Another big push of migration in the harbour today, with the Lower Piddle Valley ringing station catching 172 birds, including 1 Redstart, 43 Blackcap, 39 Sedge Warbler, 11 Willow Warbler, 27 Chiffchaff, 1 Nightjar, 2 Firecrest, and 5 Tree Pipit. Our morning Osprey Cruise was very productive with 5 Ospreys seen including 1 juvenile and 1 very distant White-tailed Eagle. At Swineham, 2 Bearded Tit were briefly seen and heard and 1 Water Rail was calling from the reeds. There was plenty to see on Brownsea Lagoon including 5 Knot, 58 Spoonbill, c150 Common Ringed Plover, 20 Avocet, and 10 Greenshank. The fun began even before we left the quay, with 1 Wheatear on the rocks, 5 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Tree Pipit flying over. Plus, there was 1 Kingfisher on the Quay and another on the Brownsea Lagoon. There were 2 different Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel, with an adult female and a juvenile. There were more Wheatear  moving today with 5 on Hartland, 1 on Poole Quay, 3 at Greenlands Farm and 1 on Brownsea.

Knot – Brownsea Lagoon – Mark Wright

The stormy conditions brought with it some nice birds in the Wareham Channel with a small, all dark Skua species that was sadly too distant to identify. A Glossy Ibis also dropped in to Arne Moors this morning. The first Pintail of the Autumn dropped in to Holes Bay today along with 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Knot, 302 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Dunlin and 1 fishing Osprey. From our Osprey Cruises we also had at least 5 Osprey, 2 Marsh Harrier in the Wareham Channel and on the Brownsea Lagoon there were 27 Spoonbill, 12 Avocet, 4 Knot and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit.

Spoonbill from our Osprey Cruise this AM – Brownsea Lagoon – Mark Wright

Incredibly early record of 12 Dark-bellied Brent Geese flying into the harbour this afternoon during the stormy conditions. We normally don’t see the first birds coming in until early/mid-October. There was a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper on the Brownsea Lagoon from our Osprey Cruise this morning along with c50 new Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Spoonbill and a further 20 in Wytch Lake. There was a possible juvenile Arctic Tern on the sandspit of Long Island. 2 late Swift were over Tower Park and another 2 were over Middle Beach, Studland. In Lytchett Bay there were 2 Osprey, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Spotted Redshank, 15 Greenshank and 1 Whimbrel. At the Middlebere Channel this evening there was a good count of 31 Yellow Wagtail amongst the cattle and horses, before heading off to roost. There were also 2 Spotted Redshank, 7 Greenshank, c100 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Hobby and 1 Osprey. At Swineham this evening 1 Ruff was on the newly filled Swineham ‘Stilt Pools’. The Brownsea Lagoon also had c150 Ringed Plover, 4 Knot and c100 Dunlin. Finally, at Holmebridge this afternoon 21 Cattle Egret were with cows just west of the bridge.

Greenshank – Lytchett Fields RSPB – petey632.bsky.social

The Lower Piddle Valley ringing station hit the jackpot today with an Aquatic Warbler trapped and ringed during the weather fronts. These stripier version of a sedge warbler breed in eastern Europe, mainly in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. During the spring migration these fen and mire loving warblers head straight from Western Africa to the breeding grounds. During the autumn, their route takes them more west across Europe and in certain wind conditions they are known to skirt the southern edges of the UK. So far, this is the third individual to be seen in the UK this autumn. The global population is only around 8000 singing males. Through bird ringing, their wintering location in Africa has now been identified and protected and the population is being carefully monitored.

Read here for more information about this species.

Lytchett Bay showed further signs of autumnal migration with growing numbers of juvenile Black-tailed Godwits having now started their journey south. 17 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Osprey and 14 Swallow also recorded.

At Arne, 8 Spoonbill out of a growing total of over 50 in the harbour were seen from Middlebere. 3 Osprey and a single Marsh harrier were also seen.

The afternoon Osprey cruise had 3 Osprey including male 022 from the Carey nest site. 022 would still be catching fish for any of his off spring that still remain in the harbour. Great views of a Marsh harrier, 1 Peregrine Falcon and a single 1yr old White-tailed Eagle flew high over-head. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 52 Spoonbill, 7 Greenshank, c150 Ringed Plover, 3 Knot and c200 Dunlin.

