July didn’t really deliver the weather, but it certainly provided some decent early autumn birding and migration, and with August landing tomorrow, there’s a whole lot more on the way! Today, despite the rain, the Forster’s Tern was showing again briefly off Shipstal Beach, RSPB Arne and in Middlebere a Wood Sandpiper was seen then headed off over Arne and there were 10 Spoonbill in Middlebere this morning too. Having gone missing for 2-3 weeks, male Osprey 374 made a brief appearance on a harbour nest platform this evening. Hopefully he’ll stick around now and try to ‘whoo’ a female over the coming weeks and maybe ‘adopt’ a nest platform somewhere? Waders at Lytchett Fields this morning saw 97 Redshank, 33 Dunlin, 33 Black-tailed Godwit,12 Green Sandpiper, 5 Greenshank, 2 Curlew, 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatcher, 1 Whimbrel and a juv Little Ringed Plover and this afternoon an Osprey flew in low over the bay before being seen off by gulls. Both White-tailed Eagles were in the harbour this morning before male G463 went off for a wander around the Purbeck’s before coming back to the Wareham Channel this evening.

Male Osprey 374 on harbour nest platform briefly this evening