Despite the cold easterly wind there was plenty going on today, including loads of new arrivals, including (and quite amazingly) the first Osprey back on it’s nest up in Scotland!!! This is ridiculously early, but this particular female is a well known individual called NCO and according to the Scottish Osprey folk, she’s 10 days earlier than last year! Thats pretty amazing and has now put us on high alert for any early arrivals here in the harbour. Our live streams are almost ready to go, and will hopefully be up and running early next week, however based on todays events, maybe we should get them up now?! Other firsts today included the first Wheatear of the spring at Holes Bay, and 2 Sand Martin over Wareham Common. Spring really is well and truly here. This afternoon our Low-tide Cruise was a species rich extravaganza which produced a female Ruff on the mud with Lapwings off Swineham Point, along with 2 Spotted Redshank right off the side of the boat. We had a minimum of 8 Great Northern Diver across the harbour and 1 Black-throated Diver off Whitley Lake, Sandbanks. There was a Black-necked Grebe in South Deep, 5 Spoonbill on Brownsea and 1 in Ower Bay. There was a Marsh Harrier at Swineham and another causing havoc on the gull islands, plus male White-tailed Eagle G463 was sat on Shag Looe this evening. A lone male Goldeneye was also in the Wareham  Channel, c30 Grey Plover and c200 Dunlin were off the gull islands and Mediterranean Gulls were calling overhead over many areas. A Great White Egret was in Middlebere, the redhead Goosander was still in Holes Bay NE in the mouth of the PCW Drain and Goshawk was over Middlebere.

Northern Wheatear – Holes Bay – Tony Furnell

Social media post highlighting Scottish Osprey return!