We can’t remember a day when it was last cloudy all day, with frequent rain showers. As much needed a sit was it made our Osprey cruises more challenging than normal, however on this mornings cruise there were 2 Osprey and the White-tailed Eagle on the edge of the Wareham Channel, however, this afternoons trip, despite the rain produced an amazing bit of behaviour when a migrant Osprey took a persistent disliking to the eagle and spent a good 20 minutes dive bombing it, and even chased it around the SW corner of the Wareham Channel for a period of time. There were also 5 other different Osprey over the northern edge of the Wareham Channel stretched between the mouth of the River Piddle and Lytchett Bay. In the Ballard Gap this morning there were 6 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 15 Stonechat and 3 Whitethroat. The autumns first Merlin of the season was in Middlebere, chasing Meadow Pipits and a lone Spoonbill was over the Piddle. In the Lower Piddle Valley at Swineham the Wood Sandpiper was still on the Swineham Point pool and at Lytchett Fields there was a Yellow Wagtail, 5 Common Sandpiper, 8 Greenshank. In Holes Bay there was Great White Egret as well as 548 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Knot, 4 Ringed Plover and 1 Wigeon and 1 Shoveler. At Middlebere there were 7 Spotted Redshanks, 4 Greenshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Flycatcher and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. Other Osprey sightings were logged at Middlebere, Lytchett Bay, Shipstal Point and over Swineham. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 20 Spoonbill, 1 Little Stint and 9 Avocet. 

Green Sandpiper – Middlebere – Rob Johnson