Dear oh dear. What a difference 24 hours makes! Gorgeous sunshine and shorts on Sunday. Then thermals, gloves and even a (very) small flurry of snow at Arne today…not great for arriving migrants. There weren’t many sigs of new arrivals today but Osprey sightings were pretty reliable with definitely 3 in the harbour, possibly 4. The un-ringed female remained on the Middlebere nest platform for most of the day and CJ7 was quite active bringing sticks to her nest early morning, before getting startled by a Kestrel! Then, what looked like an un-ringed male was photographed at Arne eating a fish and several sightings of 1-2 individuals were logged out over the Wareham Channel. As April presses on, more and more Osprey will continue to arrive into the UK with non-breeding individuals tending to arrive later in the month. Could this be when CJ7 meets a potential mate? Little Ringed Plover were at Lytchett Fields (5) and Swineham Scrape (2). A few Swallow were making their way through, heading into the north wind but certainly not as many as Sunday and Egyptian Geese were logged at Swineham, Lytchett Fields and Holmebridge. There were 2 Great White Egret in the Wareham Channel along with 2 different Marsh Harrier too. We’re also now hearing Firecrest singing at multiple sites, in fact way more than we’re hearing Goldcrest. Although their habitat choices are slightly different, they do overlap and it seems as if we’re beginning to see the overtaking of certain areas (including suburban Poole) by Firecrest, a once rare breeder and scarce passage migrant.

CJ7 getting spooked by a Kestrel on webcam – Jenny Moore YouTube channel

Egyptian Geese – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam