A dreary afternoon with mild NE winds of 10-15mph has seen the Common Tern population increasing with 9 chicks spotted on the camera and 117 adults eagerly awaiting their hatchlings. Sandwich Tern numbers reached c295 today with c82 chicks. Also seen were 4 Spoonbill, 5 Avocet, 82 Oystercatcher, 5 Gadwall, c110 Shelduck, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Black-tailed Godwit. An Oystercatcher has been guarding its 2 chicks on the spit just off of the marina on Poole Quay. Black-tailed Godwitnumbers are increasing over at Lytchett with 78 on Lytchett Fields and another 39 on the bay. 

Today autumn got well under way…sorry! Summer is now over, before its really even got started. The reason for this is because the first Green Sandpiper of the autumn appeared at Holton Pools this afternoon. These are really early autumn passage migrants with the first returning birds passing south through the harbour in mid-June with numbers peaking in late July before dropping off again. At some sites like Lytchett Fields, Holton Pools and the Sunnyside Scrape numbers can reach quite high, with Lytchett Fields almost seeing 30 individuals last year.