Wow…it was actually sunny AND warm today. An actual proper late spring day, even exceeding 20 degrees briefly. With the weather set to continue on this trajectory could we be in for some nice late spring surprises?  A Wood Warbler singing briefly 100 meters west of RSPB Arne Car Park is an unusually late spring record, but this has been an unusual spring! Spring Wood Warblers are incredibly rare and typically pass through Poole Harbour in mid-April and would normal have all passed through by early May. Lytchett Bay featured 2 Whimbrel early morning and 2 Crossbill east overhead. Both Ospreys CJ7 and 022 continued to be active on the nest webcam. In fact, CJ7 was at the nest site pretty much for the whole day. For a while, and certainly during the foul weather we thought that a breeding attempt would become unlikely but as the weather has improved over the last few days, they both seem really interested in the nest again, even bringing in more nesting material. The next 3-4 days could be really exciting and we’ll all be eyes on the webcam to see if CJ7 lays any eggs at all.

Male 022 and female CJ7 on the nest cam

Today’s Purbeck Puffin cruise was an absolute delight… The calm conditions made for perfect viewing opportunities and the auks did not disappoint. Five Puffins were observed from the cruise, including the very showy individually photographed below, which makes for the highest total recorded so far this year! And an unexpected flock of 7 Eider west added extra excitement – a species we haven’t recorded from our Puffin cruises before. It was so nice to be out exploring the harbour, enjoying the Purbeck coastline and sharing the experience with a boat of likeminded people. Within the harbour area, 6 Turnstone were logged at Sandbanks, along with a constant passage of Common Terns commuting between Brownsea Island and Poole Bay.

Puffin – Purbeck Puffin Cruise – Louise McKenna

It finally began to feel like some sort of summer could begin today. With the temperatures reaching 15 degrees could this now be the true start of a season we’ve all been so desperate for? There are currently still some trees that are yet to bloom into full leaf so with plenty of water in the last month and now some warmth hopefully plants and insects will begin to flourish meaning plenty of food entering the food chain and helping breeding productivity.

This morning we were out surveying the important gull colony in the Wareham Channel, a small set of islands that several thousands of breeding Black-headed Gulls and several other species. In total there were 3706 Black-headed Gull nests and 109 Mediterranean Gull nests. Mediterranean Gull are a schedule 1 species and are also a Poole Harbour SPA (Special Protection Area) feature species, so assessing their population is an important task. Also logged on the islands were 5 Oystercatcher nests, 2 Gadwall nests, 2 Mallard nests as well as 17 migrant Dunlin and 3 Bar-tailed Godwit. Elsewhere there are still 4 Brent Geese in Brands Bay that seem to be enjoying the cold spring and c30 Sanderling were were along the shoreline at Redhorn, Studland. There were 2 active Hobby over Middlebere and both Osprey’s CJ7 and 022 were active on the nest cam today, still mating and seeing off the local Raven that’s been visiting recently. There was no sign of the Scottish individual today.

Black-headed Gull chicks in the nest – Wareham Channel

Sandwich Tern – Clare Slade – Poole Harbour

We’re so sorry…we lied! We said yesterday was going to be the last rain. Then this evening, we encountered another very soggy and damp late spring down pour! It is forecast to improve….we promise! And this morning fine weather allowed us to discover that there are currently three Osprey in the harbour.

An exciting moment occurred in Arne Bay around 10am when 3 different Osprey appeared, initially 2 males, and then CJ7. But who was the new mystery bird? Without good views of its legs we didn’t even know whether it was ringed or not. However, good fortune occurred when late in the afternoon we were sent a photo by a Jayne Brooks who visited Arne on Sunday and captured a stunning photo of an Osprey near Middlebere. The bird in Jayne’s photo was identical to the new comer we saw this morning and the photos were so good we could see that it was in fact a Scottish individual (metal ring on right leg, blue left) and a male. So, sadly not another of ours from the project, but still great to see more two-year olds pass through. Plus, there’s still plety of time for some more of of 2019 crew to show. Also around Arne today was a summer plumaged Grey Plover in Arne Bay and a Cuckoo by Shipstal. At Shell Bay, Studland there were 21 Sanderling and a Cuckoo flew across the harbour mouth.

