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

Not too much coverage from across the harbour today but a hint of a Starling murmuration over Poole Park this evening, consisting of 750+ Starling brought back the fond memories of the 2017 Studland flock of several thousand. Who knows, if it gets colder this ‘Poole flock’ could grow, so well worth keeping an eye out. There were 2 different White-tailed Eagle in the Wareham channel area this afternoon, and this morning 5 Marsh Harrier were failing to see off one of the eagles as it cruised out over the channel just after dawn. Off Jerry’s Point there were 2 Great Northern Diver, 7 Red-breasted Merganser, 7 Great Crested Grebe and a Red-throated Diver. The juv Eider was visible off Shipstal Point, Arne and c30 Spoonbill were on Shipstal Point. It seems there’s still not masses of Woodcock back yet with only limited numbers seen coming out of roost sites at dusk at various known spots. There was a single Spotted Redshank in Holes Bay, 3 Sandwich Tern in Parkstone Bay and 66 Brent Geese on Baiter Park. A Marsh Harrier in Holes Bay NW was unusual.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese – Baiter Park

When the weather forecast looks a bit iffy ahead of a bird boat, doubts always start to creep in about whether it will be worth venturing out into the harbour. It’s very rare, however, that it doesn’t prove to be fruitful, and this morning turned out to be another excellent trip. Despite a heavy downpour at the start of the trip, when the rain started to clear we were treated to a Peregrine flyby, featuring a stunning double rainbow backdrop. At the end of the Wareham Channel, at least 5 Marsh Harrier were present, giving continued views as we made our way up the River Frome. With standing water across Arne Moors, it was teeming with activity including 100+ Lapwing, amongst Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Greylag Geese and Canada Geese. On the opposite side of the river, 1 Green Sandpiper was seen in the flooded fields.

As we made our way through the central harbour area, 2 Red-throated Diver were visible near Shipstal. One of the highlights of the trip were 2 Eider in the central harbour, one juvenile and one adult male. During the course of the cruise, we saw 7 Great Northern Diver (including 2 adults), with at least 4 logged in Blood Alley, 2 in the central harbour and 1 on the North Brownsea Shoreline. Numbers of Red-breasted Merganser seem to have picked up, with 50-60 logged around the harbour. On the Brownsea Lagoon, 250+ Avocet, 30 Wigeon, 5+ Grey Plover, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.50 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Redshank and 1 Greenshank were counted. Just after everyone had left the boat on Poole Quay, we also had a final surprise of a flyover Great White Egret.

Elsewhere in the harbour, 1 Merlin was seen at Lytchett Fields, along with the juvenile Curlew Sandpiper still present. 1 White-tailed Eagle was photographed over Arne carpark, with the plumage suggesting that it is 3 year old G318. At Poole Park, the flock of c.150 Cormorant were present again, with 2 Sandwich Tern and 2 Redshank.

White-tailed Eagle – RSPB Arne – Martine Fenn

A stunning start to our Winter Safari Cruises this morning: briefly switching off the engines, we silently cruised into the mouth of River Frome, listening and watching as a flock of Bearded Tit erupted one-by-one from the reedbed and climbed into the sky, their iconic ‘ping’ calls carrying effortlessly to the ears of our delighted group of onlookers. At least 3 Marsh Harrier gave us a real run around as they dashed back and forth over the reeds, clearly struggling in the blustery winds. This was made up for by some beautifully close views of Fieldfare as they passed from tree to tree along the river bank at Swineham. The undeniable highlight however was tantalising flyby from 2 Golden Plover just as we departed the Wareham Channel, where a Red-throated Diver was also present close to the Arne shoreline. Also of note were 2 Great Northern Diver, one still retaining much of its summer plumage, adding to an earlier bird in Lytchett Bay where there was also a Great White Egret.

