It was another wader morning, certainly at Lytchett Fields with 1 Spotted Redshank dropping on to Sherford Pools, 1 Curlew Sandpiper asleep on large island plus 17 Greenshank, 26 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover , 112 Redshank, 11 Black-tailed Godwit and 40+ Common Snipe. Also 1 Cuckoo and 1 Whinchat at Lytchett Fields too. At South Haven there was some migrant activity with 8 Grey Wagtail with 4 together on Bramble Bush Bay shore. All of which pushed through and headed across the Harbour. Also 2 Tree Pipit, 1 Wheatear & 1 Whinchat both grounded also 1 Yellow Wagtail over and 20 Turnstone at the House Boats. At Middlebere there were 50 Avocet, 4 Greenshank, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Spoonbill (16 at Shipstal), c600 Black-tailed Godwit and an Osprey flew over. The Osprey could well have been CJ7 as she suddenly appeared on a harbour nest platform today having not been seen for two days. We assumed (again) that she had left with no sightings since Saturday morning but she just can’t pull herself away yet!! Up on Nine Barrow Down there were 2-3 Redstart, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, several Yellow Wagtail among the cattle and 2-3 Spotted Flycatcher.

CJ7 re-appearing on harbour nest platform this AM after a 2-day absence 

Another hot day in the end but murky and a bit foggy for our Osprey cruise this AM. Highlights included just 1 Osprey logged at Arne, but also the Cattle Egret was seen again at Swineham and there was a Wood Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper and 5 Black-tailed Godwit on the Swineham scrape. In Brands Bay there was a ‘flock’ of 6 Curlew Sandpiper and at Lytchett Fields there were 2 Spotted Redshank, 15 Greenshank, 1 Grey Plover, 20+ Dunlin and 3 Ringed Plover. On Brownsea yesterday there was a single Little Stint. On one of our harbour nest platforms this AM a new un-ringed (and well patterned due to moulting feathers) female Osprey paid a brief visit.

New un-ringed female Osprey on harbour nest platform today

It seems as though the short break in the cloudy weather yesterday led to a clear out of many of the migrant Ospreys using Poole Harbour as a stopover, as there was very little activity from the cruise this morning. There was, however, 1 Osprey feeding on a dead snag near Hyde’s Heath at Arne this morning, as well as further 2 seen from Coombe Heath, and another seen hunting in Lytchett Bay. The cruise was otherwise successful, with a Marsh Harrier and plenty of Sandwich Tern seen over the Wareham Channel, as well as the highlight of a Cattle Egret at Swineham, which first noted to have arrived on Thursday evening. Also from Coombe Heath this morning, were 2 Spoonbill, 40 Avocet, c.1,300 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Grey Plover and 1 Peregrine, with 15 further Spoonbill reported at Shipstal. Elsewhere, a female Goshawk was reported over Stoborough Heath and Slepe Heath this morning. At Lytchett Bay, a Lesser Whitethroat and Redstart were also reported.

Cattle Egret – Swineham – Roly Pitts

The sun and warmth arrived back today, as did some new migrants. On Hartland and at Middlebere, as part of our Early Autumn Migrants ID course there were 4 Whinchat together logged also 1 Redstart, 5 Wheatear, c15 Meadow Pipit, 3 Common Whitethroat, multiple Chiffchaff, 1 Osprey, 2 Spoonbill, c100 Black-tailed Godwit, 8 Avocet and a decent passage of Swallow and Sand Martin. There were multiple sightings of Osprey in the Wareham Channel and then over Arne and 4 adult Hobby were near Wytch/Rempstone. There were also 2 Osprey that passed over Holton Lee and in Brands Bay the 4 Curlew Sandpiper were still there along with 16 Ringed Plover, 16 Knot, 124 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Sanderling, 37 Dunlin, 2 Turnstone, 14  Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, & 10 Pintail. Finally, we think (but don’t know for sure) that CJ7 may have left on her autumn migration. She’s not been seen since yesterday morning, and hasn’t appeared on any nest platform within the harbour which is unusual for her. Therefore we think she may have left, and if that is the case we want to wish her a safe migration and look forward to seeing her safe return in early April next year.

Last photo of CJ7 and 022 togther on a harbour nest platform before we think she then departed. 

Hobby juveniles – artificial Osprey nesting platform in the harbour area

September already! Wow, this year is going so fast. It only seemed like last week that CJ7 and 022 arrived back from West Africa, and here we are with the just about to leave (if they haven’t done so already)? Both were on a harbour nest platform this morning, being just as intimate as they day 022 arrived which bodes well for spring 2022. It all seems to perfect….022 to breed in 2022? Who knows, but if they have left today, we wish them both a safe journey and really look forward to their safe return in about 7 months time. There were a couple of un-ringed Osprey around the harbour today, with 2 in Lytchett Bay and 1 over the Wareham Channel. A sub-adult Marsh Harrier was also in Lytchett Bay with an adult Hobby over Lytchett Fields. A stunning full summer plumage Grey Plover was in Brands Bya along with 2 Wigeon (the first of the autumn for Brands Bay), 5 Ringed Plover, 68 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 10 Knot, 6 Dunlin and 1 Common Snipe. In Holes Bay north there were 2 Common Sandpiper and 87 Wigeon back. Middlebere was a bit quieter with 1 Great White Egret, 5 Grey Plover and 37 Avocet. On Brownsea yesterday there was 1 Little Stint. Up on Ballard there were 2 Wheatear and 11 Yellow Wagtail were at at Hartland Stud.

