Yet again there was a big push of passerines moving through the harbour this morning with Sedge Warbler being the most prominent species. Now is also the best time to try and see species such as Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Common Redstart and Common Whitethroat on migration and a good search through scrubby areas of Ballard and Studland Village, Littlesea, Greenland’s Farm, Middlebere, Arne, Soldiers Road and Hartland Moor should reward you with a nice mix of species. At Ballard Down this morning 152 Sedge Warbler, 31 Willow Warbler, 13 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler and 12 Common Whitethroat were logged moving through the area and at Lytchett Fields 78 Sedge Warbler, 19 Willow Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler and 1 Garden Warbler were logged. Lytchett Fields there was a good mix of birds including 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Ruff and a Whinchat. On Holton Pools there was sadly no sign of the Wood Sandpiper but there were 2 Green Sandpiper and the usual clan of Little Egrets. In Middlebere there were 6 Spoonbill, 6 Greenshank and 2 Osprey.

As august progresses more and more migrants are being reported heading south and at sites right across the harbour you stand a good chance of encountering a whole range of species. At our ringing site near Ballard Down there was a nice mix of birds ringed this AM including a Pied Flycatcher, 31 Willow Warbler, 61 Sedge Warbler, 7 Reed Warbler, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler and 8 Common Whitethroat. At Arne and Hartland Moor Wheatear are now trickling through and can be seen in two’s and three’s. A juvenile Common Cuckoo was on Stoborough Heath and at Middlebere 2 Osprey were hanging around the Middlebere nest platform for most of the day. It looks as if there were 2 Wood Sandpiper today with a bird present on Holton Pools with another on Lytchett Fields around the same time. In the west of the harbour despite a poor summer for Marsh Harrier they’re a bit more conspicuous with a couple of new birds passing through every so often and today one was seen over Middlebere and Swineham.

The waders keep on coming and the Brownsea Lagoon was busy with at least 20 Greenshank and well as Spotted Redshank, 1 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Green Sandpiper. At Lytchett Bay an Osprey was hunting out over the bay and on the fields was a Wood Sandpiper, 18 Dunlin and 10 Greenshank. We’re now also beginning to see the increase in Spoonbill as there were 6 in Middlebere and 4 at Shipstal.

Greenshank – Brownsea Lagoon – Hamish Murray

Waders are on the move en mass this time of year and become very active as they coming and go with the setting and rising of the sun as almost all waders migrate at night. There was a lovely setting at Lytchett Fields this evening which was already special with the presence of both a Wood and Curlew Sandpiper. As dusk settled up to 19 Green Sandpiper and 12 Common Sandpiper flew around the site calling excitedly before we presume moving off south when the sun set. There were also 22 Dunlin, 15 Snipe and the first returning juvenile Black-tailed Godwit of the year. On Brownsea there are still a few Common Terns yet to fledge but it seems the Sandwich Terns are now done for the year. The Purple Heron came in a bit earlier this evening (9:00pm), just how long is this bird going to hang around? Again, 2 Osprey were hanging around Arne all day and the first migrant Wheatears were seen on top of Hartland.

Little Egret – Holton Pools – John Pick

Great Black-backed Gull chicks – Brownsea Beach – Val Smith

Migration is really picking up now and up at our ringing site on Ballard Down a good pulse of Sedge Warbler moved through the area with 72 ringed along with a 7 Reed Warbler, 7 Grasshopper Warbler, 6 Garden Warbler, 5 Common Whitethroat, 5 Willow Warbler and a Tawny Owl! Another ringing site in the harbour (Lytchett Bay) was an equally busy warbler fest with 130 Sedge Warbler, 19 Reed Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 7 Garden Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat and 1 Dartford Warbler ringed. It was nice to see Holes Bay get some wader selection with 2 Common Sandpiper in the NE section and a fresh juvenile Kingfisher (possibly taking up residence for the winter now), and in the SE section 2 Curlew Sandpiper (an excellent Holes Bay record) also 1 Greenshank and just a single Dunlin. The Purple Heron again came into the Littlesea roost at 21:20. In Middlebere the 4 Spoonbill were at the end of the channel again and the 2 adult Osprey were still hanging around the Coombe Heath/Middlebere area.

On Lytchett Fields the Curlew Sandpiper was still out on French’s Pools with 5 Common Sandpiper and 6 Greenshank. In Middlebere there were only 4 Spoonbill today and 2 adult Ospreywere still active commuting between the Wareham Channel and our release site. At South Haven it was good to see 6 Sanderling back, although these will most likely be migrants passing through rather than over-winterers and in Brands Bay there were 83 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 64 Redshank, 7 Dunlin and 2 Whimbrel.

