Once again, it was another jam-packed day for Ospreys, but we’ve been banging on about that for days now, so we’ll start today off with news that the first ‘winter’ bird of the season arrived in the shape of a lone Pintail that dropped down into Brands Bay this afternoon. There was also another increase in Spoonbill with 27 on the Brownsea Lagoon along with 53 Avocet. Ringing efforts today highlighted that Blackcap are now on the move with 21 ringed in the Lower Piddle Valley, along with 18 Grasshopper Warbler and 2 Tree Pipit, plus good numbers of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Reed and Sedge Warbler. In Middlebere 2 Spotted Redshank were still feeding in the channel. The Osprey Cruises today were once again spectacular with no less than 10 Osprey this morning and 7 this afternoon, with a mixture of locals and new passage migrants. One particular bird was a new one, fresh Scottish juvenile female 9J7, a youngster from the Boarder Ospreys project, who was ringed on June 5th. From the cruise we also had 3 Great White Egret, 2 Goshawk, 3-4 White-tailed Eagle, 2 Marsh Harrier, and no-doubt a Partridge in a Pear Tree by Christmas!!

Newly arrived Scottish Boarders juvenile female Osprey 9J7 – Osprey Crusie this AM – Alison Copland