Over at Studland it was great to see the Snow Bunting still making good use of our bird protection zone at Shell Bay. A single Red-throated Diver was present in the bay, where 2 male Eider were also seen this morning as they departed the harbour and 6 Long-tailed Duck were seen crossing in the direction of Old Harry. On the Brownsea Lagoon, highlights included the 43 strong Spoonbill flock and a single Curlew Sandpiper, whilst in Holes Bay there was 1 Spotted Redshank, 6 Common Snipe and 100 Avocet. The Wood Duck also continued to put on a show at Creekmoor Ponds.

Red-throated Diver – Rob Johnson – Shell Bay, Studland

It’s been an interesting start to the winter birding scene in the harbour so far this year, with diver activity already reaching higher totals that we saw last winter, no doubt due to the rougher weather conditions we’ve had in the last couple of weeks. With a school bird boat out this morning, as well as a survey boat this afternoon, the harbour was well recorded today, including 4 Great Northern Diver in Brands Bay and Bramble Bush Bay, as well as a single juvenile Great Northern Diver in the Wareham Channel. 3 Red-throated Diver were also seen, 2 from Jerry’s Point and 1 in the Central Harbour. Also from Jerry’s Point, 1 Black-necked Grebe was reported, along with the typically decent numbers of Great Crested Grebe also logged. The lone Eider seen in the last week was recorded again today, picked up in the Central Harbour, closer to Shipstal than previously logged. Conversely to the decent diver numbers we’ve had so far this year, Red-Breasted Merganser have not yet reached their usual numbers, with c.26 logged during the survey boat this afternoon. On the Brownsea Lagoon, 37 Spoonbill we present, along with c.300 Avocet, 500+ Black-tailed Godwit, a single Bar-tailed Godwit and 15 Greenshank. At Swineham a whopping 340 Canada Geese and 70 Greylag Geese were feeding/resting on the scrapes with 8 Egyptian Geese, hopefully making it an attractive ‘carrier flock’ for any wandering scarcer species that may turn up.

The children on the School Bird Boat this morning were treated to views of 1 White-tailed Eagle in flight from Arne Bay, causing lots of excitement. Other raptor activity included at least 4 Marsh Harrier at the top end of the Wareham Channel and 1 Peregrine  seen from Poole Quay. 15+ Fieldfare were also seen moving over Swineham. The Snow Bunting reported yesterday was still present today on Shell Beach, first re-found west of the fenced wader protection area, and later within the fencing.

Snow Bunting – Shell Beach – Nick Hull

Another decent bird arrived today in the shape of a Snow Bunting which was on Shell Bay beach, originally seen feeding in the bird/wader protection area that was recently installed, but later in the afternoon it relocated further up the beach towards South Haven. Within the harbour the juvenile Eider was still out in central harbour and there was a minimum of 3 Great Northern Diver, with 2 off Jerry’s Point and 1 in central harbour with 2 Red-throated Diver also seen near the harbour mouth. A White-tailed Eagle was seen crossing the Wareham Channel and a whopping harbour record of 23 (possibly 24) Marsh Harrier came out of the west harbour roost. A ringtail Hen Harrier was off Coombe Heath with a Merlin and an amazing 1000+ Jackdaws went into roost on Pergins Island, Holes Bay where 2 Spotted Redshank had been earlier in the SW sector. On Brownsea, 30+ Spoonbill were roosting.

Snow Bunting – Shell Bay, Studland – Twitter – OTBTbirder (@BirderOtbt)

At this time of year, our nocturnal ringing really picks up, using thermal imaging equipment to aid the process, making identifying and finding birds in the field much easier. We haven’t been successful in trialling this technique during the day before, but after accidentally flushing a Jack Snipe in the lower Piddle Valley earlier in the week, we returned to see if we could re-find it today using the thermal imaging scope. We had success, catching our first daytime Jack Snipe, which we then processed. We’re looking forward to getting started with our Nocturnal Ringing Demos later this month.

Otherwise, sightings have been quiet so far today, with the highlight of a Gannet flying into the harbour, headed between Brownsea and Furzey this afternoon. Peregrine activity has been reported throughout the day from Poole Town, Holes Bay and in the lower Piddle Valley.

Jack Snipe – Lower Piddle Valley