A fantastic School Bird Boat this morning produced 1 ringtail Hen Harrier high over Arne, 1 Velvet Scoter in South Deep, 4 Eider the central harbour and another 2 in South Deep, 3 Great Northern Diver, and c150 Red-breasted Merganser. Most unusual of all however a Whimbrel at Shipstal Beach! Whimbrel are typically a spring and autumn passage species for the harbour, with most individuals currently expected to be on their wintering grounds in SW Europe and W Africa. This isn’t the first overwintering individual we’ve had in the harbour, but it is an unusual record and perhaps reflective of the various extremes in weather conditions we’ve experienced this winter.

Elsewhere there were 2 Common Scoter off of Middle Beach and a single Razorbill in the harbour entrance, where the Black Redstart was still present on the rooftops on Sandbanks. In Holes Bay this morning a Green Sandpiper was seen briefly in front of the Stone Bench, along with 500+ Dunlin, 700+ Black-tailed Godwit roosting in the SE, plus Goldcrest and Chiffchaff in the entrance of the PC World Drain. There were 2 White-tailed Eagle seen near Norden Sewage Works, which headed towards Corfe Castle.

Juvenile Razorbill – Harbour Entrance – Clive Hargrave

This weather is so stunning. Yes, frostbite may set in briefly, but it’s worth it for these sunrises and sunsets….and everything in-between. More great birds today with a male Hen Harrier and ringtail Hen Harrier in Middlebere and the stunning male marsh Harrier was at Swineham again. There were a couple of sightings of White-tailed Eagle with one flying east along the Wareham Channel and another over Wareham heading west up the Frome Valley. At Lytchett Fields a Cattle Egret was seen near dusk and the Velvet Scoter was off Jerry’s Point again along with 2 Eider. Along Holme Lane 8 Woodlark were in the cattle field next to the big barn, viewable from the road and at Holmebridge a Marsh Harrier and Peregrine went over. At Baiter there was 1 male Goldeneye, 1 Great Northern Diver, 10 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 21 Cormorant, 5 Turnstone, 1 Rock Pipit and c150 dark-bellied Brent Geese. A few Crossbill were vocal in the Corfe Valley, Wytch Farm side and a Woodlark was sub-singing near Hartland. There’s plenty of Raven activity as pairs are now in full display mode, especially in the middle of the day and the first Sparrowhawk display flights have also been observed.

Raven – Hydes Heath, RSPB Arne – Alison Copland

The raptors stole the show again today with plenty of White-tailed Eagle activity in the Wareham Channel, where visitors to both Swineham and Arne enjoyed views of two birds perched and on the move. Plus, at around 9am this morning, yet another new eagle arrived into the area….this time 3rd cal year male G816. This means that there are now currently five eagles mooching around south, central Dorset. Also around Swineham were several Marsh Harrier including a stunning adult male. Highlights elsewhere included the single Bearded Tit still present at Hatch Pond along with 5 Snipe, 3 Teal, 2 Gadwall and 1 Water Rail. Over at Sandbanks a Black Redstart was present on the rooftops along the beach side of North Haven, whilst inside the harbour there was 1 Velvet Scoter and 1 Slavonian Grebe off of Jerry’s Point, Studland. At the harbour mouth at dawn 5 Eider flew into the harbour and a Great Northern Diver flew out high over Sandbanks.

White-tailed Eagle perched at Swineham – Alison Copland

White-tailed Eagle in flight – Wareham Channel – Jane V Adams

Well, they keep on coming! We’ve now gone from just 1 White-tailed Eagle in and around the harbour at the beginning of the week to 4 today. Late yesterday afternoon saw the arrival of another new individual in the shape of 4th calendar year male G463, meaning this week we’ve had 3rd cal year female G801, 3rd cal year male G812, 4th cal year female G466 and yesterdays new arrival G463. Big thanks to the Roy Dennis foundation for this info, it’s fascinating to see so many individuals continually return to the harbour. Whether it’s because it’s a favoured feeding site, or because it’s a suitable potential territory, only time will tell, but today people were treated some incredible spectacles as several of the birds were seen interacting over the Wareham Channel. Most notably, a pre-longed interaction between the two male individuals G812 (M) and G463 (M). With the settled weather due to continue we could see more arrivals (and departures) over the coming days, but with two 4th calendar year birds now present it could be an exciting couple of months.

Also today, there were 2 Marsh Tit in trees next to the Norden Sewage works and there were also 6+ Common Chiffchaff, a Siberian Chiffchaff and 2 Firecrest, and at the PCW Drain, 6+ Common Chiffchaff and a Firecrest. At Hatch Pond the Bearded Tit was there again on the eastern edge. Off Jerry’s Point there were 6 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Slavonian Grebe. In Middlebere 3 Spoonbill, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Marsh Harrier were logged and on Swineham GP there was 1 Pochard. 

Thanks also to Garry Hayman who recently consolidated all the info from the 2022 Middlebere Hide diary which provides totals, first dates etc over the course of the year. In total there were 121 different species recorded in the diary for 2022 (105 in 2021).

White-tailed Eagles G466 and G812 over the Wareham Channel – Paula and John Thorpe

Another cold one, and it’s clear there’s been a departure of birds from the harbour due to the icy, cold conditions. The Brownsea Lagoon was frozen solid again, with no sign of the 2500+ Black-tailed Godwit that were here last week, not on the lagoon, or anywhere in the harbour on the low tide! Likewise, for our ringing demo last night, with all the freshwater bodies frozen, there were no Jack Snipe caught and only 3 seen, where there are usually 10-15. Lapwing were only present in very small numbers too as the flooded floodplains also froze over. It will be interesting to see what returns when things warm up a bit over the weekend.

