The first (visual) Wood Sandpiper of the autumn was seen today on Sherford Pools at Lytchett Fields and a Little Stint was on there this evening, plus 1 Spotted Redshank was still in the bay as well. There were several sightings of Osprey in Lytchett Bay throughout the day, as well as an individual at Newton Bay. At Middlebere there were at least 3 Osprey active and at least one of these birds was ringed. Also present was 1 Great White Egret and 16 Spoonbill before the peak of the high tide. 1 Redstart was seen at Parkstone cemetery. Numbers of Wheatear sightings are picking up with several individuals at Godlingstone Heath, Greenlands Farm and Studland.

We had another excellent White-tailed Eagle and Osprey chase in the Wareham Channel from our Osprey Cruise this morning as G463 again forced CJ7 to drop her fish. Neither bird ended up with the fish as it fell in to the reeds near Swineham. There were a further 3 Osprey active in the Wareham Channel along with 1 Great White Egret and 2 Spoonbill. On the Brownsea Lagoon 2 Little Tern were new in, with one being an adult and one a juvenile. There were also 1 Knot, 10 Avocet and 32 Spoonbill. Also, for the first time since his return earlier this summer, 2023 juvenile male Osprey 5H3 visited the Carey nest and was soon seen off by this years young female 5H3. Finally, another juvenile Purple Heron was logged for the harbour today, this time at Swineham GP. Whether it’s the same as the juv that was seen at Little Sea, Studland a few weeks ago is unclear, but this species certainly seems to becoming a more regular (almost annual) occurrence now considering they’ve always been an incredibly rare bird for Poole Harbour.

Wood Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields RSPB – Ian Ballam