The wind kicked in early from the usual south-westerly direction, but with this came news of a potential Short-toed Eagle over towards Hurn/Wimborne area. A few local Poole Harbour birders had their eyes to the sky’s the moment the news came through but unfortunately there was no further information for the rest of the day. This follows reports of a possible Short-toed Eagle in the new Forest two days ago; will we see one arrive in Poole Harbour over the coming days? Last years bird did venture within the harbour boundaries, but for only a few minutes before it ventured back towards Morden Bog. The heaths surrounding the harbour hold plenty of snakes (their main food source) so it’s as good a place as any to support this species. Be aware though, there are also plenty of very pale Buzzards locally too, which can also hover whilst hunting too. Brownsea today had a Great White Egret, 150+ Black-tailed Godwit and good numbers of settled nesting Common Tern and Sandwich Tern. A bit of night listening from Lytchett Fields last night produced nothing much other that some calling/displaying Redshank, a Greenshank and some Lapwing.

To highlight the vibrant sounds of the breeding season, where it seems everything from Blackcaps to Blackbirds, Dabchicks to Dartfords have all fledged young in the harbour, I have included a short recording of one of the true sounds of summer…the chorus of the Skylark. The recording comes from the Frome Valley and the sonagram shows just a 2 second section of the song, highlighting the complexity and beauty of this well know songster. For many reasons this is a sound that is unfortunately disappearing from our countryside, so enjoy!