The forecast rain didn’t hit until much later in the day, allowing for some ‘Ok’ birding this morning. Our first School bird boat of the year produced a juvenile Osprey in the Wareham Channel and 36 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon, as well as 36 Avocet. The Wood Sandpiper, Ruff and 4 Green Sandpiper were on the Lower Piddle Floods again and the Curlew Sandpiper and Spotted redshank were still on Lytchett Fields. There was definitely a fall of Chiffchaff this AM, with c50 in the PCW Drain along with 4 Blackcap and 1 Common Whitethroat, plus another 20 Chiffchaff in trees next to Baiter where there were also 5 Wheatear and 28 Ringed Plover on the Fishermans Dock sea wall. Local sound recorder David Foster had his gear out in Oakdale last night and managed to record a night migrating Wood Sandpiper which is a decent bird to log over urban Poole.

Managed to get a few hours #nocmig in last night (Oakdale, Poole) before the power bank ran out! However, nice Wood Sandpiper (happy to be corrected) call just after 10;15pm last night (24th).@harbourbirds @msabirder @SoundBirder @MartinWood14 @Lytchettbirder @SoundApproachUK pic.twitter.com/8GE4Ey8xEI

— David Foster (@dfozzie68) September 25, 2024

Wheatear – Baiter Park

It was another day of visible passage today, most notably Meadow Pipit, which were migrating on a broad front across the harbour pretty much all day, also with lesser numbers of Swallow. There was an amazing number of Great White Egret in the harbour today too with 7 feeding together in Middlebere, 2 in the Wareham Channel and 1 at Brands Bay. It will be interesting to see if these new ones stay, as Great White Egret tend to depart pretty quickly after their arrival, with only ones and twos opting to over-winter. Up on Hartland there were just 6 Cattle Egret today, and another was at Swineham. On the Brownsea Lagoon 74 Spoonbill were actively feeding this afternoon and this morning there were good numbers of Dunlin (c200) and Ringed Plover (c60) with 4 Greenshank, 1 Grey Plover, 6 Knot, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit and 11 Avocet. In the Wareham Channel 2 Marsh Harrier were quartering over Keysworth and strangely there was a mini passage/movement of Kestrel with 1 in high over Poole Quay and a ‘flock’ of 4 moving over Giggers out towards Keysworth. The Lower Piddle Floods was still holding good birds including, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Ruff, 7 Green Sandpiper, 1 Hobby and 6 Yellow Wagtail. The Curlew Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank were still at Lytchett Fields with a Ruff new in and both White-tailed Eagles were soaring over RSPB Arne, out towards the Wareham Channel. Having been such a heavy feature of the last 2 months, but not so much lately, it was good to have 2 Osprey logged over Brands Bay where there were newly arrived Pintail dropping in and a decent record of 4 Golden Plover, plus, the first 2 dark-bellied Brent Geese of the autumn/winter, although they seemed to circle Brands Bay and then leave again! It’s no surprise, with Holes Bay having been such an important over-wintering site over the last few years that numbers of birds are already beginning to build up with 672 Black-tailed Godwit, 377 Wigeon and 10 Pintail this morning plus plenty of Common Redshank and Teal

Six of the seven Great White Egret in Middlebere this AM – Kate Plater

What a great wet birding day it was today. Rule number 1, never be put off by the weather. There was loads going on across the harbour recording area despite the early morning down pours. Starting off with a Pectoral Sandpiper which was found on the Stilt Pools at Swineham. This is now the 24th species of wader found in the Swineham area this year which just goes to show how important fresh water wetland sites are in and around the harbour. Also at Swineham, but on the north side on the Lower Piddle Floods, there was 1 Ruff, 1 Wood Sandpiper and 4 Green Sandpiper. The most bizarre Swineham find today was a full adult drake Common Scoter on the main pit. Elsewhere a Great White Egret was on Round Island, opposite Shipstal Beach and on Hartland, behind Scotland Farm the Cattle Egret flock were still feeding in amongst the cows. The Brownsea Lagoon was bustling today with c70 Spoonbill, c200 Dunlin, c50 Ringed Plover, 5 Knot, 24 Sanderling, 17 Bar-tailed Godwit, c250 Avocet, 7 Greenshank and loads of newly arrived Teal and smaller numbers of Wigeon. At Lytchett Fields the single Curlew Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank were still there, with another 8 Spotted Redshank at Middlebere along with 11 Greenshank. Pintail numbers are building slowly with 17 in Middlebere, 7 over Swineham and 12 in the Wareham Channel. On the Brownsea north shore 3 Common Sandpiper were still feeding. Marsh Harrier numbers still seem a bit on the low side, but 2 were present along the Keysworth shoreline today and juv male Peregrine was hunting gulls and waders in the mouth of the Frome. The White-tailed Eagle pair were even observed mating today over by Studland, which must have been an incredible sight. This doesn’t mean imminent breeding is upon us, or that this is a chosen nesting site as pairs will often ‘practice’ for long periods (years) before actually settling down to breed, but it’s a good sign and could indicate our resident pair may take things a bit more serious next spring?!?

