Another glorious day for birds and birders, but with some strong winds forecast for mid-week, everything was making the most of the calm before the storm. Not too much change in terms of sightings with the Red-spotted Bluethroat still at Swineham along with the 2 Garganey and 2 Little Ringed Plover on the Stilt Pools, but with the added bonus of a Common Crane seen flying over Northmoor, Wareham and heading towards the harbour. There was also some great news over the weekend when it was announced by Dorset Raptor Group that the first Poole Asda Peregrine chick had hatched and today, announced that 3 of the 4 chicks have hatched. This is great news and will no doubt provide endless entertainment later in the season when young Peregrines are bombing around over the Asda car park. More breeding news involved the Brownsea Sandwich Terns who have seen the first individuals settle on eggs today. Even more remarkable was a fully fledged juvenile Great Tit in Upton CP which is massively early for this species, with the more typical fledging date for this species being mid May! A Lesser Whitethroat was singing at Lytchett Heath, Lytchett Bay, this morning an Osprey was seen a few times in Middlebere and this evening the 3 Glossy Ibis were seen over Swineham GP.

Garganey pair – Swineham, Stilt Pools – Peter Moore

Garden Warbler – Wareham Common – Peter Moore