As spring progresses and forms so do the songs that each species performs to help set up their territories and attract a mate. It’s a great time to listen out for unfamiliar sounds of birds by venturing out in to a mixture of habitats between sunrise and mid morning as different species start up their repertoires at different times throughout the dawn. This morning we had this Nuthatch singing beautifully out in the open from an exposed branch at the top of an old Oak Tree at Holton Lee, a sound that can be unfamiliar to many people. Sightings-wise an Osprey was seen passing over Arne with a big fish in its talons, heading towards the Wareham Channel. A male Pied Flycatcher was also reported from Arne on Coombe Heath which is a real dream find with hardly any spring records of this species in the harbour each year. At Lytchett Fields the Lesser Yellowlegs was on the fields looking impeccable in summer plumage and the Green-winged Teal was still flirting with its Eurasian counterpart and an adult male Marsh Harrier and sub-adult female were over Lytchett Heath. Willow Warbler were again singing from many woodland edges around the harbour but we’re still waiting for our first Whitethroats, Reed and Sedge Warblers. 

Nuthatch song – Holton Lee – 04/04/17 @ 10:30am