Good autumn numbers of passerines continue to move through with c.15 Wheatear, c.10 Whinchat, 1 Redstart and 5 Stonechat counted on the eastern edge of Greenlands Farm this afternoon. Osprey activity still continues, with male 022 landing on one of the artificial nesting platforms again this morning, and an individual seen fishing in Newton Bay from the Brands Bay hide this afternoon which then went to feed in the dead tree on the edge of Brands Bay, plus 1 passed over the Brownsea Lagoon this morning. Also in brands Bay were 5 curlew Sandpiper, 15 Pintail, 1 Whimbrel, c100 Teal, c100 black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Snipe and c25 Redshank. At Lytchett Fields, 1 Cattle Egret was present in Approach Field today, along with 30 Dunlin, 3 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 50 Redshank and 3 Greenshank. On Brownsea Lagoon, 40 Spoonbill were present, with several ring numbers logged. including NB97, NC6U, NBNZ, NB2V. Also on the Brownsea Lagoon were 6 Curlew Sandpiper, 38 Avocet, 4 Shoveler, 332 Oystercatcher, 12 Ringed Plover, 7 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Knot, 12 Dunlin, 13 Greenshank, 48 Redshank,  2 Wheatear, 1 late Swift and a Kingfisher. A sea watch from Branksome also saw 2 late Swift, 1 Common Scoter, 4 Wigeon 10 Sandwich Tern, c6 Gannet and also 1 Hobby over the harbour mouth.

Just outside of the harbour recording area, 1 European Bee-eater was reported at Harman’s Cross this morning, perched on the wires at Tabbit’s Hill Farm, though wasn’t later refound.

Wheatear – Greenlands Farm – Paul Morton

Finally, an autumn Ruff appeared in the harbour with 1 on the Swineham, Piddle Valley flood pools. Lytchett Fields was looking good again with 3 Curlew Sandpiper, 4 Spotted Redshank, 16 Greenshank, 8 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 42 Black-tailed Godwit, 28 Dunlin, 8 Ringed Plover, 73 Redshank, 8 Common Snipe, 1 Marsh Harrier and 10+ Yellow Wagtail. In Brands Bay there were 23 Pintail, 157 Teal, 2 Wigeon, 1 Osprey in dead tree at back of bay eating fish, 4 Curlew Sandpiper, 4 Knot, 1 Common Sandpiper, 9  Turnstone, 181 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Snipe and 4 Sandwich Tern. Finally, an early season lamping session last night in the south of the harbour saw 3 Nightjar, 3 Skylark and 1 Whinchat ringed.

Nightjar – Hartland

Whinchat – Hartland

A productive morning visit to Brand’s Bay featured an Osprey in dead tree opposite the hide, 4 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Knot, 62 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Sanderling, 6 Pintail, 4 Wigeon, 4 Brent Geese, 1 female Peregrine, c300 Sand Martin, 2 Wheatear, plus plenty of Curlew, Redshank and Teal. A later visit in the afternoon upped the Curlew Sandpiper count to an impressive 12! Wildfowl numbers continue to increase slowly across the harbour, but passage waders are firmly rooted as the main theme with Brownsea Lagoon featured 22 Spoonbill, 5 Avocet, 6 Ringed Plover, 68 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Knot, 11 Greenshank and small numbers of Curlew, Dunlin and Sandwich Tern. Two Osprey were logged over Gigger’s Island, Wareham Channel with one catching a fish at 10AM and a late Swift was clocked over Ridge. Lytchett Bay produced 3 Curlew Sandpiper on the high tide roost on the Fields, accompanied by a minimum of 17 Greenshank, an adult Cattle Egret and 3 Spotted Redshank. An early doors visit to Baiter Park offered 54 Oystercatcher, a lone Black-tailed Godwit and 200+ Starling. This evening male Osprey 022 was seen again on a harbour nest platform.

