We liaise with the ringing team in the Lower Piddle Valley, Carey on a daily basis and we discussed a challenge for this autumn ringing season to see what date the earliest migrating Grasshopper Warbler could be caught. These small secretive warblers no longer breed in Dorset (as far as we know), so the occurrence at any site at this time of year will be a passage migrant. Traditionally ringing efforts haven’t started until much later in July, and we’d often catch migrant ‘Gropper’ in the first few sessions, so we didn’t know if they actually passed through earlier. Well, the team started their efforts earlier this year, and the reward came today with our earliest ever caught Grasshopper Warbler of the autumn! and its only July 7th. It’s mad to think that this (and many other birds) are already on their southward journey. Also ringed at the same site this AM were a few more passage Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler. Elsewhere male White-tailed Eagle G463 was active in the Wareham Channel all morning and eventually caught a large Mullet in central channel. The Swineham Marsh Harrier family were carrying out food passes to the 2 newly fledged juveniles and 5 Common Sandpiper were in the mouth of the River Frome along with 2-3 active Bearded Tit. On Swineham GP 2 Cattle Egret were roosting on the island and a Hobby drifted over. The Brownsea Lagoon held 7 Spoonbill, 2 Avocet, family decent numbers of fledged Common and Sandwich Tern and 1 Greenshank.

Grasshopper Warbler – Lower Piddle Valley – Ed Betteridge