Poole Quay and headed towards Holes Bay as we were getting the boat prepped for the trip. In Holes Bay this morning the Great White Egret was feeding in the NE section again along with the Spoonbill and a Cattle Egret also flew over the bay mid-morning where there were c300 Wigeon, c400 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Rock Pipit were back along the cycle path. At Lytchett Bay there was 2 Great White Egret on the fields and 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, 175 Dunlin, 10+Greenshank, 150 Black-tailed Godwit, 137 Redshank, 130 Wigeon, 300 Teal, 2 Great Crested Grebe and a White-tailed Eagle out in the bay. A juvenile Hobby flew over the harbour entrance.

Great White Egret – Holes Bay – Rene Goad

The first Redwing of the season have arrived with birds both heard over night and seen in the Harbour today including, Lytchett Bay, Holes Bay and Upton. Other good records as well with 7 Great White Egret seen in Holes Bay, closely followed by a single Spoonbill. 1 Hobby and 1 Firecrest were also present here. The first Red-breasted Merganser of the autumn also arrived in today at Brands Bay as well as 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Pintail and 10 Greenshank being present. At Lytchett Fields RSPB there were 1 Red Knot, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Snipe, 19 Greenshank, 1 Peregrine and 1 Marsh Harrier. Middlebere had a similarly good mix of waders as well with 30 Avocet, 1 Ringed Plover, 11 Grey Plover, 3 Red Knot and 3 Spotted Redshank. On Hartland Moor there was 1 Woodlark and 1 flyover Lesser Redpoll.

Lots of thrush movement going on at the moment with the first Redwing arrivals as well as many Ring Ouzel being reported throughout the county so it’s worth looking in the coming days to find any within the harbour.

Immature Spoonbill – Holes Bay – @petey632 on Twitter