It was a misty, hazy day across the harbour today, with a subtle building breeze. We’ve been basking in sunshine for the last 4 days, but things are about to turn and get rather windy during the rest of the week. Will these winds see some migrants get grounded? Perhaps a few more Northern Wheatear or Osprey?

Today logged the 3 Glossy Ibis, 3 White-tailed Eagle (Wareham Common, Middlebere and the Wareham Channel), 1 Spotted Redshank in Middlebere and there are still good numbers of Cattle Egret around with 71 seen heading towards the Swineham roost this evening. It’s also very, very noticeable how ‘regular’ (not quite common yet) Red Kite are these days with sightings logged pretty much every day so far this calendar year, with sightings increasing in recent days as birds start moving around, building towards the big migration later in April/May. It seems it won’t be long until these stunning, large birds of prey become a permanent fixture of our harbour skyline.

Red Kite – Lytchett Fields – Mick Brooks