Calmer conditions after those we’ve become accustomed to these past few weeks made for an excellent Winter Safari Cruise this morning, with at least 8 different Great Northern Diver scattered across the harbour from Hamworthy to Brands Bay (a new peak count for this winter) along with 1 Red-throated Diver.  The scrapes at Swineham were indiscernible below a considerable layer of water which covered the majority of the fields and played host to plenty of Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, a few Curlew, Snipe, Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler, along with 1 Common Redshank and 2 Spotted Redshank. There were at least 4 Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel, and we were lucky to catch one of the White-tailed Eagles as it flew between Arne to Rempstone. On Brownsea Lagoon there were 35 Spoonbill, 100’s each of Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin, dozens of Redshank, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover along with 20+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 15+ Greenshank, and plenty of Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Shelduck.

Elsewhere, visitors to the Rock Lea viewpoint in Lytchett Bay were treated to 94 Avocet, 1 Green Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Teal, Red-breasted Merganser and close views of 1 Great Northern Diver. Also in the area were 3 Marsh Harrier, Grey Wagtail, and 1 colour-ringed Water Pipit (1K). Holes Bay held 1100 Wigeon, 257 Avocet, 87 Shoveler, 31 Pintail and 1 Common Sandpiper.

At the other end of the harbour off Jerry’s Point were 6 Black-necked Grebe, 7 Goldeneye, 1 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great Northern Diver, 16 Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, 27 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Common Scoter. Off Middle Beach at Studland were a further 5 Black-necked Grebe and a single Eider. Three more Eider were also photographed off Furzey Island and a watch of the harbour from Baiter Park offered 2 Great Northern Diver and 1 Razorbill still present, along with a single Kittiwake which flew across to settle on the water along the Brownsea Shoreline.

Great Northern Diver – Winter Safari Cruise – Alex King

Eider – South Deep – Don Williams

The importance of the harbour as a stopover and wintering site for raptors was demonstrated once again this morning, with a new record count of 31 Marsh Harrier emerging from roost sites in the western reaches (a target species for tomorrow’s Winter Safari Cruise)! One White-tailed Eagle was also present. Big movements of Cormorants have been reported across the harbour and the surrounding area today, likely to be more birds arriving from the continent to overwinter. Just beyond the harbour entrance in Studland Bay there was one female-type Eider, along with 7 Black-necked Grebe, 9 Common Scoter, 1 Great Northern Diver and 1 Red-throated Diver. A further 3 Black-necked Grebe were also present off Jerry’s Point. Passerine reports were much thinner on the ground today, but the Black Redstart was spotted again and photographed on the barn roof at Middlebere.

Black Redstart – Middlebere – Aidan Brown (@aidanjb118)

A bit of a break in the wind and rain today made for a great school bird boat this morning, with highlights include 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver and 1 Common Scoter in the South Deep area, as well as 3 Sandwich Tern. Just off Baiter Park, a further 2 Great Northern Diver were present, in addition to a Razorbill just a few feet off the shore. Another Great Northern Diver was reported in Lytchett Bay this morning, along with the first 2 Red-breasted Merganser of the season in the bay. Over at Lytchett Fields, the highlight was a Great White Egret. On Brownsea Lagoon, 33 Spoonbill were present today, along with the usual high numbers of Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit, as well as Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and a few Brent Geese. Our two new webcams on Brownsea Lagoon are already proving their worth, with great footage of the Spoonbill flock earlier in the day. You can find the webcams here:

Razorbill – Baiter – Martin Adams

Woodcock have definitely arrived back into the harbour in numbers with a good count logged as we surveyed Sunnyside Farm during a busy winter wader ringing demonstration last night – a session which saw 5 Woodcock, 3 Jack Snipe and singles of Common Snipe Meadow Pipit and Redwing ringed. Turning our attention to today, the harbour mouth featured a moulting adult Great Northern Diver, with a Red-throated Diver entering the harbour and a sinensis Cormorant flock several hundred strong feeding offshore. Holes Bay supported 181 Avocet across the northern sectors, double figures of Common Snipe and a Kingfisher while Swineham Point offered views of 7 quartering Marsh Harrier mid-morning. A spot of colour-ring reading at Shore Road picked up a Dutch Black-headed Gull (EFN1), observer awaiting further details from the scheme.

