Unfortunate circumstances, but we have just been notified of an impressive movement of a Woodcock we ringed with Stour Ringing Group at the new Dorset Wildlife Trust site Wild Woodbury on 27th Jan 2022 that was shot at Mashino, Tosnenskiy district, RUSSIA — a mere 2,200 km away(!) on 25th April 2022.

Turning to today’s sightings, top of the bill goes to a Golden Oriole singing around 6.30am near the Brownsea Island Villa. A great May bird! The island also featured 4 Spoonbill, c35 Bar-tailed Godwit, c65 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Red Kite over. While a tern sp. got pulses racing at Lytchett Fields, viewed briefly over the Fields before drifting towards the Holton tree line and heading towards the Wareham Channel. A candidate for Gull-billed Tern, showing short, dark bill, prominent dark trailing edge to primaries and short tail, hopefully the bird will re-appear and an ID can be clinched! Nearby, a calling Coot offered a surprisingly scarce site record. Not quite Poole Harbour, but a slender ringtail harrier species was logged east past Spyway Farm, Langton Matravers mid-afternoon. Montagu’s Harrier certainly worth keeping on the radar at the moment. If you add todays sightings to the Squacco Heron, Black-winged Stilts and Bee-eaters that have all been seen elsewhere in Dorset in the last 24 hours, then there’s certainly a Mediterranean vibe going on at the moment.

Peregrine food pass – Barclay’s Building, Poole – @twamers

Woodcock ringing recovery