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

It was blowing like crazy today, especially this morning, but that didn’t stop 20+ Marsh Harriers coming out of the West Harbour roost this morning. Also a very flooded Middlebere this saw 1 Kingfisher, 5 Spotted Redshanks, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Marsh Harrier and 2 late Swallows past the hide. This afternoon was one of our winter low-tide cruises which seemed a bit extreme to begin with, however after 15 mins we were in more sheltered areas and well into the birds with more than enough on show. There were multiple highlights but 8+ Marsh Harrier flying around Swineham in almost constant view was a real treat. Out in central harbour a juv Eider was bobbing around on its own and there were 2 Red-throated Diver and 2 Great Northern Diver along with only 7 Red-breasted Merganser and 5+ Great Crested Grebe. Up on the Swineham floods/scrapes there were c200 Canada and Greylag Geese with 2 Egyptian Geese mixed in as well as a few Shoveler and Gadwall. In the Wareham Channel 4 Spoonbill were feeding in the sheltered bay off Arne and on the Brownsea Lagoon 1000’s of Herring Gulls were coming into roost along with 100’s of Common, Great Black-backed and Black Headed Gull as we passed by. A Great White Egret was on Swineham GP and a second flew over the Wareham Channel heading towards Keysworth. On the Brownsea Lagoon c250 Avocet were feeding and there’s been a definite arrival of dark-bellied Brent Geese with c200 in the Newton/Ower Bay area. A Barn Owl was hunting in the approach field at Lytchett Fields this evening and a ringtail Hen Harrier flew past the Middlebere hide this afternoon too. We also forgot to add that on Saturday there was an excellent November record of a Whinchat on Hartland Moor mid-morning.

Finally, news broke today that a Waxwing has already made it to Dorset (Overcombe, Weymouth), so if you know of any Rowan or berry laden trees/shrubs in your local area then keep a close eye on them over the next few weeks. And most importantly, learn their call, as you often hear them before you see them. Below is a recording we made back in February 2017 of 3 individuals sat in a small tree next to a main road in Corfe Mullen.