More winter arrivals today with the seasons first ringtail Hen Harrier seen briefly at Swineham today, Plus, another Short-eared Owl was active this evening just south of Corfe Castle. This afternoon 73 Spoonbill were on the Brownsea Lagoon, a Great White Egret was in Brands Bay and in Holes Bay wildfowl numbers really increased with 782 Wigeon, 361 Teal, 38 Shoveler and 19 Pintail. There were 3 Spotted Redshank on Lytchett Fields this afternoon and this morning Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Common Redshank were all feeding together in Lytchett Bay, giving a nice comparison with 3 Spoonbill feeding off Otter Point in the bay.

Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Common Redshank – Lytchett Bay

With what looked like was going to be a rainy, damp Autumn Safari this AM actually turned out OK weather-wise, and the birding….even better. Winter is certainly creeping up on us fast, and with 5 newly arrived Eider in the Wareham Channel this morning (including 3 drakes), it may be coming sooner than we think. This is a really odd record for this area of the harbour, but it just goes to show how much of a ‘drop in’ zone the Wareham Channel is having had Eider, Common Scoter and Black-necked Grebe all present here in the last few weeks. The winter theme didn’t end there with 7 dark-bellied Brent Geese feeding along the Shipstal shoreline. Thankfully there were still some signs of summer with 2 Osprey hunting along the southern shores, in and around Newton Bay. This attracted the attention of the White-tailed Eagles, where once again we were treated to an epic chase with male eagle G463 relentlessly pursuing one of the Ospreys over Newton Bay, until it dropped it’s fish, only for the eagle to drop down, grab it, and head off towards Brands Bay. We also found female eagle G466 sitting in trees on the edge of Furzey Island, an area we’ve never seen her sit before. The Brownsea Lagoon was packed and we had 65 Spoonbill roosting, with another 3 flying straight past the boat. Also on the lagoon were c30 Avocet, 3 Greenshank, just 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, c30 Dunlin, c10 Ringed Plover, 5 Rock Pipit and 2 Stonechat. At Swineham there were at least 2 different Marsh Harrier flying around and a small number of Bearded Tit were calling the reed beds. A single Redwing flew over Swineham. Elsewhere a Black Tern was in Middlebere briefly and a Ruff was on the Lower Piddle Floods.

Black Tern – Middlebere – Mark Wright

Female White-tailed Eagle G466 resting on Furzey shore – Alison Copland – From our Autumn Safari this AM

Spoonbill flock on Brownsea Lagoon – Alison Copland – From our Autumn Safari this AM

Eider – Wareham Channel – John Thorp – From our Autumn Safari this AM

With the wind swinging round this morning to a brisk SE breeze, it well and truly stopped any migration from the north in its tracks. Therefore it was fairly limited for sightings today. The Holes Bay Cattle Egret flock left at dawn and flew over Lytchett Bay at 07:10 with 24 flying over. The Spotted Redshank was still on Lytchett Fields and there were 2 Marsh Harrier. In Middlebere 2 Great White Egret were feeding as were 6 Spotted Redshank and c260 Avocet, 3 Marsh Harrier were moving around, 1 Osprey as seen hunting and the White-tailed Eagle pair were seen high above Shipstal. On the Lower Piddle Floods 2 Ruff were feeding with Lapwing and a Hobby was hunting there too.

Marsh Harrier – Middlebere – Mark Wright

Autumn roles on, as do the season firsts. This morning up on Ballard Down the harbours first Ring Ouzel of the autumn was seen in scrub along the top ridge, and last night the first 6 Redwing passed over, calling as they went. This is now the final phase of autumn migration with the autumn/winter thrushes now arriving, with autumn migration having started all those months ago back in early July when the first Green Sandpipers started to appear. Through October, with the winter thrush’s come finches too and up on Ballard 417 Goldfinch were logged, but only a handful of Linnet and Siskin. After yesterdays Yellow-browed Warbler at the Carey Secret Garden ringing station, we commented that hopefully we wouldn’t need to wait long before another appears somewhere. We didn’t expect the second to be almost exactly 24 hours later, at the same site, in the same net! And yes, it was a different individual as todays new arrival wasn’t wearing a ring. So 2 in 2 days…not bad. This morning 27 Cattle Egret came out of the Pergins Island roost in Holes Bay along with 2000+ Jackdaw and 200 Rook. The west harrier roost settled down a bit this AM with ‘only’ 11 Marsh Harrier coming out today as apposed to yesterdays 20. An Osprey caught a fish in Lytchett Bay this afternoon and another was in Middlebere. The PCW Drain held c70 Common Chiffchaff and a Spotted Flycatcher. Finally, a juv Goshawk settled briefly on one of our harbour Osprey nest platforms this morning in the north of the harbour.

