Our first Osprey Cruise of the year got off to a flyer with 4 Osprey seen in the Wareham Channel area. Our resident female Osprey, CJ7, made a pass over the boat on the day we announced that she and male Osprey 022, were Grandparents! Their first chick together, 5H1 fledged in 2022 and is now breeding in the East Midlands!

Whilst in the Wareham Channel, sizeable flocks of Curlew flew overhead and a group of 5 Whimbrel followed behind, calling intermittently. A single Great White Egret flew south towards Middlebere. Our resident female, White-tailed Eagle G466, stood on the salt marsh watching and distantly, a second White-tailed Eagle was spotted soaring overhead. We’ve since worked out that this was the youngster from the Sussex nest that fledged two years ago!

The Brownsea Island lagoon was as busy as ever with 29 Spoonbill, 6 Mediterranean gulls, 10 Greenshank, 50 Dunlin, 25 Ringed plover and a single Wheatear perched on the sea wall.

The morning ‘Pop up event’ at Rock Lea viewpoint had 2 Osprey and at least 20 Greenshank. Two Spotted Redshank were recorded at Lytchett Fields later in the day and Middlebere had an Osprey and a Wheatear during the early afternoon.

Osprey female CJ7, flying over the boat and Wareham Channel – Claire Hilton

A hot and humid day in the harbour today, with some much needed rain later on in the day. 1 White-tailed Eagle was circling above Coombe Heath at RSPB Arne. At Brands Bay, there were some nice passage waders on show with 1 Knot, 1 Ruff, 6 Ringed Plover, 7 Dunlin, 3 Turnstone, 4 Whimbrel, c40 Redshank, c50 Curlew, and c100 Black-tailed Godwit. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were ever increasing numbers of Spoonbill with 29 counted as well as 2 Kingfisher. At the Lower Piddle Valley Ringing site, there were 152 migrant birds ringed including 74 Sedge Warbler, 12 Grasshopper Warbler, 15 Willow Warbler, 1 Firecrest, 16 Reed Warbler and 1 Water Rail, an often difficult to see species.

Ruff, Dunlin, and Ringed Plover – Brands Bay – @purbeckpilgrim.bsky.social

Juvenile Water Rail (handled and ringed under BTO license) – Ed Betteridge – Lower Piddle Valley Ringing Site

A stunning Sunday, with almost zero breeze, which when it did kick in, turned south-easterly, meaning we could be in for some newly arrived migrants over the coming days. This morning from our final Summer Safari Cruise of the season female White-tailed Eagle G466 kindly passed close by the boat as she flew out across the Wareham Channel. There were also 3 different Osprey, including a juvenile (likely from the local nest). On the Brownsea Lagoon 26 Spoonbill were roosting and there were 25 Avocet, 10 Ringed Plover, 3 Greenshank and 150 Dunlin. A single Marsh Harrier was out on a post close to Swineham, which was the first sighting of this species for a while. New migrant passerines were spread thinly across the harbour with a Pied Flycatcher at Lytchett Bay sewage works, 2 Redstart and 1 Wheatear on Hartland Moor and at the lower Piddle Valley ringing station 11 Grasshopper Warbler, 66 Sedge Warbler, 2 Tree Pipit and 2 Nightjar were the highlights.

Female Osprey CJ7 hunting in Wareham Channel – John Thorpe

As August presses on, more signs of autumn become apparent with the Brownsea Spoonbill flock building nicely with a count of 25 on the lagoon tonight during our final Sunset Safari of the year. Other highlights on the Brownsea Lagoon were 11 Greenshank, 32 Avocet, 1 Spotted Redshank, c150 Dunlin, 18 Ringed Plover and 6 Turnstone. The early pulse of Osprey passage seems to have died down already, with only the local family present around the harbour today, plus a single new(?) adult female, but with peak migration still a few weeks away there’s still plenty to arrive and passthrough yet. General migration today was a bit slow but the Lower Piddle Valley ringing station was steady with 63 newly arrived Sedge Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 8 Willow Warbler and 2 Tree Pipit adding to todays sightings.

Grey Heron on Brownsea sea wall – Sunset Safari Cruise

9 of this evenings 25 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon – Sunset Safari Cruise

A stunning, sunny day in the harbour, with a clear out of some of the migrant Ospreys which were in the harbour yesterday, although 1 juvenile and 2 adults (including an unringed male) were still visible in the Wareham Channel. On our Young Birders Summer birds and conservation cruise this morning we had great views of at least 2 recently fledged juvenile Bearded Tit in the mouth of the River Frome, c20 House Martin flying low over Swineham Gravel Pit, c150 Black-tailed Godwit at the top of the Wareham Channel and 1 Sparrowhawk mobbing the Ospreys briefly. On the Brownsea Lagoon, there were 15 Spoonbill on the Tamarisk Island, 2 Sanderling in with the c100 Dunlin, 10 Ringed Plover, 20 Avocet, and 6 Common Sandpiper along the northern shoreline. Earlier this morning, 1 Great White Egret flew past the Rock Lea Viewpoint at RSPB Lytchett. On the rising tide at RSPB Lytchett Fields, there were 2 Peregrine Falcon, 2 Spotted Redshank, 7 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Common Gull, 7 Greenshank, and 46 Redshank. The White-tailed Eagles were active in the harbour today, with 1 adult seen with a fish being harassed by a juvenile Osprey. Various ringing sessions took place including at Lytchett Bay where 2 Redstart where the highlight and the Lower Piddle Valley where 3 Tree Pipit and still good numbers of Sedge Warbler were ringed. A Great White Egret was also on Lytchett Fields.

2 Spoonbill – Middlebere – Alison Copland

Adult White-tailed Eagle – Middlebere – Alison Copland

Juvenile Osprey (likely from Carey nest) – Middlebere – John Thorp

Tree Pipit – Lower Piddle Valley – Ed Betteridge

The calm after the storm in the harbour today and it seems it’s brought a number of migrant Ospreys, as they were all across the harbour today. A left-leg blue ringed Osprey was in Lytchett Bay this morning (meaning it is a bird that was ringed in Scotland). We had 7 different Osprey in the Wareham Channel from our Summer Safari Cruise this morning, including at least 2 juveniles, likely from the Carey Nest. This included one fish catch and another bird carrying a fish. There were 2 Osprey at Middlebere, including a juvenile and an adult catching a fish, but no doubt some of these birds overlapped in the Wareham Channel. It certainly bodes well for a very busy season of Osprey passage this August and September.

There were also 12 Spoonbill and 1 Great White Egret in the Middlebere Channel. 1 White-tailed Eagle was also soaring over the southern parts of the harbour. On the Brownsea Lagoon at high tide there were 2 stunning summer plumaged Knot along with 14 Spoonbill, c150 Dunlin, c15 Ringed Plover, 2 Sanderling and 20 Avocet. In Lytchett Bay, the 3 Spotted Redshank were still present.

At the Piddle Valley Ringing site 2 milestones were hit today, with over 2000(!) birds having been ringed this Autumn already and the 1000th Sedge Warbler. 76 Sedge Warbler were ringed today, 3 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 6 Willow Warbler and 1 Linnet.

Linnet – Piddle Valley Ringing Site – Ed Betteridge