Aquatic Warbler – Lower Piddle Valley – Ed Betteridge

Thats it….August done. Nothing but the waft of autumn smells and steely grey sky’s over coastal sites to get birders hearts racing. Autumn migration has been well under way for weeks and weeks, but Sept, Oct and Nov autumn migration is the real deal, with the first Redwings due later this month, plus the opportunity for a multitude of other rarer scarcer species on the potential hit list. With the strong south-westerlies  the last week, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper…..Western Sandpiper all enter day-dreaming braincells, whilst passages of Swallows and House Martins stream overhead.

September got off to a good start with the (now annual) Forster’s Tern logged off Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne this afternoon. We have been keeping an eye out from our Osprey Cruises over the last few weeks, semi-expecting it to be back at some point, and right on cue, it showed up. Ospreys are still here in good numbers despite the weather with 3 in Lytchett Bay this afternoon and several around the Wareham Channel and Middlebere. There were 2 new White-tailed Eagles around briefly with a 2024 juvenile in the Wareham Channel this afternoon and a juv from this years IOW release which tracked just north of the harbour briefly. There was a Wigeon in Brands Bay, 2 Spotted Redshank at Lytchett Fields, 3 Spoonbill at Middlebere and it was also good to see our 2023 male Osprey 5H3 is still in and around the harbour, which is excellent news for a potential 3rd nest next year!

Male Osprey 5H3 – Lytchett Bay – Mark Wright

Today was a case of making the most of this morning’s offerings before the rain showers came in full force! The Lower Piddle Valley ringing station caught a Wryneck, a scarce passage migrant. A Wryneck was caught nearly the exact date last August, on the 28th! The end of August is the peak time for encountering this species in the harbour, as they make their southbound journey to Africa to winter. On our Osprey cruise this morning we managed to dodge the showers and were rewarded with 1 Osprey successfully catching a fish in the Wareham Channel. Both adult White-tailed Eagles were present, with G466 (female) sat on Shag Looe before making a short journey to the gull islands and then flying past the boat over the Arne shoreline. As we were up the top of the Wareham Channel, G463 (male) flew in high from the Purbeck coast, before settling on the Holton Lee shoreline. One of the highlights of the cruise was a stunning fly-by of an adult Hobby, close enough to see all the details of its plumage and a prey item (likely a small bird) in its talons. Other species seen included 6 Greenshank, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, and 2 Spoonbill. Elsewhere in the harbour, there were 23 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, 27 Turnstone, 2 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank,  1 Green Sandpiper, and a returning Wigeon in Brands Bay. On the Brownsea Lagoon, there were 1 juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and 6 juvenile Knot. 2 Osprey were seen in Lytchett Bay, with one successfully catching a fish.

Wryneck (handled and ringed under BTO license) – Lower Piddle Valley – Ed Betteridge

Osprey with fish – Lytchett Bay – Alison Copland

With a minor break in the weather last night and this morning, some birds managed to migrate during the night, before the cloud and rain settled in mid-morning. The ringing station in the Lower Piddle Valley, at Carey saw another push of Sedge Warbler with 46 ringed along with 6 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Willow Warbler and an unexpected Hobby in the mist nets. Some of the Sedge Warbler were storing large amounts of fat, with most weighing about 11.0g, but this morning several were 17.0g and one even weighed 20.0g. This afternoon at Lytchett Fields there were 2 Spotted Redshank, 30 Greenshank, 6 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper and small numbers of Common Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit. Our Osprey Cruises delivered again today, despite the wind and infrequent showers, with 2-4 Osprey in and around the Wareham Channel, 1 White-tailed Eagle on Gold Point, RSPB Arne and visits to Brownsea logged c55 Spoonbill, c150 Ringed Plover, c15 Avocet and a few remaining Sandwich and Common Terns. At the Sunnyside Farm screen/scrape (which has recently been cut and is looking good) there were 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Green Sandpiper and 1 Wheatear. Wader numbers in Holes Bay are building nicely with 352 Redshank, 301 Black-tailed Godwit, 34 Curlew, 26 Oystercatcher and 6 Dunlin logged today, plus 1 Greenshank and 1 Common Sandpiper in the SE sector.

Adult male Eurasian Hobby – Lower Piddle Valley, Carey – Ed Betteridge

Adult male Eurasian Hobby – Lower Piddle Valley, Carey – Ed Betteridge