You know things are getting birdy when you get excited about the possibility of hearing Tree Pipit calling at night. Ok, that sounds a bit OTT, but no more than going outside and experiencing Redwings on a cold, overcast October night. What many people don’t realise is that Tree Pipit move in big numbers in the latter part of August and early September, and by standing outside on an overcast night during this time period you can hear the high pitched flight calls of many Tree Pipit as they pass overhead through the dark. The reason we’re talking about this now is because we set our sound recording gear up last night in the Corfe Gap and recoded the first 2 Tree Pipit of the autumn. This is a low number, but at some sites like Ballard and Portland, these sites can sometimes reach over 1000 calls in a single night in late August which is quite an audible spectacle. Also through the Corfe Gap last night was a Common Sandpiper, 1 Nightjar and a mystery wader which sounded like it could have been an Avocet. At the PC World Drain there was also a decent flurry of migrants with 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat, 8 Blackcap, 7 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff and 1 Kingfisher. At Lytchett Fields wader totals consisted of 121 Redshank, 74 Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Green Sandpiper, 9 Dunlin, 8 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Common Sandpiper and 1 Ringed Plover. In Holes Bay north there was a great count of 3 Ruff along with 387 Black-tailed Godwit, 69 Redshank, 1 Whimbrel, 9 Ringed Plover and 1 Common Sandpiper. There was a Redstart sp (either Common or Black) on the Nuffield Estate. In Middlebere there was a summer plumaged Grey Plover along with a lone Spoonbill, 1 Ringed Plover 1 Peregrine and an Osprey was in the dead trees. On the Brownsea Lagoon 8 Spoonbill were present.

As mentioned on our social media channels late last week we successfully raised and released our 11 Osprey chicks this year and they instantly attracted the attention of the local pair, CJ7 and LS7 who’s daily routine now involves visiting our release site, nicking a load of fish from our feeding nests before then moving off and canoodling one a nest platform elsewhere in the harbour…young lovers hey!