That said, our Low-tide cruise today didn’t disappoint with another mouth watering range of species logged during the trip. Highlights included a Black-throated Diver off East Dorset sailing club, near Salterns marina, also 5 Great Northern Diver (off Baiter, Brownsea south shore, Poole Ferry Port and Hamworthy Beach), 1 Black-necked Grebe off the Brownsea SE corner, 5 Eider out in central harbour, 7 Goldeneye (5 Wareham Channel, 2 in South Deep), 120 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 White-tailed Eagle in the Wareham Channel, 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, c400 dark-bellied Brent Geese, c15 Grey Plover, c500 Dunlin, c100 Avocet, 15 Spoonbill and 1 Kingfisher. The full trip species list can be VIEWED HERE.

Elsewhere a Hen Harrier was seen in Middlebere, and a watch off Jerry’s Point around lunchtime saw 1 Slavonian Grebe, 9 Black-necked Grebe, 8 Goldeneye, 3 Great Northern Diver, 22 Red-breasted Merganser, 28 Great Crested Grebe; then as the tide dropped 28 Sanderling, 19 Turnstone, 3 Grey Plover and 2 Ringed Plover.

White-tailed Eagle – Wareham Channel, Low-tide Cruise – Robin Morrison

Black-necked Grebe – Low-tide Cruise – Robin Morrison

Great Northern Diver – Low-tide Cruise – Robin Morrison

Another bitterly cold day with a flurry of snow this morning too, meaning that the Brownsea Lagoon was frozen during our boat trip this afternoon. Numbers on the lagoon were therefore low, but there were plenty of sightings elsewhere in the harbour…

The central harbour provided some interest with 1 Velvet Scoter and 2 Eider present, with a further single Eider south-east of Brownsea. There were 2 Great Northern Diver in Bramble-bush bay near the house boats, and around 120 Red-breasted Merganser present harbour-wide. In the Wareham Channel, 2 White-tailed Eagle were present (G801 and G812), raising excitement after pursuits by Ravens and Marsh Harriers, and feeding on the shoreline near Keysworth. There were at least 5 Marsh Harrier present in the channel, and 1 Hen Harrier seen distantly over Arne Moors. On the Swineham Gravel Pit, 2 Pochard were seen alongside 5 Tufted Duck and 1 Egyptian Goose. In Holes Bay this morning, at least 1000 Black-tailed Godwit were counted, as well as over 1000 Wigeon, 100+ Avocet, Pintail and Curlew logged. In Lytchett Bay, 3 Spoonbill were present again on the falling tide, as well as 5 Shoveler and 3 Marsh Harrier. A further 3 Spoonbill were seen at Shipstal Point this afternoon.

There are still a few tickets available for our Low Tide Cruise running tomorrow afternoon, which can be booked here.

Pintail – Holes Bay – Tony Furnell

Wow….a proper chilly one today. So cold it saw a minor cold weather movement of Golden Plover arrive to areas NW of the harbour, including 9 at Wild Woodbury, 2 over Morden Bog and a flock of 25+ north of Morden. Could we see a few enter harbour airspace tomorrow? Many areas were frozen and a very cold looking Cattle Egret was hunkered down on Lytchett Fields where there was also a Spotted Redshank and Spoonbill in the bay. Off Middle Beach, Studland there were 10 Black-necked Grebe and 1 Great Northern Diver and there was a Black-necked Grebe off Jerry’s Point. Off Baiter 2 Sandwich Tern were actively hunting, and there was a Goldeneye off the beach. White-tailed Eagle G801 was still hanging around the Wareham Channel and 4 Marsh Harrier were in and around Swineham.

Cattle Egret – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Wow, what a change in temperature! Some woke up to snow this morning whilst others woke up to incredible flooding around the Wareham River valley’s which looks to be some of the highest flood waters we’ve seen in many years! Things are set to get colder too over the coming days, so we can’t get too carried away with thoughts of spring just yet.

Without doubt, todays highlight was 2 stunning Common Crane which flew over Middlebere around lunchtime, heading south and were then seen again later heading north over Wareham. They powered on through sadly, so we don’t know if they dropped down in the harbour or continued south. They could well reappear over the next few days. Also at Middlebere, White-tailed Eagle G801 put in an appearance where there were also 2 Marsh Harrier and a Spotted Redshank. A Red Kite passed Rock Lea viewpoint at Lytchett Bay and there were also 6 Spoonbill feeding off Otter Island in Lytchett Bay. At the PCW Drain a Siberian Chiffchaff was with 6+ Common Chiffchaff. A harbour entrance watch this AM was really productive with a good count of divers 7 flying in singly, with 6 Great Northern Diver and a Black-throated Diver. Plus, the regular 2 Great Northern Diver remained off Pilots Point, so a minimum 8 Great Northern Diver in total. Otherwise a party of 4 Egyptian Geese entered the harbour over Studland NR and 77 Shag, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Great Crested Grebe and an auk species all flew in just after sunrise.

Spoonbill – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

Plenty of winter species to see out there today with 2 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver and 1 male Common Scoter from Knoll beach, Studland plus 1 Slavonian Grebe further along at Middle Beach. One ringtail Hen Harrier was seen once again at Middlebere, and another from Rock Lea View in Lytchett Bay, along with 1 Marsh Harrier. The highlight from Holes Bay was Black Redstart, where there were also over 1000 Black-tailed Godwit, 200+ Avocet, 200+ Dunlin, 1 Lapwing, 24 Snipe & 1 Grey Plover. This morning 5 Hen Harrier were seen departing the harbour and female White-tailed Eagle G801 was still in the Wareham Channel.

Bullfinch – Mark Wright