As mid-June approaches, the rate of sightings inevitably begins to drop off as people start turning their attentions to summer holidays and BBQ’s…and quite rightly so. But although it all gets a bit ‘samey’ this time of year we’re so lucky that our ‘samey’ is in fact incredibly rich in variation. Many birds are now on second (or even third) broods and whether you’re tracking down parties of Dartford Warbler, family groups of Stonechat, small flocks of Woodlark, trilling Linnets, noisy and raucous Sandwich Terns, mystical Nightjars, melodic Blackcaps, vocally explosive Tree Pipit, acrobatic Hobby or even just out for a nice stroll in the Dorset countryside then there is still plenty to see and experience. The weeks seem to move so fast now and it won’t be long before long summer days already draw in cool autumnal breezes over dark coastal sky’s so with the whether next week set to be a scorcher get out there and enjoy it with the birds. Today the 5 Spoonbill were again roosting on Lytchett Fields and the Osprey was seen heading to Wareham Forest having just caught a fish in the Wareham Channel.  

Spoonbill – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

With the wind swinging round more southerly it gave Poole Bay a chance of hosting some Storm Petrels and seeing as Hengistbury had 15 by mid-morning it made sence to have a check off Branksome chine and sure enough, within a few minuets 2 Storm Petrel past west fairly close into shore. We didn’t stay long so there could have been more out there but 8 Gannet, 5 Sandwich Tern and a Fulmar were also counted. There was a report of a drake Common Scoter in Arne Bay which given the strength and direction of the wind is absolutely possible, even though its early summer. On the Brownsea Lagoon, the Sandwich Terns are now feeding chicks which you can watch LIVE on our Brownsea Lagoon webcam. Also on Brownsea were 3 Spoonbill, 1 Avocet and c40 Black-tailed Godwit. 

Things did pick up slightly today with an Osprey high over the Wareham Channel mid-morning although it seemed the wind and choppy water made it hard for it to hunt. Also out over the Wareham Channel/Arne moors area were 2 Hobby and a female type Marsh Harrier. The 5 Spoonbill were again on Lytchett Fields before moving off late morning. We also forgot to mention that on June 4^th a Red Kite passed over the Osprey nesting platform in Middlebere. 

Today was another cold and blustery day with few sightings reported. Lots of Hirundines (Swallow & House Martin) and Swifts enjoying the breeze though, feeding low over floodplains in the Frome Valley where cattle were present. Most birds it seemed were keeping low, and quite rightly too. You know things are tough when you resort to ‘focus practice’ on a heard of distant Sika Deer to test the true capabilities of your binoculars! Oh well, there always tomorrow. 

As predicted the weather really set in today and by mid afternoon it was lashing down….oh the joys of June! There was a bit of birding to be had through the morning and amazingly last weeks Common Crane was seen again flying west along the Arne Road at 6:15am and was again seen later flying over Wareham around 10:30am. We also managed to ring our first Barn Owl chicks of the year with 4 healthy chicks at a nest box in Ridge. We had only put this box up within the last couple of years so are really pleased its now being used after a blank first year. Its been a good season for Barn Owls so far this year with pairs at Middlebere, Arne, Ridge, Swineham, Worgret and also a likely pair near Holton Lee.The Arne Osprey wasn’t seen today, however Marsh Harriers were seen over Arne Moors and at Middlebere where there were also 6 Grey Plover out on the mud. There were also still 5 Spoonbill on Lytchett Fields. A brief sea watch at Branksome Chine produced 46 Manx Shearwater, 1 Kittiwake, 1 Fulmar and 5 Gannet.

Barn Owl chicks – Ridge

Other than the Arne Osprey, 4 Spoonbill on Lytchett Fields, 2 Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel and Cuckoo seen on Slepe Heath there wasn’t a lot reported today. Interestingly the BTO’s sat-tagged Cuckoo project is showing the some male Cuckoo’s are ALREADY heading back south again for the winter…its only June 4^th!!!!!! You better believe it guys, autumn migration has already begun, and with tomorrows forecast looking particularly iffy, it may feel like winter is shortly to follow. Still, its good conditions for a sea-watch. 