Reed Warbler – Holes Bay ( a few weeks ago) – Clare Slade

Cooler today but still plenty around. At Holton Lee there were 2 family parties of Spotted Flycatcher with 10+ birds near the car park, along with numerous Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff joining the party and 1 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat, Treecreepers, Goldcrests and 1 Firecrest. An Osprey also passed over Holton Lee and 2 were seen in Lytchett Bay with another (or the same 2) in the Wareham Channel. CJ7 and 022 were still around this morning, with CJ7 now having stayed longer this season than she’s ever stayed before. In Holes Bay the Wigeon flock has gone up to 60 and a Kingfisher was in the PCW Drain. In Brands Bay there was a single Curlew Sandpiper and another at Lytchett Fields. There were 16 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon and at the start of the Middlebere track there were 2 Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whitethroat and a Whinchat and at Sunnyside 2 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and 1 Whitethroat. Finally the Great White Egret was in Middlebere today and there were 11 Pintail there too.

Great White Egret – Middlebere – Ken  

There was a real sense of arrival this morning as the skies darkened and the wind built, making it feel very autumnal. Not so much for passerines, but wildfowl were most definitely on the move with 14 Common Scoter seen flying high above Poole Quay heading towards Poole Bay. Whilst on our Osprey Cruise today, Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, Gadwall and Teal were all seen flying in from high north, circling the Wareham Channel before moving on. Also logged from today’s Osprey Cruise were 2 Hobby over Arne, 1 Peregrine over the Wareham Channel, 1 Marsh Harrier, c100 Avocet and c600 Black-tailed Godwit along with the first decent ‘raft’ of c300 sinensis Cormorant fishing off the Arne shoreline. Osprey-wise we had two, un-ringed adult females fly close past the boat, with another seen fishing in Arne Bay. There were 2-3 fishing in and around Lytchett Bay on and off throughout the day too. Plus, both Ospreys CJ7 and 022 were seen on a harbour nest platform today too, highlighting they were still around, although haven’t been seen for the rest of the day……have they gone? In Brands Bay there were 2 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Spotted Redshank. In Holes Bay there were 47 Wigeon back and at Lytchett Fields there were 8 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Redstart. At Hartland yesterday there were 11 Yellow Wagtail, 5 Wheatear, 4 Redstart, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 11 Willow Warbler and at Godlingston Heath today 1 Whinchat, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Redstart and 2 Wheatear

Avocets – Wareham Channel – Mark Wright (@markwright12002)

Female Osprey – Wareham Channel – Mark Wright (@markwright12002)

Curlew Sandpipers – Brands Bay – Rob Johnson

A dream Osprey cruise departed Poole Quay this morning at 9AM. Clear blue skies and a rising tide made for the perfect conditions for a couple of our translocated juvenile Ospreys (370 & 379) to spend the morning honing in their newly discovered fishing skills, patrolling the harbour and attempting numerous failed fishing attempts for the duration of our trip! A total of 5-7 different individuals were logged across the Wareham Channel from our boat, including an unringed juvenile and 022 skydancing yet again! A real privilage to see, this behaviour has been missing from our landscape for c.200 years and is surely a fantastic indicator of his strong health and condition ahead of his migration south. A Juvenile Osprey was also causing a commotion at Brands Bay, disturbing the Spotted Redshank (scarce visitor to this area of the harbour), 23 Great Crested Grebe, 50 Teal, 5 Ringed Plover, 79 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 8 Knot, 15 Dunlin, 48 Mediterranean and 22 Common Gull below.

A Stour Ringing Group session at Lytchett Bay continues to capitalise on the strong Grasshopper Warbler passage this season, with another 14 birds trapped and ringed this morning. Passage passerines continue to filter through the harbour, with 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Common Redstart and 3 Wheatear among the migrants at Greenlands Farm. Plenty more flycatchers, starts and chats to come through over the next couple of weeks… Dream a little bigger and you could consider finding a Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike or better??

Grasshopper Warbler – Terry Elborn

It was hard to decide which Osprey to watch at times during this morning’s Osprey Cruise!

A couple of unsuccessful osprey dives seen from the osprey cruise boat this morning. @harbourbirds @jsparker_ @Allen2Lucy @harbourospreys @BrittanyMaxted @dougaldog @LivCooper23 pic.twitter.com/8z5OMn32Uu

— Alison Copland (@alison_copland) August 29, 2021

Adding to yesterday’s stream of migrants, today 2 Pied Flycatcher were reported from RSPB Arne on Grip Heath from the Red Trail. This morning’s Osprey Cruise truly delivered, with at least 5 Osprey visible at the same time over the Wareham Channel, 3 of which were hunting. 4 Osprey were reported from Coombe Heath at Arne during the morning, with 2 of the translocated juveniles from this year’s cohort were amongst the sightings in that area, and a lone Osprey reported hunting over Lytchett Bay earlier in the day. Towards midday, a further 2 Osprey and a Marsh Harrier were seen over Lytchett Fields, along with 10 Greenshank feeding on the fields. A Marsh Harrier was also seen in the Wareham Channel from this morning’s cruise, as well as the first signs of Great Crested Grebe numbers building, with a raft of 17 individuals seen from the boat. 4 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank were also seen were feeding on the mudflats at the mouth of the River Frome. There was an interesting sighting yesterday of a probable Little Stint on Brownsea Lagoon (see video below), though hard to confirm from the footage. We’ll be scanning the lagoon from tomorrow’s Osprey Cruise to confirm if the bird is still around.

Osprey with fish – Coombe Heath – Kate Plater

I managed to convince myself this wasn't a Stint on Brownsea yesterday because it looked like it had a dark belly but obviously a trick or the light as clearly smaller and paler than the Dunlin! @harbourbirds @DWTBrownsea @DorsetBirdClub @BrownseaNT pic.twitter.com/8H2NN7qRZx

— Martin Adams (@MartinAdams) August 28, 2021