After the recent gales it was a beautiful day on the Studland peninsula, the sea was like a mill pond and there was excellent visibility. After a few short stops on the Poole side of the harbour entrance I walked along Shell Bay to Pilot’s Point. The Red-necked Grebe that has been seen close inshore was now a long way out, but several Black-necked Grebes were seen close in, along with a Great Northern Diver and at the point a group of Sanderlings fed along the shore.
Shell Bay with the Haven Hotel and the chain ferry in the background. On her arrival in Poole in June 2002 Margaret nearly rammed the ferry, expecting it would give way to boat under sail!
A digiscoped shot of a Black-necked Grebe
Inside the harbour many more Black-necked Grebes were seen, the air was so clear that I could identify the flocks of Avocets heading for Middlebere on the far side of the harbour. Littlesea, once the winter domain of hundreds of wildfowl is now completly birdless, recent illeagally introduced fish may have upset the enviromental balance of this freshwater lake, however I did see a Dartford Warbler in the surrounding heaathland.
Littlesea, a fresh water lagoon in the middle of the dune system
More grebes and the introduced parakeets were seen near Studland. On my way back I received a phone call from Jackie Hull who was watching a Crane circling over Corfe Mullen. I headed quickly in that direction but later receiving a text to say it was heading south-west I went to the Baker’s Arms roundabout in the hope I could see it in Lytchett Bay airspace, but to no avail. I finally went to Mordon Bog, an area of lake, bog and forest to the west, which is not unlike Crane breeding areas in northern europe but again had no luck.
On a more serious note, today would have been my late wife Janet’s birthday, so I called in at her grave at the Parish Church to pay my respects.
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