Newly arrived Scottish male Osprey – Arne – Jayne Brooks

All being well, today should be the last wet day for quite some time. The wind also subsides throughout tomorrow, meaning after two months of bitterly cold, and soaking wet conditions, we may actually get to see some sun at last!

It really has been quite hard work this spring with wader passage slow for the most part and dawn choruses barely getting going at all. The return of male Osprey 022 has been a highlight for many and his bond with CJ7 has certainly added some warmth to this spring. Although he really doesn’t like sharing any of his hard earned fish, and is still yet to present any to CJ7. For a successful nesting attempt this year, he really needs to learn how to start provisioning her with fish so that when and if she does lay some fertile eggs, he’ll be then know how to supply his new family with enough to keep them going. It’s all a learning curve for these birds so at present we’re just taking each day as it comes and learning new things all the time. It’s been nice in the last 24 hours also seeing Woodlark, Nightjar and handsome Ravens on the nest too.

022 failing to share with CJ7

The strong winds deterred any ideas of birding across the harbour yesterday. CJ7 and 022 made few appearances on the 21st, most notably on the livestream webcam early morning before the stormy conditions ramped up and forced the pair to hunkered down away from the nest. Despite field conditions improving overnight, the 22nd failed to yield many birds, with limited coverage of the harbour. Most notable was a Little Tern fishing in Lytchett Bay for all of 15 minutes. Perhaps tomorrow will reveal the windblown goodie that’s kicking around?

Little Tern – Lytchett Bay – Ian Ballam

It was great to be back out exploring and interpreting the harbour and surrounding area as we ran our first Purbeck Puffin Cruise since summer 2019. A stunning, if slightly lumpy, charter touring the Jurassic Coastline as Guillemots and Razorbills cruised passed the boat in impressive numbers on our approach to Dancing Ledge. Three Puffins played hardball to start with, but by the end we were all treated to superb views of two Puffins sitting on the water and regularly diving and feeding no more than 20 meters off the boat! Flyby Gannet, Fulmar, Kittiwake and Peregrine all adding additional excitement to the trip. Within the harbour, both male and female Cuckoo were logged around Middlebere again this morning, with Whimbrel kicking around the channel, along with Redshank, Shelduck and 3 Little Egret. The Studland Houseboat notable wader count produced 54 Sanderling, 8 Dunlin & a Ringed Plover, with many of the Sanderling in their lovely gingery summer plumage.

Following on from the whirlwind of yesterday evening, CJ7 and 022 continued to reinforce their bond with numerous mating attempts and 022 making adjustments to the nest and egg-cup scraping! The pair appear to be bonding well and it could be possible for them to breed this year, and if not, their relationship is forming a good foundation for breeding next year. All great signs.

Puffin – Dancing Ledge – @nyrak62 (twitter account)

Today was the day we’ve all been waiting for. At 5:32am one of our harbour nest platform trail cameras picked up an image of a single Osprey. In the next series of photos two Osprey were present! We could see they both had blue rings, but the images were too blurry to confirm the numbers. One was almost certainly going to be CJ7 but who was the new comer?

When we receive the photos from the trail cams they don’t arrive as HD quality images and we have to request them, meaning an agonising wait until the next transmission of photos come through. Anyway, at 9am the HD versions of the photos came through and BOOOOM! It was one of our 2019 translocated males 022……FANTASTIC!

What was even better was that female Osprey CJ7 found him almost immediately and the two then spent the whole day together touring the harbour, visiting several sites and a couple of different nest platforms. The best moment was mid-morning when the pair made an appearance on the live nest cam, allowing all viewers at home to enjoy the arrival.

Then, this evening we were all treated to ‘a show’ with CJ7 and 022 present at the main nest site and mating frequently. We’ll be writing a fuller insight into what this means but for now, we’re just over the moon that we have a male back in the harbour that’s paired with CJ7 and they seem to be getting on!

For now, here’s a series of exciting photos that summed up todays events….

Male Osprey 022 arriving this morning at 05:32

Female Osprey CJ7 joining male Osprey 022 this morning at 06:39

Male Osprey 022 visiting the nest cam for the first time

Male Osprey 022 showing off to CJ7

A ‘busy’ evening for the new couple