Arne RSPB - Mon 3 Jan

A family day out today and we headed off to Arne RSPB but not without a brief stop on the outskirts of Dorchester where I was able to connect with the Russian White-fronted Geese that had been present for a week or so.

I counted a total of eight birds and it was a real delight to see them, my first for a few years.

It was then off to Arne RSPB where we started with a walk around Coombe Heath but with the tide in there were very few waders in the Middlebeare channel. Another birder told us of a perched Hen Harrier in a bush opposite the hide, but we arrived a few minutes later to find a Buzzard in the bush!

After a picnic lunch we walked out to Shipstal Beach where we missed one of the Isle of Wight reintroduced White-tailed Eagles that had been hanging around Poole Harbour by a few minutes, however, I found a female Merlin perched up, which was some consolation.

A total of twenty-nine Spoonbills were noted but the rest of the birds seen were pretty routine fair, with very little on the water out in Poole Harbour and few waders present also. However, it was a wonderful day out and I even picked up an adult Mediterranean Gull in the roost at Sutton Bingham on the way home.