Well, it was only yesterday that we mentioned good birds turning up in May, when a potential Montagu’s Harrier decided to appear in the Swineham/Bestwall area before venturing over towards the Piddle Valley. This rare migrant has retracted as breeding species right across the UK mainly due to persecution and is now considered the rarest breeding bird of prey in the UK. If today’s sighting was a ‘Monty’ Harrier then it will just be passing through either en route to mainland Europe where the population is more stable, or it could be a non-breeding bird just venturing back to Northern Europe for the first time and having a bit of a wander. Also around the Swineham area was a single Cuckoo and c15 Swift. Lytchett Fields had a single Ruff and 2 Greenshank.

We also got some nice footage of CJ7 away from then nest cam today on a different harbour platform having her afternoon tea, whilst trying to make friends at the same time! Joking aside, she’s been spending a bit more time off the nest cam recently and visiting other harbour platforms, do doubt in search for her missing mate LS7. Then, around 20:30, keen viewers of the webcam noticed that CJ7 had been behaving a bit strange, only to discover she’d laid a second unfertilised egg. This is still her going through the motions of wanting to breed, which she will do eventually, whether its this spring, next spring or the spring after her tie to Poole Harbour is now very strong.

CJ7 befriending a crow on a different harbour nest platform