Shaun Robson

Raining so hard for the #Biggardenbirdwatch. Birds were heading for the Ark!! They came 2 by 2 😁 2x Blackcap, Firecrest, Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Great Spot Wood! Also more quality thanks to our regular Cettis 😁 #Dorsetbirds

A Red Fox walks past a Marsh Harrier which is sat on the ground, neither seemingly bothered by the other

We were at Lytchett Fields RLV on New Year's Eve and this Fox walked straight past the Marsh Harrier, feet away! They didn't seem interested in each other at all.
(Dodgy phone held up to scope photo)
@narwhalsh.bsky.social
@ianballam.bsky.social
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
#LytchettBay

Bearded Reedling in full splits position this morning at Lytchett Heath

A pair of Smew with 2 Wigeon, Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A pair of Smew with a Goldeneye (left), Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A pair of Smew with a Red-breasted Merganser (left), Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A drake Greater Scaup (right) with a Red-breasted Merganser, Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

Pretty chuffed to find a drake Smew at Brand's Bay, Poole Harbour this morning. c 30 secs later @moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social picked up its redhead mate nearby! First drake in Dorset since one on this exact date in 2008, apparently 😯. Enjoyed/ticked by many local birders.
@harbourbirds.bsky.social

A group of Greater White-fronted Geese feeding in a grassy field

Three Tundra Bean Geese flying past a wood

Watching these beautiful Greater White-fronted Geese, hoping for the Tundra Bean Geese to arrive, and eventually they did! A lifer for me and 13th addition to my Dorset life list during 2025! Lytchett Bay WeBS on Sunday!
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
#DorsetBirds
#ukbirding

A belated Christmas present from @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social has just arrived. Something to keep me busy reading in the coming days
If you would like a copy, there are some good memberships from DBC

Happy Birthday. Bean Geese would be a fine present. 🤞

Viewable high tide roosts in Poole Harbour are relatively few. The new viewpoints on the south side of Lytchett Bay enable visitors to enjoy this one without disturbance.

Fine Christmas Eve on patch. Brilliant to see successful impact of partnership work to discourage recreational disturbance and protect roost on Turlin Point. 2 Spoonbill, 75 Avocet, 60 Oystercatcher, Wigeon and more benefiting. Merry Christmas to all followers, look forward to your nature stories 26

No. Buy the pictorial Poole Harbour tide tables from a chandler and remember to add 45 mins to Poole Quay tide time. Much more reliable. Just remember that rainfall, wind direction and air pressure can mean that predictions become meaningless. Especially on neap tides.

Juv Spanish Eagle

Greater Flamingos. Confirming that bridge cameras can take decent flight shots if light is good enough

Slender-billed Gull

Bird filled short break to Southern Portugal. Uplifting to see so much habitat being utilised by so many larks, buntings, sparrows, ducks, waders and gulls. If you wondered where our autumn Chiffchaff wave went...we found them in abundance. ebird.org/tripreport/4...

Membership subscriptions for 2025 are now due. Membership benefits include supporting local wildlife conservation. To join: www.chog.org.uk/join-chog-pa...

Front cover of the Dorset Bird Report 2024, showing a 1st winter 'Isabelline' Shrike perched on the top of a narrow branch, set against a blurred green. The report's title is in large white font in the top left of the image, & the club's logo (a Hoopoe overlaid on an outline of the county boundary) is in the bottom right.

Screengrab from the Dorset Bird Club website explaining the Christmas membership offer, with a photograph of a Hoopoe and the club name forming a narrow banner at the bottom of the image.

Support your county bird club! Dorset Bird Club is a fantastic organisation that funds conservation initiatives, collates ornithological data from across the county, & provides a social & focal hub for local birders. If you're not one already, DBC have a fab new membership offer for the next... 1/n

No expert by a long stretch but looks like Herring to me Phil. As you note bill stubby. Also thought it was underwing coverts that should be pale?

