Winter is creeping up on us by the day… the Holes Bay Wigeon flock sat at 374 this morning, accompanied by a supporting cast of 12 Dunlin, 32 Redshank, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit and singles of Pintail, Knot and Kingfisher. The first Osprey sighting for several days came today. Veiwed from Hyde’s heath, the bird was seen flying over towards towards Coombe heath. Lytchett Fields offered a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank and just shy of 100 Dunlin this morning. Baiter Beach was busy with activity this morning, with 17 Ringed Plover, 31 Turnstone, 2 Dunlin and 2 Mediterranean Gull all logged. Such close views offer a real opportunity to study the ageing of birds. Take the pale fringing on the upperparts of the juvenile Ringed Plover, for example, compared to the uniform upperparts of an adult. One of the long-staying Pectoral Sandpipers was still on the Swineham Scrape along with 1 Cattle Egret  and a Marsh Harrier flew over. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 48 Spoonbill highlighting that numbers are building nicely for another record count which tends to be achieved around mid-October.