Second Yellow-browed Warbler in 2-days at Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station

Juv Goshawk on Osprey nest platform in harbour north

Redwing calls from early October a few years ago

Sonagram of Redwing call 

It felt incredibly autumnal today, not just because of the weather, but because of the birds too. A true autumn gem was ringed at the Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station, in the form of a Yellow-browed Warbler. Once a huge rarity 20-30 years ago, they’re now pretty much annual, although mostly only ever one or two per autumn. That said, there are hundreds (possibly thousands) in the UK currently due to the strong easterly air flow that was in place last week and the week before, so I doubt this will be the last we see for the rest of the month. Also ringed at Carey Secret garden was a Dartford Warbler which is a pretty good bird for the River Piddle floodplain plus a late Tree Pipit, and Grasshopper Warbler. Ballard Down was ‘hopping’ with birds this AM, mostly Common Chiffchaff with c150 along the southern slope. This fall was combined with a stunning passage of Swallow and House Martin also along the south ridge of Ballard, along with 2 Yellow Wagtail 10 Stonechat and the first few Linnet, Siskin and Chaffinch flocks on the move. A Great White Egret was in Brands Bay and last night 25 Cattle Egret went into the Pergins Island (Holes Bay) roost, with 10 flying out and over Lytchett Bay this morning. The most amazing total today was when 20 Marsh Harrier came out of the west harbour roost. Up until today, 7 to 8 had been more typical. The reason or cause for this sudden spike is unknown, but it will be interesting to see if the number continues to climb or falls away. The White-tailed Eagle pair were favouring Middlebere and Hartland today and on the Lower Piddle Floods there was a single Ruff and 3 Green Sandpiper. On Lytchett Fields a lone Spoonbill was feeding and 17 Greenshank were still still spread across the site.

Swallow and House Martin migration – South side of Ballard Down

Yellow-browed Warbler – Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station

Yellow-browed Warbler – Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station

Sparrowhawk – Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station

A stunning first day of October today which got off to a flyer with a great Autumn Safari Cruise this AM. A pristine juvenile Osprey was hunting in the Wareham Channel and flew straight past us, and female White-tailed Eagle G466 lifted off Arne and headed of up the Frome Valley. There were 3 different Marsh Harrier flying around and up on the Swineham floods it was packed with Teal, Shoveler, decent numbers of Curlew Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit and 3 surprise Ruff. A Cattle Egret also flew straight over the boat at Swineham and a Great White Egret was at Shipstal Beach, Arne. The Brownsea Lagoon looked great too with 21 Sanderling on the beach, c55 Spoonbill on the lagoon with 2 Greenshank, c40 Avocet, c20 Ringed Plover, c30 Dunlin and 10 Sandwich Tern. We also encountered 4 Kingfisher (2 Poole Quay, 1 Swineham and 1 Brownsea) and Bearded Tit were calling in reeds off Swineham Point. Elsewhere the Forster’s Tern was in Holes Bay NW again this evening, 8 Cattle Egret were at Holmebridge, c80 Common Chiffchaff were in the PCW Drain, 2 Spotted Redshank were at Lytchett Fields at a Great White Egret was in Lytchett Bay. There were 2 Osprey hunting in Middlebere this AM and one of the White-tailed Eagles also flew up the channel. There was another big push of hirundines today with large numbers of Swallow and House Martin spread across the sky-scape. At the Carey Secret Garden Ringing Station today it was mostly House Martin and Chiffchaff ringed, but there was also late singles of Grasshopper Warbler and Common Whitethroat also ringed. We’re now also entering peak Stonechat passage, with gorse bushes and barbed wire fences around the harbour hosting multiple birds, with a minimum of 20 up on Ballard this morning and 15 at Greenlands Farm.

