Due to the extremely cold spring and this recent glorious weather it seems there could be a number of birds that are still trying to squeeze a late brood in before the summers end. Blackcap can still be heard at various sites around the harbour for mid July is almost unheard of. The Great Crested Grebes at Swineham have just hatched a new second brood of the season and commoner species such as Greenfinch, House Sparrow and Goldfinch have all been reported in the last few days feeding newly fledged chicks. If you see any late breeding activity we’d be really interested to hear about it.

Wader movement continues with the arrival of the first 3 Snipe of the autumn at Lytchett Bay. Also there the Ruff remains, 6+ Green Sandpiper, 10+ Lapwing, 1 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper and good Curlew numbers.  At Holes Bay a wholesome 200+ Redshank were feeding, also 60+ Curlew, 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Whimbrel and a number of juvenile Little Egret. The first Sedge Warbler of the autumn was ringed on Wednesday, as were two juvenile Kingfishers that had made their way down into the harbour.

A White-rumped Sandpiper was recently found at Lodmoor, Weymouth, in amongst a small flock of Dunlin, so it’s well worth checking through any wader flocks you come across thoroughly for a lovely hidden gem!