What glorious weather to celebrate a bank holiday weekend. With Portland logging 2 species of shrike in the same number of days and Pomarine Skuas still passing in small numbers, there must be birds for the finding inside the harbour! Dorset is poised for some excellent birding with these easterly winds set in for the coming days. Surely a Bee-eater over Ballard is on the cards? In fact, 7 years ago tomorrow saw the incredible encounter of a Short-toed Eagle over Coombe Heath, Arne RSPB reserve on May 31st 2014! Today featured a Red Kite over Ashley Cross late morning. Further afield, 3 more individuals drifted east over Worth Matravers and 2 were logged over Chapman’s Pool Valley.  Holes Bay featured Common Whitethroat in bushes south of the railway line, Kestrel crossing NE section and Shelduck pair with ducklings by Pergins Island. Both Peregrines were on the ASDA highrise and 2 Swift passed over.

NEW EVENT

Looking for ideas for half term? Why not join our free Better Birding, Better Birds Course in partnership with Livability Holton Lee. Join us in the field on Thursday mornings for an introduction to birding – suitable for beginners, improvers and those looking to learn more about bird identification, behaviour and conservation. The walks will encompass the full suite of habitats available, with a focus on target species such as Hobby, Dartford Warbler and Stonechat. The well-situated viewpoint provides a perfect setting to survey the Wareham Channel for hunting Ospreys, while the gull islands to the south offer a great opportunity to get to grips with the separation of the closely-related Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls. As well as identification tips and fieldcraft, the walks will touch on topics such as bird habitats, behaviours and adaptations with the aim of honing in and unlocking your birding abilities. Places are limited, so please reserve your place on our bookings page here: https://www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/intro-to-birding

Canada Goose with young – RSPB Arne