Pectoral Sandpiper – Swineham, Stilt Pools – Sam Levy

Female White-tailed Eagle G466 flying past Autumn Safari Cruise this AM – Alison Copland

Female White-tailed Eagle G466 flying past Autumn Safari Cruise this AM – Alison Copland

There was a good candidate for a 2nd winter Caspian Gull on the Stilt Pools as Swineham this AM, found by Phil Bentley. Despite their growing presence in southern Britain in recent years, they’re an incredibly hard bird to find in Poole Harbour, even more so one that sticks around for longer than 10 minutes! Sadly this bird didn’t stick around either, but there’s every chance it may reappear over the coming days? There’s also currently a big arrival of Yellow-browed Warbler into the UK cu due to the strong easterly airflow thats been bed in for the last week. Although none have been seen in the harbour recording area yet, a couple have already reached Dorset (Abbotsbury and The Fleet) which is pretty unprecedented to have Dorset records so early in September. Traditionally ‘YBW’ were always a late autumn arrival with most records coming in October. These early Dorset records show there’s good numbers in the UK already with the east coast currently covered in them! The last big arrival was in 2016 and Poole Harbour had it’s fair share with 15-20 individuals logged. One of the easiest ways to locate them is by their call. Below is an example from Knoll Beach, Studland on the 31/10/14. Be careful though as Coal Tit have a very similar call which can be confused with Yellow-browed Warbler. Elsewhere today, Ospreys were recorded in Brands Bay, Middlebere and the Wareham Channel. The Brownsea Lagoon held 73 Spoonbill, 115 Avocet, 23 Greenshank, c100 Dunlin, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit and c50 Ringed Plover. At Lytchett Fields the Curlew Sandpiper remained along with the Spotted Redshank. A Great White Egret was in Middlebere with 2 Marsh Harrier.

Potential Caspian Gull – Swineham Stilt Pools – Phil Bentley

Current UK Yellow-browed Warbler distribution – Birdguides

Firstly, we’d just like to say a massive thank you to our team member Mya Bambrick who today, carried out a fundraiser for us, circumnavigating Poole Harbour on foot, covering 22 miles on her 22nd birthday. Leaving Poole Harbour entrance (Sandbanks side) at 6am, Mya then followed the inner shorelines of the entire harbour (bar a few tricky bits), before finally reaching Shell Bay at Studland around 8pm this evening. Along the route Mya encountered c70 species including Redstarts, Ospreys, Avocets, Whinchats and a good number of migrating hirundines. What a great effort and from all of us here at BoPH….a MASSIVE thank you!

Elsewhere, there was an Osprey and 1 Great White Egret in Brands Bay. Wigeon numbers in Holes Bay built up to 325 today and on the Brownsea Lagoon 65 Spoonbill were roosting all day hiding their spoons. At Lytchett Fields the 1 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Spotted Redshank were still there and

Turnstones – Baiter – John Newman

Such another stunning day, we really don’t want it to stop. There seemed to be a definite arrival of wildfowl this AM, with double the amount of Wigeon in Holes Bay compared to yesterday with 280+ today compared to only 110 yesterday. The same goes for Lytchett Bay where 100 were loafing on the high tide. Lytchett Fields also had 1 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Ruff and this evening a Little Stint was on the ‘Stilt Pools’ at Swineham, bringing the Swineham wader species for the year to 21, which is pretty incredible. There was at least 2 different Osprey in the harbour with 1 in the Wareham Channel and another in Lytchett Bay. A remarkable hirundine migration was going on over Ballard Down this AM where 15,680 birds passed over, the majority being House Martin (10,810). There was also a late Swift over too and a Hobby. In the PCW Drain c20 Chiffchaff were still present along with 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Reed Warbler, 5 Blackcap, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Common Sandpiper. 

A summer-vibe winter scene with Black-tailed Godwit and Wigeon this AM – Holes Bay – Martin Adams

The Indian summer continues although autumn migration was the feature of the day. Swallow, House Martin and to a lesser extent, Sand Martin were moving through all day, on a massive broad front right across the harbour. This afternoon at the Carey Secret Garden Garden ringing station a whopping c2000 House Martin were feeding/passing over the floodplain which resulted in 268 being ringed. Also ringed there this AM were 5 more Grashopper Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Nightjar and 18 Chiffchaff. This morning both White-tailed Eagles were in the Wareham Channel, the female being mobbed by a Marsh Harrier. An Osprey was over Arne Bay and on the DWT Brownsea Lagoon 64 Spoonbill were roosting, along with c160 Avocet also present. There was no sign of the Lytchett Fields Red-backed Shrike today, but there was a Curlew Sandpiper on the fields. A Spotted Redshank was in Holes Bay at the stone Bench and 107 Wigeon were logged, with more small flocks of Wigeon arriving in down the river valleys this morning. Plus, 4 more Spotted Redshank were in Middlebere. The Poole Quay Kingfishers are back, with several sightings of individuals sat on the sea wall ladder runs, off the Greenslades kiosk along the quay.

Kingfisher – Poole Quay, from Autumn Safari Cruise this AM – Alison Copland

Avocet (abover & Spoonbill (below) – DWT Brownsea Lagoon, from Autumn Safari Cruise this AM – Alison Copland