It’s hot! Most of the bird activity was early morning and late evening with birds and birders sheltering from the high temperatures. Nice to see dispersing Great White Egret numbers starting to grow with 3 in the Wareham Channel this morning. There was also 1 Osprey, 2 Bearded Tit and 1 Yellow-legged Gull here. There were 4 juvenile and 1 adult Little-ringed Plover, showing another successful season for this species. 1 Osprey was sat in trees in Lytchett Bay this morning.

No doubt the heat wave this week will be impacting our birds particularly those with young in nests with risks of heat stress and dehydration. Our Ospreys seem to be coping well considering, with CJ7 providing shade throughout the day. Ospreys are also used to these sorts of temperatures, wintering in West Africa and the ability to nest throughout southern Europe. Birds don’t have sweat glands and so rely on panting to cool them down. As we expect more and more heatwaves with climate change it makes it even more important to create more ponds and wetlands to provide water for our wildlife. Even something small in a garden can make a real difference for amphibians and birds.