Stonechat – Middlebere

Well, thats September done, and what a great way to end with a couple of season ‘firsts’ and the return of an old friend. This morning didn’t see hoards of displaced sea birds like we’d thought may happen….not even a Grey Phalarope (bit early still), but there were 7 early Red-breasted Merganser logged flying in to the harbour through the harbour mouth this AM. Then, a really strange (but great) record of a Short-eared Owl hunting along the sea wall of the Brownsea Lagoon, watched by the Brownsea Wardens where there were still c60 Spoonbill. Then, out of nowhere, this afternoon the Forster’s Tern thats been dropping in and out of Poole Harbour since April 2023 re-appeared in Holes Bay NW where it was mostly sat on the mud, but was also feeding occasionally. This is now this individuals 4th visit to Poole Harbour in the last 2-years, having first appeared in Lytchett Bay in April 2023 before dissapearing for the summer. It then reappeared and settled back in the harbour during July, Aug and Sept, Oct and early Nov 2023, mostly at RSPB Arne before heading off for the winter where it was found to be over-wintering on the NW coast of France. Then, this spring it was seen again in Poole Harbour for a few weeks where it mostly favoured Middlebere again before moving off somewhere new. Then, later in the summer photos emerged online of a Forster’s Tern in NE Ireland at a site called Soldiers Point in Louth. Expert photo analysis by bird ID guru Killian Mullarney highlighted (due to feather wear and pattern) that the Ireland bird was in fact the same individual as ours. Quite amazing! It didn’t seem to stay there too long before venturing off for the rest of the summer, not to be seen again. Until today, where it was quite happily resting in Holes Bay. Last winter it stayed well into November, so it could be around for a while yet! In fact, there was another returning bird today, in the shape of adult Scottish adult Osprey ‘511’. This particular individual actually staged here in the harbour at roughly the same time last year, so he obviously likes it here. Another Osprey was also reported over the Brownsea Lagoon today. Elsewhere today, 3 Spotted Redshank were in Lytchett Bay along with a juv Common Tern, 2 Marsh Harrier and 4 Goosander flew over Lytchett Fields. Holes Bay NW was teeming with birds, mainly Black-tailed Godwit, Teal and Redshank, but it was good to see 6 Pintail also.

Forster’s Tern – Holes Bay NW

                                           

Forster’s Tern – Holes Bay NW

A really interesting day today, despite the strong wind. In fact it was interesting because of the strong wind. Our Autumn Safari logged some pretty typical late September species including an Osprey which caught a fish in the Wareham Channel, 2 Great White Egret also in the Wareham Channel, a lone Little Tern off Giggers Island and a definite increase in Marsh Harrier with 4-5 around Swineham. The floodplain at Swineham was teaming with duck, mostly Teal, Shoveler and Gadwall and good numbers of feral Canada, Greylag and Egyptian Geese. The Brownsea Lagoon held c60 Spoonbill, 38 Avocet, c20 Ringed Plover, 4 Greenshank and 100+ Gadwall, along with smaller numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and Oystercatcher. There still seems to be a good number of Sandwich Tern around with c30 logged across the harbour today. It wasn’t just Sandwich Terns though with 4 Black Tern together over Swineham Point this afternoon and another in Brands Bay, plus another (or the same) Little Tern was in Brands Bay with a juv Common Tern. Incredibly a Great Skua was in the Wareham Channel this afternoon harassing gulls and terns, and out in Studland Bay, 2 skua headed west (most likely Arctic Skua) and 2 Black-necked Grebe were also out in Studland Bay. Elsewhere 6 Spotted Redshank were in Middlebere this AM and then (probably) the same 6 were off Swineham Point this afternoon. Also in Middlebere this AM was 1 Goshawk, 1 Great White Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier, 4 Knot, 22 Avocet and 18 Pintail. 

A busy September WeBS count in the Wareham Channel

It was a beautiful late September day, and it was no surprise that after a few days of bad weather there was a big push of some species, especially Common Chiffchaff recorded in good numbers rights across the harbour with 132 ringed at Lytchett Heath and 106 ringed at Carey Secret Garden. It was also a big Meadow Pipit day with multiple flocks passing over the whole harbour area, dropping down on to multiple suitable feeding areas, including various heathlands, floodplains and farm fields. There were 143 ringed at Carey Secret Garden today. Elsewhere the adult male Marsh Harrier was in Middlebere again with an Osprey present too, along with 1 Great White Egret, 4 Spotted Redshank and both White-tailed Eagles were over Shipstal. There were a few Wheatear dotted around including 2 at Baiter, 3 at Greenlands Farm and 2 at Ballard. Other odds and sods included a Spotted Flycatcher at Bestwall and 1 Whinchat, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 25+ Chiffchaff and 2 Whitethroat at Godlingston.

Wheatear – Baiter Beach