Adult Great Northern Diver – Harbour Entrance – OTBT Birder

Winter Wader Ringing Demo – Jack Snipe, Woodcock and Common Snipe (left to right)

A bustling Brownsea Lagoon – Nicki Tutton
Check out our Brownsea Lagoon Livecams here

It’s been a bit of windy day, and the sunshine this morning has quickly descended into a rainy afternoon. We managed to make the most of the sunshine on the safari boat this morning, which turned out to be a rewarding trip. The Brownsea Lagoon was busy, with 300+ Dunlin, 20 Ringed Plover, 300+ Avocet, 250+ Black-tailed Godwit, 35 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Greenshank, 6 Spoonbill and 12 Curlew. As we made our way around the south shore of Brownsea Island, we were treated to great views of a juvenile Red-throated Diver, with a second Red-throated Diver and a single Great Northern Diver also briefly seen in that area. At the top-end of the Wareham Channel, 4+ Marsh Harrier were seen, as well as a burst of excitement with 1 White Tailed Eagle over Hyde’s Heath. On Arne Moors, c.200 Lapwing were making the most of the standing water, with 2 Green Sandpiper on the Swineham fields with a whole host of species feeding on the floodplain including Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew and c30 Starling.

A count of Holes Bay this morning included 150+ Cormorants, 100+ Avocet, 42 Oystercatcher and 1 Common Sandpiper. At Lytchett Bay, 3 Marsh Harrier and a late Swallow were seen this afternoon, as well as the juv. Curlew Sandpiper still present at Lytchett Fields. Highlights from Middlebere today included 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk, c.120 Avocet, c.50 Dunlin and an adult Yellow-Legged Gull. On Shipstal Point there were 34 Spoonbill and 2 Marsh Harrier were in Lytchett Bay. Finally, it seemed three different Marsh Harrier roosts came togther this AM as a max of 27 were logged around the Wareham Channel at dawn!

Lytchett Bay – Luke Westacott

Not surprising that most birding was rained off today, however, amazingly, data from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation showed that there were 3 White-tailed Eagles back in the harbour again, the 3-year old G466 and two 2-year olds G801 and G486. They really seem to like decent weather and with these two sunny days we’ve had over the weekend, they obviously fancied a move about and come back to whats fast becoming one of their favourite areas on the south coast! A sea watch from Branksome Chine produced 4 adult Little Gull and 1 Black-throated Diver. For many years a Magpie roost has gathered at Hatch Pond during the winter and this evening Ian Ballam logged 184. At Baiter the first adult male Goldeneye of the winter was just off shore and there was an adult male Red-breasted Merganser on the main Poole Park lake. Other bits and bobs included a Black-necked Grebe in the harbour mouth, 7 Spoonbill on Brownsea and 5 at Shipstal Point, Arne. A Black Redstart has been on the roof of the Middlebere Barn over the last couple of days.

Finally, we started our Winter Safari series of boat trips a few weeks ago and they have started off with a bang, with a whole range of great birds seen during the trips including White-tailed Eagles, multiple Marsh Harrier, Eider ducks, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Spoonbills, masses of Avocets, godwits and Brent Geese, plus a whole load more. We’re hosting roughly 2 trips per week between now and the end of February, so if you want a chance to see and learn about the riches of the harbour, why not book on and join us. Our next trip is this coming Wednesday, November 23rd at 9am. We’re averaging between 50-60 species per trip so there’s a great chance to see and learn something new. To book, click HERE – https://www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/winter-safari

Grey Plover – Studland – Mark Wright

Ringed Plover – Studland – Mark Wright

Finally, some cold, crisp winter evenings have descended upon us. There’s nothing better than a fading orange glow on a winter horizon as corvids call whilst they enter roosts and Tawny Owls begin courtship battles in the twilight. The last couple of evenings have seen lovely November sunsets, although slightly ruined by having to turn the heating on when we’ve got home! That said, this morning also saw a perfect sunrise, and another decent haul of 22 Marsh Harrier out of the west harbour roost. Then chaos pursued as one of the White-tailed Eagles thats currently present decided to pay a visit to Swineham where c300 geese have recently been residing. It was no surprise that once it had arrived over Swineham, all the geese took to the air and scarpered. By later in the day, Marsh Harrier had dispersed to Lytchett Bay, Brands Bay, Holmebridge and Middlebere. Holes Bay Wigeon totals were still growing with 1263 present today with 98 Shoveler and 27 Pintail. The Creekmoor Ponds Wood Duck continues to be popular with more visitors today, and with this mornings still conditions several pulses of Wood Pigeon were on the move but only smaller flocks of 400-500 over the harbour. Worryingly there was only a single Black-necked Grebe off Middle Beach this evening, when there should be double figures by now. Spoonbill were spread between Arne (16) and Brownsea (17) today.

Finally, we know that webcams were a big focus and source of hope during lockdown, especially our Brownsea Lagoon webcams. So when our system broke down about a year ago, we were keen to get a new system up and running that would bring that focus back. Finally, after a few teething issues, we’ve now got a completely new system, with new cameras operating meaning you can now view the Brownsea Lagoon 365 days a year again. Today Spoonbill were the stars, as were hundreds of Avocet. The links to the webcams can be found on the webcams page of our website or by following the links below.

Screen grabs of Spoonbill and Avocet on the new Brownsea Webcams this morning