Curlew Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

We’re at that exciting time of year where our Osprey translocation sees the release of our first set of birds. This year saw a small range of ages between the chicks and at the beginning of the week the first 5 were ready for release, which was incredibly exciting. It didn’t take long for the first birds to fly free and by the end of the day the five were getting used to life on the wing around the release site. For the next 7-10 days they’ll stay fairly close to the pens as provisions continue to be put out for them, but over time they’ll begin exploring other areas of the harbour and hopefully allow members of the public to see them around sites like Arne and Middlebere. We’ll keep you posted with their progress and look forward to hearing about their shenanigans over the coming weeks! The Purple Heron again came into roost at Littlesea around 21:30 and a Red Kite drifted over Arne Moors. There were 2-3 adult Osprey in the harbour today too, some of which have all ready began interacting with our translocated chicks. At Lytchett Fields a new Curlew Sandpiper was on the fields mixed in with the Dunlin along with 6 Common Sandpiper and 9 Greenshank. In the Middlebere Channel 5 Spoonbill were still feeding in the southern end.

Released Osprey chicks 013 and 014 enjoying life on the wing.  

The Littlesea Purple Heron looks well and truly settled and came into roost again last night at 21:20. No doubt it will disappear in due course but never has this species stayed for so long in the harbour before so if you’re keen to try and see it then heading up to higher hide for dusk, directly opposite the Greenland’s Farm entrance would be a good idea. There are 2-3 Osprey still in the harbour with a definite un-ringed bird and what looked to be a blue ringed bird on the right leg, possibly CJ7 back again? There were 5 Spoonbill in Middlebere with 2 Spotted Redshank, 8 Greenshank and Whimbrel are numerous in the channels and bays along the southern shores and a handful in the northern bays such as Holes and Brands Bay. Holes Bay NE also held 74 Curlew, 95 Redshank, 8 Oystercatcher, 38 Little Egret and 125 Black-tailed Godwit. A Hobby was over Brands Bay with another 2 over Slepe Copse.

Things are picking up really nicely as they should do at the beginning on August with a really nice mix of new arrivals, but also quality long-stayers. Out of the blue the Littlesea Purple Heron came into roost again at dusk with 50 Little Egret and a pale phase Arctic Skua was out in Studland Bay. Another Pied Flycatcher was seen with one at Littlesea along with a Spotted Flycatcher. At Lytchett Heath the autumns first flyover Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail went over at dawn and a busy ringing session produced 26 migrant Sedge Warbler, 24 Willow Warbler, 16 Reed Warbler and 1 Lesser Whitethroat. There were 2 adult Osprey in the harbour today with one seen over Lytchett Bay and another at the same time at Arne. At Holton Pools there were 3 Green Sandpiper and 2 Common Sandpiper. At Middlebere a post breeding flock of 20+ Mistle Thrush flew across the lane and there were 5 Spoonbill in the channel along with a Cattle Egret later in the evening. There was also a juvenile Marsh Harrier that was going between Middlebere, Wytch and even Lytchett Fields. In Brands Bay there were 4 Whimbrel, 77 Med Gulls, 3 Teal and 10 Swift went over south. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 8 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper (rare here), 2 Turnstone, 40 Dunlin but a whopping 350 Common Tern.

There was more good coverage of the harbour today with a nice selection of birds including 1 Osprey, 6 Spotted Redshank, 9 Greenshank, 119 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Avocet, 3 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel 1 Hobby and 1 Marsh Harrier at Middlebere with several migrant Willow Warbler and Whitethroat along the lane. At Holton Pools there were 2 Green Sandpiper and 1 Common Sandpiper with an Osprey seen over Lytchett Bay and at Lytchett Fields 3 Green Sandpiper, 9 Greenshank, 63 Redshank and 12 Little Egret. What was almost certainly a Black Kite was seen drifting over Slepe Heath mid morning, but sadly couldn’t be clinched. A Cattle Egret was at the mouth of Middlebere mid morning and a juv Marsh Harrier flew along the channel and there seem to be plenty of Whimbrel about with Middlebere, Wytch, Brands and Bramble Bush Bays all holding birds. At dusk, what was thought to be the Purple Heron was seen in the Littlesea roost but sadly it was too dark to confirm.