The sunny, warm conditions made raptor watching ideal today. During our morning Summer Safari Cruise, 1 Osprey (presumably male 022) was seen in the Wareham channel, attempting to catch a fish. For a while, this Osprey was seen mobbing male White-tailed eagle, G463, who was observed flying off the back of the boat before landing on the salt marsh. A few moments later, a Marsh Harrier then joined in mobbing the eagle. Later in the journey, another 2 Marsh harrier, 1 Kestrel, 5 Common Buzzard and a juvenile Peregrine falcon were spotted by all on board.

While cruising up the mouth of the River Frome, 4 Bearded tit made their typical ‘pinging’ calls and appeared briefly on the top of the reeds. 2 Sand martin, 30 Swallow and at least 60 Mute Swan loafed around in the mouth of the river. The growing flock of Black-tailed godwit has now exceeded 200 in the Wareham channel.

The final chapter of today’s boat trip visited the Brownsea lagoon. This didn’t disappoint with 4 Spoonbill, 10 Dunlin, 2 Greenshank, 30 Mediterranean gull, 1 Common sandpiper, 5 Avocet and 2 Little tern. Little terns are one of the UK’s smallest seabirds. Their population has declined in recent years with only about 1,500 breeding pairs left in the UK. The nearest breeding colony in Dorset in on the Fleet, near Weymouth.

Elsewhere in the harbour today, 2 Whimbrel, 27 Curlew and 9 Redshank were in Brands Bay while 3 Mediterranean gulls and a couple of Lesser black-backed gulls were seen feeding off Jerry’s point.

White-tailed eagle – Male G463 – Wareham channel – Gail Edgley