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper – Lytchett Bay – Pete Corbin (@petey632)

More heavy rain today, but hey, at least the various pools and scrapes that have been bone dry for the last 4 months will be getting a good topping up. It was the rising tide though that saw a decent start to the day with Lytchett Fields hosting 1 adult Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, , 15 Greenshank, 11+ Common Sandpiper, 8+ Green Sandpiper, 33 Dunlin, 40+ Redshank, 40+ Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Ringed Plover, 450 Teal, 3 Cattle Egret, 1 Marsh Harrier and 2 Whinchat. By this afternoon the rain had dropped another decent Poole Harbour bird at the fields in the shape of juvenile Black Tern along with an increase to 5 Curlew Sandpiper. In the Wareham Channel area at dawn there were 3 Osprey with 2 sitting in the same tree near RSPB Arne. Amazingly, we then later received a photo from a different harbour nest cam of our male Osprey 022 who we thought had left! This makes us wonder whether the other Osprey sat in the tree may still be 5H1? Also this morning 6 Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost and White-tailed Eagle G801 was sat on one of the gull islands this morning, viewable from the Ham Common viewpoint. In the Lower Piddle Valley a late Swift was dashing around with Swallows and Sand Martins and this evening a juv/female Garganey was on the Lower Piddle pools, just north of Swineham GP.

Male Osprey 022 still hanging about!

Some decent downpours today were much needed, whilst dropping several new Curlew Sandpiper into the harbour with 6 in Brands Bay, 2 in Lytchett Fields and 1 at Middlebere. Also at Lytchett Fields were 40+ Redshank, 1 Little Stint, 2 Spotted Redshank, 6 Common Sandpiper, 11 Greenshank, 7 Ringed Plover, 25 Dunlin, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Cattle Egret and c220 Teal. In Brands Bay there were 4 Brent Geese,  2 Pintail, 6 Wigeon, 125 Teal, 1 Osprey (same dead tree as yesterday), 1 Grey Plover, 2 Lapwing, 3 Knot, 15 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, 11 Sanderling, 149 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank and c75 Redshank. There were only 11 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon today with the others likely hiding in Middlebere. Of note, in Holes Bay north there 108 Wigeon.

Spotted Redshank – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

There was a proper autumnal chill and dampness in the air today which delivered a few oddities around the harbour. A Golden Plover (always scarce in the harbour) was at Lytchett Fields along with a Cattle Egret, 1 Whinchat, a flock of 15 Raven, 1 Sanderling, 1 Spotted Redshank, 7 Ringed Plover, 4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank, 1 Hobby and 1 Marsh Harrier. At Middlebere a Gannet flew in from the Wareham Channel direction and then settled on the water. Never a good sign sadly, with this being the second to settle in the harbour in as many weeks with one sickly looking individual in Brands Bay a couple of weeks ago. In the Wareham Channel this morning 6 Marsh Harrier left the west harbour roost and 3 Osprey were active hunting with other Ospreys logged in Holes Bay, Middlebere and Brands Bay. Also in Brands Bay were a good selection of early winter and passage birds with 203 Teal, 3 Pintail, 12 Wigeon, 3 Brent Geese (over-summering individuals), 206 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Sanderling, 25 Dunlin, 10 Knot, 4 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Whimbrel.

Golden Plover – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

There are already now up to 40 Spoonbill back in the harbour and with over a month to go until we usually see peak numbers, could it be another record breaking year? The main group were on Brownsea then up to 20 were seen heading down Middlebere and some were already on Shipstal at Arne. Although our Osprey cruises have now stopped there were still some to see with 2 in the Middlebere area and White-tailed Eagle G801 was seen over the Wareham Channel again. At Lytchett Fields there were 2 Cattle Egret with 1 Spotted Redshank there. In Middlebere there was the rare sight of an actually properly male plumaged Marsh Harrier and on the Brownsea Lagoon there were 10 Dunlin, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 14 Greenshank, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit and 7 Avocet. 

