It hasn’t felt this mild for quite some time, but it certainly did today as the southerly wind hit. Open water species were hard to pin down, but the Glossy Ibis flock were on Wareham Common around lunchtime. A redhead Goosander was in the PCW Drain briefly and it, or another was later seen in Poole Park boating lake as was a Pochard. The 2 Siberian Chiffchaff were still opposite KFC in the PCW drain, with 20+ Common Chiffchaff and 37 Russian White-fronted Geese were in the Frome Valley still by the A351.

Incredibly, the first Osprey of the year was photographed today, not here in Dorset but in the Highlands of Scotland. This surely has to be a bird thats over-wintered close by rather than having migrated from West Africa. Quite an incredible January record though!

Facebook post from finder of todays Osprey in Scotland