Total warmth today, so much so that several Red Admiral Butterfly were seen on the wing. Bonkers! Calm waters allowed for decent viewing too with 5 Eider off the south Brownsea shore, and off Jerry’s Point were 4 Great Northern Diver, 24 Great Crested Grebe, 9 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 22 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Common Scoter, 10 Goldeneye and a fly over Merlin. Off Middle Beach Studland there were 6 Common Scoter and 4 Black-necked Grebe. In Shell Bay there was a Red-throated Diver and a Great Northern Diver was off Pilots Point. On Wareham Common 2 Cattle Egret were still with cattle and in the Wareham Channel 2 White-tailed Eagle were seen again with a ringtail Hen Harrier seen in the Middlebere Channel.

A full high tide count was conducted on the Brownsea Lagoon by warden Hamish Murray who logged…..8 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 475 Cormorant, 490 Avocet, 135 Oystercatcher, 2020 Dunlin, 9 Sanderling, 14 Knot, 14 Curlew, 15 Turnstone, 170 Black-tailed Godwit, 52 Bar-tailed Godwit, 98 Redshank, 12 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 12 Ringed Plover, 145 Grey Plover, 1 Lapwing, 4 Snipe, 44 Teal, 6 Shoveler, 48 Wigeon, 22 Gadwall, 32 Brent Goose, 2 Mute Swan, 4 Canada Goose, 6 Greylag, 38 Shelduck and 1 Water Rail. 

Goldeneye – Poole Park – Ian Ballam