Sightings17/04/2026

Harbour Update – 17/04/26

The weather this spring has been a bit up and down to say the least, never feeling particularly warm other than on a couple of random days where temperatures hit 22+ degrees.  However, with many more migrants still  yet to arrive it was a real surprise to hear today of the first fresh juvenile Siskin already visiting local feeders, with 2 newly fledged birds ringed at the Lower Piddle Vally Ringing Station at Carey this morning. This seems really early with juv Siskins not normally fledging until very late April at the earliest, and more typically in early May. There have also already been plenty of newly fledged Blackbird, Song Thrush and Robin logged, so perhaps things haven’t been slowed down too much because of the cooler start to Spring. This morning a stunning adult male Ring Ouzel was on the edge of Hartland Moor and up to 8 Wheatear were spread across the southern ridge of the moor. A Cuckoo was calling in the Corfe Valley this afternoon and another was heard near Slepe Heath. The Red-spotted Bluethroat was still at the eastern end of Swineham GP and a few Yellow Wagtail passed overhead calling too. The Forster’s Tern settled on Brownsea briefly this afternoon, a ‘new’ Osprey was seen fishing whilst our local pair were on the nest, a White-tailed Eagle was in Middlebere along with 1 Great White Egret and 7+ Wheatear along the track

We also had some fantastic news today thanks to the brilliant work of photographer Bob Longhorn who managed to photograph an Osprey down on the Axe Estuary, Devon this AM. The ring number clearly read 5R0, meaning this is one of our fledged males from our Poole Harbour, Carey Secret Garden nest back in 2024. He was one of four chicks in the nest that year, with his siblings sporting ring numbers 5R1, 5R2 and 5H6. It would be incredible to see all four arrive back over the next few months. He’s back pretty early for a 2-year old, but there’s always a chance he may have over-wintered much closer to ‘home’ with reasonable numbers now opting to over-winter in southern Spain and Portugal in recent years. Anyway, it’s great to see him back, no doubt he’ll visit his natal nest site here in the harbour to annoy his parents some time over the coming weeks.
Finally, right on cue, female Osprey CJ7 laid her second egg of the season this morning with a third hopefully to be laid on Monday morning and all being well a fourth by Thursday!
Recently freshly fledged Eurasian Siskin – Carey Secret Garden – Ed Betteridge
Male Ring Ouzel – Hartland Moor
2024 Poole Harbour fledged Osprey ‘5R0’ – Axe Estuary, Devon – Bob Longhorn
Female Osprey CJ7 after having just laird her second egg of the 2026 season

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