Dorset Birds: Sunday 5th February 2023.

Egyptian Goose - 2 Silverlake.
Goldeneye - 3 Poole Harbour.
Sanderling - 10+ Poole Harbour mouth.
Common Sandpiper - 1 Silverlake.
Spotted Redshank - 1 Lytchett Bay.
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 Silverlake.
Great Northern Diver - 2 Poole Harbour (North Channel and Hamworthy beach)
Spoonbill - 9 Middlebere.
White-tailed Eagle - 2 soaring over Purbeck.
Red Kite - 1 Badbury Rings, 1 Studland.
Marsh Harrier - 5 Christchurch Harbour, 1 Wareham Channel.
Hen Harrier - 3 Milborne St Andrew.
Merlin - 2 Milborne St Andrew.
Stonechat - a leucistic bird at Silverlake.
Rosy Starling - 1 Milborne St Andrew.
Firecrest - 1 Winterborne Stickland.
Cirl Bunting - 2-3 on a private site in west Dorset.

Curlew, Stanpit © Clinton Whale

Firecrest, Winterborne Stickland © Will Bown

RARE BREEDING BIRDS

Dorset Bird Club and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel advocate special caution when reporting rare breeding birds as they are vulnerable to persecution and disturbance.

Please consider the birds welfare and do not share details of any rare breeding species on X/Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp groups, personal websites, blogs, or local birdwatching message boards.

We urge all finders of rare birds to consider whether they may be breeding before sharing the news.

Sightings should always be submitted, in confidence, to the county recorder to contribute to long-term national monitoring.