With a gentler head wind today, various areas saw and heard some grounded migrants arrive with a late female Wheatear on top of Hartland along with 3 grounded Whimbrel there feeding in a horse paddock, plus a flock of 6 Whimbrel over Middlebere Farm. Also a pair of Spotted Flycatcher arrived today at Carey Secret Garden and there were 2 Reed Warbler and 1 Lesser Whitethroat up on Ballard. A new adult female Osprey was seen in Lytchett Bay this morning and was noted to be a Scottish ringed individual, but annoyingly there was no sign of our current two available bachelors, males 5H3 and 5R0. There was a sighting of 2 Osprey over the Wareham Channel together which were then seen heading towards Holes Bay, so no doubt one was local male 022 escorting a potential new coloniser out of ‘his patch’!! Yesterday there were 4 summer plumaged Cattle Egret in Lytchett Bay, along with a nice mixed wader flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover. There was a Cuckoo in the Frome Valley near Swineham, one in the Piddle Valley and 2 up at Scotland Farm.

Cattle Egret – Lytchett Bay yesterday – Ian Ballam

Dunlin and Ringed Plover flock – Lytchett Bay yesterday – Mick Brooks