Dorset Bird Club

Interesting behaviour from
A Great Tit building it’s nest. Great to be able to monitor its progress. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Forster's Tern at Poole Park Lake. YouTube video by Brett Spencer

Paid homage to the Forster's Tern in Poole Harbour today, where it showed brilliantly at Poole Park Lake.
youtu.be/P_LFUUDwGD8?...

Bardolf Farm - A misty day on the farm; Cattle Egret 11, Corn Bunting 149, Geese; Egyptian 3, Greylag 4, Canada 33; Snipe 6, Gulls; Great Black Backed 2, Lesser Black Backed 3, 🦉🌍🦜@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits
Brownsea Lagoon, Poole, Dorset
Seen Thursday on the Birds of Poole Harbour Winter Safari
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Red-breasted Mergansers
Poole Harbour, Dorset
Seen Thursday on the Birds of Poole Harbour Winter Safari
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Marsh Harrier with nesting material
Poole Harbour, Dorset
Seen Thursday on the Birds of Poole Harbour Winter Safari
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Common Gull and Great Northern Diver
Poole Harbour, Dorset
Seen Thursday on the Birds of Poole Harbour Winter Safari
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Forster's Tern
A few more photos from Thursday
Poole Park, Dorset
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Forster's Tern just visible from the Weymouth-London Waterloo train 😅 (Obvs much better views from Poole Park!) #DorsetBirds #LowCarbonBirding

@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social Long staying Black-necked Grebe, plus 30 Mediterranean Gulls and a Sand Martin at Longham Lakes

Visited Poole Park with Kev Heath y'day morning to see the Forster's tern. Our timing was perfect - the bird appeared just as we arrived and joined the others already waiting. A great bird in the gloomy conditions @birdguides.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social.

Also at Poole Park, Kev Heath and I added sandwich tern and mandarin to our year lists @birdguides.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social.

Group of gulls and Terns on wooden posts. They all have white underparts and grey wings, and varying arounds of black on their heads. One Tern is a vagrant Foster's Tern and had a black eyemask and some dark streaking on its otherwise white head. It had orange legs which stands out from the nearby black legged Sandwich Terns, and a black bill that is conical.

Same group of birds but the Forster's Tern has turned around to show pale grey upper parts and even paler primaries.

Train arriving at a platform. There are benches on each side of the flatform. The train is mostly grey and dark blue. It is a small station with a bridge linking the 3 platforms. It is overcast. The information board for the platform with train says "Weymouth and..."

Couldn't resist direct train to Poole to reacquaint myself with the Forster's Tern! Great to see on the deck after the fleeting views past patch 3 years ago. Maybe it'll return? 🙏 #LowCarbonBirding #DorsetBirds

Forster's Tern at Poole Park after a short wait this morning. Nice to catch up with it again after seeing it three years ago.
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Hoping the Forster's Tern stays long enough to photograph it in sunshine - but still a treat to see at such close quarters today after adding it to the bike list earlier in the week for the 3rd year in 4 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Not something I expected to see over work today… A pair of Cranes drifting up the Lower Piddle Valley alongside a WT Eagle.

Amazing to see soaring together overhead, making the scale of one another seem average when they’re both flying barn doors 😅 Species recovery in action!
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A small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits dropping into the Brownsea Island Lagoon this morning.

Viewed from an excellent @harbourbirds.bsky.social Winter Cruise around Poole Harbour with excellent commentary from Joe and Sam.

Its only taken 7 seasons over 4 years, to see the Forster's Tern from South Haven, Studland
The 3rd Studland record
It was feeding around Stone Island with 4 Sarnie Terns 07:20-07:30
I lost it as it flew back towards Brownsea
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A cold northerly made today’s boat trip feel like winter again with a good haul of species including 3 GN Diver, 5 BN Grebe, 2 WT Eagle, 2 Spoonbill, 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Red Kite, c150 Avocet, c80 Barwit, c70 Med Gull @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Little Gull Rock Lea View Lytchett Bay Poole Harbour Dorset @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social #birds

Forster's Tern showing well at Poole Park this morning
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A Female Mandarin Duck flew downriver over Holmebridge mid-AM today, before dropped out of sight
Also, 23 Cattle Egrets feeding upriver of Holmebridge
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Poole Park - The Forster's Tern that has been frequenting the posts near the model boating area within the park. Also Sandwich Tern and the resident drake Mandarin Duck 🦉🌍🦜@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social

A selection of birds seen from the @harbourbirds.bsky.social cruise around much of Poole Harbour, including all the way around Brownsea Island. 😀

Nest building Marsh Harrier,
Sleeping Turnstones
Grey Plovers in the Lagoon
Sandwich Tern.

A final selection of wildlife images from a Birds of Poole Harbour cruise around Poole Harbour this week.

Common Gull
Great Northern Diver probably leaving soon and heading north
Godwits on Alert, some in Summer Plumage
Sika Deer

@harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social 2 cranes flew over Wareham common approx an hour ago heading towards swineham

Forster’s Tern still out on buoy in middle of Poole Park main lake @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Poole Park- Forster's Tern still on post within park. Pic BOC @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social

To say that the Poole Park Forster's Tern is showy is a bit of an understatement... By far and away my best views of this returning American vagrant over the last few years @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

2 Common Crane and WTE circling over Carey now @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social