Marsh Harrier – Middlebere – Mark Wright

It was the last of our Osprey Cruises today, what an epic run it has been. The cruise this morning set out again on a low-tide, with notable species including 1 Knot, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank, c.300 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Spoonbill feeding on the mudflats. Five Marsh Harrier were active throughout the day across the Wareham Channel, a Goshawk was seen high over Hyde’s Heath, later moving across Arne Moors, as well as a Peregrine bombing towards Old Poole Town, White-tailed Eagle G801 flying low over the Holton shoreline and the ever mobile Hobby adding interest on the raptor front. There were at least 5 Osprey using the harbour today, with several seen from the boat, including a juvenile attempting to hunt (unsuccessfully) this afternoon. A couple of the highlights from the afternoon trip included a confiding Kingfisher along the Poole seawall from the get go as well as 2 Osprey hunting at in Arne Bay, putting up the flock of c.43 Spoonbill. Running these cruises twice daily over the last 15 days has really allowed us to get a feel for how the Wareham Channel functions during early autumn migration and we’ve seen numbers of sinensis Cormorant, Great Crested and Little Grebes all increase as the trips progressed.

An early morning report of Arctic Skua near the harbour entrance was a nice start to the day. A stunning total of 6 Curlew Sandpiper were reported in Brands Bay this morning on the rising tide, which is the highest number to have been previously recorded there. Also present were the 4 Brent Geese, 107 Teal, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Lapwing, 8 Knot, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 23 Dunlin, 148 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Greenshank. As the tides changed, 22 Great Crested Grebe were seen from Redhorn, with 16 Ringed Plover, 15 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 4 Turnstone, 1 Common Sandpiper, as well as 13 Pintail flying in the direction of Littlesea. At South Haven, a Green Sandpiper was spotted flying over, which is an uncommon recored for the area. Also on the rising tide at Holes Bay, 55 Wigeon, 151 Teal, 4 Pintail, 3 Shoveler, 300 Black-tailed Godwit, 133 Redshank, 20 Dunlin, 4 Knot, 2 Common Gull, 2 Water Rail and 1 Little Grebe were counted. A blue-ringed Osprey, yet to be confirmed whether juvenile or adult, was hunting in the Middlebere Channel this afternoon.

Osprey – Wareham Channel – @twamersKingfisher (male) – Poole Quay from Osprey Cruise – Alison Copland

What a great start to September! The boat this morning went out on a rising tide, with the mudflats buzzing with activity as we reached the top end of the Wareham Channel. Amongst the large numbers of Black-tailed Godwit was a small flock of 20+ Dunlin, as well as rising numbers of 30+ Avocet. 1 Spoonbill was seen in flight over the channel, and a few streams of 40+ Curlew were seen departing the mudflats later in the morning. There were at least 3 Osprey active in the area through the day, with close views of a juvenile over the boat this morning. White-tailed Eagle G801 was visible on the Arne shoreline for much of the day, while the young male G816 was seen over Lytchett Bay. Marsh Harrier activity picked up again in the Wareham Channel, with a moulting adult male putting on a show for the boats, as well as a juvenile visible quartering over the marsh regularly.

The highlight of reports today was a male Ruff was sighted in Brands Bay near Redhorn this morning, though was not able to be re-located later ing the day. Elsewhere in Brands Bay, a count produced  15 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Brent Geese, 153 Teal, 13 Ringed Plover, 2 Knot, 1 Greenshank, 112 Redshank, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 141+ Black-tailed Godwit, 13 Dunlin, 14 Sanderling, 2 Turnstone, and a summer plumage Grey Plover. A Redstart was also seen amongst the vegetation in Brands Bay. 1 Spotted Redshank was reported from Lytchett Fields this morning, as well as 1 Marsh Harrier. On top of Hartland there were 40+ Yellow Wagtail in amongst the cattle and 1 Whinchat and 3 Whitethroat there. A different Osprey from yesterday was seen hunting in Holes Bay. Around Middlebere there was a good passage of Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow and in the channel there were c180 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Avocet, 4 Greenshank, 1 Spoonbill, 1 Snipe, 1 Hobby, 1 Sparrowhawk, a late Swift, 1 Whinchat, 5 Stonechat, 2 Chiffchaff and a couple of fresh in Shoveler and Pintail.

White-tailed Eagle (G801) – Arne shoreline – Mark Wright

Juvenile Osprey – Wareham Channel – Mark Wright