Migrants have been hard to come by the last couple of days and an Ortolan Bunting that was seen and heard flying along Soldiers Road at about 08:10 heading north was a surprise find, especially with the recent SW winds, although perhaps maybe not that surprising when how many have been sound recorded at night recently. Around the Slepe Heath area just a few Spotted Flycatcher and Whitethroat were noted with around 20 Yellow Wagtail near Slepe Farm and plenty of Dartford Warbler and Stonechat. It was also the Arne Raptor Weekend where you get the opportunity to visit various viewpoints around the Arne reserve in the hope of catching up with the likes of Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Hobby etc. Luckily the Osprey’s put on a great show with at least 3 visiting, fishing and feeding in the Middlebere Channel by mid-afternoon. On the Brownsea Lagoon counts consisted of 820 Oystercatcher, 17 Curlew, 105 Redshank, 8 Spotted Redshank, 21 Greenshank, 10 Common Sandpiper, 3 Knot, 5 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little Stint, 60 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, 2 Sanderling, 8 Ringed Plover, 45 Avocet, c200 Black-tailed Godwit, 12 Spoonbill and a Wheatear on the sea wall. At Lytchett Fields there were singles of Wood Sandpiper and Little Stint with a flyover Osprey and Marsh Harrier there too. 

Osprey – Middlebere nesting platform 

To watch in HD click on cog shaped symbol and select 1080

Green Sandpiper – Middlebere pools in front of hide

To watch in HD click on cog shaped symbol and select 1080