Narwhal recorded in Ireland for the first time A female Narwhal washed ashore on a Co Donegal beach, marking the first confirmed record of this Arctic whale species in Irish waters. Scientists are investigating whether climate change could explain the unprecedented stranding.

A Narwhal has washed up on the Irish coast for the first time:

Coming very very soon. To get hold of one quickly why not take advantage of our offer and join us. dorsetbirds.co.uk/membership/ 2/2

Membership offer, just click dorsetbirds.co.uk/membership/ 1/2

Reviewing the RBBP species list Reviewing the RBBP species list Mediterranean Gull, Mark Eaton The RBBP collects data and reports upon all native species with UK breeding populations of fewer than 2,000 pairs. In addition, s...

NEW BLOG - the RBBP reviews what species we should collect data on regularly. Here’s an explanation of what we consider when species are removed, and why Avocet and Mediterranean Gull are staying on our list, for now rbbp.org.uk/2025/11/25/r...

🤣 I agree to some degree 😁 As someone who has not done any form of year list since 2008 I am not the best advocate BUT I do think listing can be a motivator to go out more often and to visit new places. 👍

Don't know for sure what Dorset record is but Kevin Lane got high 250's one year with obsessive effort. To give some context I have seen 180+ regularly in last few years and I probably leave Lytchett patch on less than 20 dates per year. Good luck.

200 is achievable with a reasonable bit of commitment and planning but without ruining your life. Key is to get every regular species in their appropriate season then top up with a few scarce and rare twitches. My best is 222. That was when I was working and I gave up in September. 1/2

Thanks Daniel. It is a Northern Wheatear as you reported. Good to get to the bottom of it. 👍

Interesting. Location and date suggest a close look worthwhile. Can you please give me a pin. 🙏

Good day on Lytchett patch. Great to finally have some clear cold(er) weather. 2 Glossy Ibis, 6 Spoonbill, 2 Goosander, 22 Fieldfare, 86 Brent and generally rather birdy. @harbourbirds.bsky.social #Dorsetbirds

Species recovery comes in many forms. Targeted reintroductions, long term legal protection & habitat creation/restoration. All are as important as each other. It doesn’t matter how it’s done as long as it gets done. During our WeBS survey today we saw the benefits of all three methods. 🙌

The eyes of the world should be on Ecuador tomorrow. The Trump-backed government is holding a referendum to permit US military bases in the Galapagos, and allow changes to the country's unique constitution to facilitate mining, threatening the rights of nature and indigenous people. Disastrous! 🦤🐢🌎

A record 8 Water Pipit have been colour ringed by Stour Ringing Group this winter at RSPB Lytchett. This is part of a UK scheme to find out more about Water Pipit migration across Europe.
www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/winter-birdi...
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
Photos by @narwhalsh.bsky.social

Having a brill day on patch! @joestockwell.bsky.social picked up a Yellow-browed Warbler (1st this year) & then he found a Pallas’s Warbler! First site record! Also 2 Siberian Chiffchaff & a late Garden Warbler present. Then I refound the drake Baikal Teal! @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Our first nocturnal ringing demo of the winter is coming up on 19th November, where we'll hope to show you birds like Woodcock, Jack Snipe and Common Snipe being ringed under BTO license.
www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/sunnys...
Photo of Jack Snipe being ringed - Steve Grundy

Rock pipit AEJ

Saltvic,Finland to Ness Point,Lowestoft 03,11,2025

UPDATE.A prompt response from Finland confirms that this is only the Fourth recovery of a Finnish ringed Rock Pipit in England.Ringed as a Nestling in Saltvic Archipelago SW Finland 27,06,2025. and recorded Lowestoft 03,11,2025 #suffolkbirdgroup #bto #ukbirding #birdingfinland #rockpipit

YouTube video by Rare Breeding Birds Panel Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2023

Our report for 2023 is out now in @britishbirds.bsky.social. There's a summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... but if you prefer to watch rather than read then here's RBBP secretary @markaeaton.bsky.social with a few key points and some lovely photos! #ornithology #ukbirds youtu.be/arj1m7NfKmY