The weather is due to take a turn for the worse over the coming days so it was a welcome sight for our monthly field trip to have clear blue sky and little wind for our trip to Holton Lee this morning. Our group did well with a nice mixture of birds including 5 Spoonbill which flew in from the south/west and dropped down on to Lytchett Fields. A Red Kite drifted over-head heading north/west which seemed to be part of a bigger movement across southern Britain today. On the heath there were 2 Woodlark, 2 Tree Pipit, 1 Dartford Warbler, plenty of Linnet, Stonechat and newly fledged birds including Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue, Great and Coal Tit. We also nipped into the newly opened and refurbished Holton Pools hide which produced Reed Warbler and c60 Black-tailed Godwit flying by. The Osprey was again on the perching pole at Arne before making its way over to the dead trees and a Marsh Harrier was out hunting to the right of the hide. 

Osprey – Middlebere – Mark Wright (02/06/17)

Spoonbill – Holton Pools/Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Monthly field trip – Holton Lee – Barbara Bisset

Another day and another hour spent on the Middlebere nesting platform by the male Osprey. It spent time on the perching post initially and then hopped on to the actual nest its self for 20 minutes. Also at Arne were 3 Hobby, 1 Marsh Harrier, 5 Dartford Warbler and a Tree Pipit, all seen from Coombe Heath. There were 18 Swift ‘screaming’ above Ashley Cross, Parkstone mid-evening which is apparently more than usual this time of year. There seem to be several un-paired Great Crested Grebe still out in the harbour with birds still in Holes Bay, Lytchett Bay, Brands Bay and Parkstone Bay. There was also a report of 3 Kayakers acting suspiciously at a small and remote Gull colony on Long Island, directly opposite Shipstal Beach, Arne. One individual was seen walking out across the colony, however its so late in the season that almost all eggs would have now hatched. 

Today, the what seems to now be a semi resident Osprey kept up the intrigue by hanging around the Arne area before alighting on the Middlebere nesting platform again late afternoon. On Lytchett Fields the 3 Spoonbill were present again having been on Brownsea earlier, with 1 Grey Plover, 2 Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Gadwall, 5 Lapwing and 4 Ringed Plover also on Lytchett Fields. Another Nightjar ringing session in the Canford Heath area produced another new bird ringed. We also received news back from Doc Martin Collinson of a tristis type Chiffchaff caught and ringed at Fleets Corner back on Jan 27^th 2017 confirming via DNA analysis that it was indeed a Siberian Chiffchaff which wasn’t surprising considering it called repeatedly like one and was also as pale as dish water. 

There was an interesting couple of sightings today which first consisted of a colour-ringed Common Crane in the Lower Frome Valley, Arne Moors, found at 6am which revealed (after a quick call to the RSPB) to be a five year old female called Margaret. This bird was part of the RSPB’s ‘Class of 2012′ group hatched on the Somerset Levels. Sadly it didn’t hang around long and wasn’t seen again after 8:30am. The other intriguing sighting from today consisted of another ringed bird which was an Osprey seen sat on the nesting platform in Middlebere around lunchtime. Again, this bird didn’t stay long either, but as it flew over the observer a photographed revealed it had a blue ring on the right leg, indicating its either a Welsh or English bird, rather than a Scottish one. We assume this is the same bird that’s been hanging around for a few weeks now and what’s even more interesting was that there were 2 reported in Wareham Forest too. Any Osprey sightings, within Poole Harbour or Wareham Forest please report to us either via Twitter or by email and we’d be really interested in seeing/receiving any photos too. The 3 Spoonbill were again on the Brownsea Lagoon.

Roseate Terns – Brownsea Lagoon – Jon Mercer (27/05/17)