Despite all having fledged successfully last week, the Osprey family were all back on the nest at intermittent times during the day, mostly when 022 arrived back with a fish, but each are doing brilliantly and settling into the local landscape. They’re not currently traveling far from the nest but over the next few weeks they’ll be exploring further and it won’t be long until we seem them appear down in the harbour all being well. The Forster’s Tern was seen once again off Shipstal Beach, RSPB Arne, over towards Round island roosting with Sandwich Terns. At Lytchett Fields there was a marked increase of waders with 11 Green Sandpiper and 3 Common Sandpiper, also 4 Greenshank, 50+ Redshank, c20 Black-tailed Godwit and c20 Lapwing. In Holes Bay SE there were 4 Common Sandpiper including 1 braving the cycle path. At Holme Lane GP the Barnacle Goose was still hanging out with the Egyptian Geese and there were 2 Common Sandpiper. Male Osprey 022 was seen flying over Ridge with a fish before returning to the nest site and White-tailed Eagle pair G466 and G463 were on the gull islands in the Wareham Channel briefly this morning. The Avocet family are also doing well, with all 3 chicks now looking very much like their parents. We’ll need to double check but we this this may be the first ever successful breeding of Avocet in Dorset, with several failed previous attempts.

Avocet chick (left) and parent on Brownsea Lagoon (from boat trip last week) – Ian Ballam