Things are about to heat up….hopefully both Ornithologically as well Meteorologically! June can often be referred to as ‘the quiet month’, but so much happens, which although is subtle, still offers great birding before the main pulse of autumn migration kicks in in mid-July. June see the arrival of ‘summer herons’, whether it be dispersing juvenile Grey Herons and wandering adults, plus there’s always a rise in Little Egret in late June/early July which are probably younger birds (not juvs) moving about, which is then followed by a peak in August. Following this theme 5 Cattle Egret were seen arriving into the Wareham Channel this morning, which could also be dispersing/wandering failed breeders? as all were in full summer plumage. It was another raptor fest in the SW of the harbour with 3 Osprey interacting over Middlebere this AM which included female 6J8 and males 5H3 and his Dad, 022. Plus, 2 Peregrine flew over, as did a White-tailed Eagle, 1 Goshawk and 1 Marsh Harrier. The Brownsea Lagoon held 11 Avocet, 2 Spoonbill, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Common Ringed Plover. There were 3 Little Ringed Plover on the Stilt Pools at Swineham and 25 Black-tailed Godwit in the Wareham Channel. A decent count of 21 Swift were over Upper Parkstone this evening and yesterdays hatchling in our Wareham Swift box seemed to be doing well today with several feeds from the adults.

Newly hatched Swift getting a feed from one of the adults

Female Osprey 6J8 on harbour nest platform

We have a golden rule here at BoPH….Never be put off by the weather. Although you could barely see any of the harbour shore line this morning, the murk soon cleared to reveal a whole suit of birds right across the area. A White-tailed Eagle was in the Wareham Channel this morning and then female G466 gave incredible flight views right past our Summer Safari Cruise just before midday. At Swineham there were 3 Marsh Harrier floating around, and 1 Great White Egret, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Bearded Tit and c10 Common Swift were around the Stilt Pools, Swineham. A Little Tern was off the Brownsea south shore with c20 Common Tern and c10 Sandwich Tern. The Brownsea Lagoon held 2 Spoonbill, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Avocet and 3 Common Redshank. An Osprey was hunting in the Wareham Channel, and there were several more signs of early autumn movements with a few small parties of Curlew moving around RSPB Arne Moors and Keysworth, plus the mid-summer arrival of Little Egret is definitely underway with several groups now forming along shorelines and on the Brownsea Lagoon. A Garden Warbler was singing next to the gravel pit at Swineham, a Goshawk was seen at Middlebere along with 2 Peregrine. 

Bearded Tit – Swineham Point – Joe Parker

Female White-tailed Eagle G466 – Goat Horn Penninsular – Joe Parker

Spoonbill – Brownsea Lagoon – Joe Parker

Still not much sign of the sun, but mild temperatures and overcast sky’s do provide good conditions for moths, and there was a bumper haul at Carey Secret Garden last night/this morning with 153 species logged from 3 traps, including a Dotted Fan-foot which is possibly only the 3rd Dorset record, plus a Scarce Merveille De Jour which is red data book species. There were also some possible early signs of autumn dispersal with 3 new adult Blackcap ringed at Carey Secret Garden, suggesting some possible local dispersal due to failed breeding? Also 11 Chiffchaff were ringed which would have been local youngsters, but dispersing into the local landscape, before their longer migration later in Sept and Oct. In the Frome Valley 4 summer plumaged Cattle Egret were between Holmebridge and Wareham, where a 2nd cal year White-tailed Eagle was having a fight with a Red Kite, and was then later seen at Carey having a fight with female Osprey CJ7. The summering male Red-breasted Merganser was off Jerry’s Point this afternoon and on Brownsea there were 11 Avocet and 1 Spoonbill.

Finally, some good news, there’s been a hatching in our Swift box! The first feed seemed to be around 20:10, and with their growth being substantially faster than our Ospreys, the next 14 days should be a facinating insight into Swift nest ecology and behaviour. To watch all the drama on our Swift Cam visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/uS1oq61EuOA

Dotted Fan-foot – Carey Secret Garden – Ed Betteridge

Scarce Merveille De Jour – Carey Secret Garden – Ed Betteridge

Wareham Webcam Swift pair feeding their newly hatched young

It was much of the same today, left overs from teh weekend with 2 Osprey in and around Middlebere and the southern shores, 1 adult and 1 2nd cal year White-tailed Eagle over Corfe and Middlebere, a Spotted Flycatcher was at RSPB Arne and another at Carey Secret Garden. An Osprey caught a fish on Lytchett Fields during the high tide, a Goshawk was over Holton Lee and 2 Marsh Harrier were in and around Swineham Point.

Male Osprey ‘5H3’ near RSPB Arne yesterday – Mark Wright

Another warm day in the harbour with conditions more settled. Lots of raptor activity, especially with the local Peregrine families with the Poole birds flying well now and at Corfe Castle 2 chicks getting very close to fledging. Ospreys 6J8 and 5H3 were seen interacting again in the Middlebere Channel as well as catching fish successfully. Also present in Middlebere were 1 Spoonbill and 1 White-tailed Eagle. There was a decent count of 25 Common Swift over Upper Parkstone this morning and there were a few more signs of ‘autumn’ progressing with 13 Avocet on the Brownsea Lagoon now, along with 4 Teal, 3 Redshank and 11 Bar-tailed Godwit, plus 1 Spoonbill, also the emergence and dispersal of young from the local breeders suggest autumn passage is just around the corner with young Common Whitethroats moving around out on Ballard Down.

Outside of the Poole Harbour boundary but, this evening we took out a successful Seabird and Puffin Cruise to Dancing Ledge with 2 Puffin sat on the water at Dancing Ledge plus another 2 observed on the cliff ledge, along with 6 Fulmar, 6 Kittiwake, 500+ Guillemot and 3 Razorbill. 

Juvenile common Whitethroat – Ballard Down Peter Moore

A slightly better day, and although the wind persisted, but faded away by sunset, the sun started to make things feel warmer by late afternoon, giving us a taste of the weekend to come. A decent return across the harbour included 2 Osprey in Middlebere this AM including Scottish female 6J8, and a Hobby was over the Middlebere hide. This evening an Osprey caught a fish in the Wareham Channel and there were 2 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon with 4 Sanderling and 9 Avocet, and at Swineham a pair of Bearded Tit were active and a Hobby was over RSPB Arne Moors. This afternoon another Osprey was hunting over RSPB Lytchett Fields, 2 Spoonbill were in Middlebere and the Peregrine family were active on the Asda building, Poole, Holes Bay.

Spoonbill – Middlebere – Alison Copland