Grim today, but still a sense of lots of birds around. There were 5 Cattle Egret in fields next to the footpath at Swineham gravel pits. The main gravel pit was busy too with 10 Wigeon, 6 Pintail, 15 Gadwall, 4 Tufted Duck, 15 Little Egret on the island and there was 1 each of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper and the Swineham Scrapes. There was a blue ringed Osprey in Brands Bay which seemed to read ‘Z5 or Z2’ plus another un-ringed Osprey. In Holes Bay there were 10 Pintail and 177 Wigeon along with 2 Wheatear and 2 Knot. On Lytchett Fields there were 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Curlew Sandpiper, although there was an earlier report of 10 on the fields plus 3 Spotted Redshank, 2 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and 9 Yellow Wagtails. There were 2 Hobby still bombing around the lower Piddle Valley and one on Slepe Heath. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 50 Spoonbill, also 2 Little Stint, 3 Knot, 1 Spotted Redshank, 45 Bar-tailed Godwit and 30 Avocet.

Cattle Egret – Swineham