Sightings - Thursday 3rd February 2011

Barnacle Goose - 50+ at Abbotsbury Swannery
Red-crested Pochard - drake on Little Sea, Studland
Scaup - 30+ at Abbotsbury Swannery
Velvet Scoter - 7 in Poole Bay off Southbourne
Eider - 1 at Bramble Bush Bay
Smew - redhead on the mere at West Bexington
Red-necked Grebe - 1 past Portland Bill
Slavonian Grebe - 1 at Studland Bay
Purple Sandpiper - 3 at Portland Bill
Long-billed Dowitcher - 1 still in Poole Park (at the north eastern corner of the main boating lake)
Spotted Redshank - 1 at Stanpit Marsh
Green Sandpiper - 3 at Dodding's Farm Cress Beds, Bere Regis
Mediterranean Gull - 166 at Ferrybridge
Short-eared Owl - 1 at Coombe Heath DWT (not Arne)
Water Pipit - 1 by the 'hump' at Lodmoor, 1 at Stanpit Marsh
Waxwing - 40 in Bournemouth (jct of Littledown Drive and Wessex Way).  In Christchurch, 40 reportedly 'mobile around the town', 20+ by the doctors surgery in Purewell, 13 briefly in North Scrubs, Stanpit Marsh and 2+ on Stroud Lane.  In Weymouth, 6 were at Winchester Close
Black Redstart - 1 at Portland Bill
Siberian Chiffchaff - 1 at Portland Bill
Raven - a total of 181 birds roosted in woods north west of Minterne Magna (a new Dorset record count)

Long-billed Dowitcher at Poole Park © Steve Morrison