In true Easter Bank Holiday weekend fashion, a change in the weather allowed for a decent arrival of birds right across the UK, with multiple ‘firsts’ of the year arriving in. The wind swung round to the south last night and then easterly this morning, and with the clear sky’s last night it provided great migration conditions for plenty of birds. Dawn was welcomed in with the first singing Cuckoo of the year, not just for Poole harbour, but the whole country, and was heard on the Osprey webcam by early webcam watchers. Talking of Ospreys, there was an obvious morning arrival/passage of multiple individuals with the local pair settled at their nest, whilst at the same time 2 were soaring over the Wareham Channel, another was on the Middlebere platform eating a fish, another was at Morden Bog eating a fish and around 11am one was seen flying north over Lytchett Matravers, and there were a few sightings in Lytchett Bay too. Just outside the harbour recording area a Hobby was seen to come in off the sea at Durlston and in terms of grounded passerines the years first Common Redstart was logged with a male at South Haven, Studland, a Common Whitethroat was on Hartland Moor where there were 10+ Northern Wheatear and 3 Willow Warbler. Goshawk are becoming so frequent now, and whilst adults are settling down to breed, non-breeding young 2nd calendar year birds are roaming the landscape with one seen getting harassed by gulls over Wareham Town Centre this afternoon and another was seen buzzing the Ospreys at Carey. An adult White-tailed Eagle was in the Wareham Channel this morning and this afternoon 2 2nd cal year eagles flew high over the harbour heading towards Brands Bay. Swallow were arriving in in small numbers high above the harbour during the course of the day, the 2 Spoonbill were still on the Brownsea Lagoon and there were 2 Yellow-legged gull too, the Spotted Redshank was still at Lytchett Fields and there was a decent count of c1080 icelandic Black-tailed Godwit in Holes Bay.

2nd cal year Goshawk – Lower Piddle Valley – Alison Copland