Another stunning day across the harbour with some new arrivals in evidence. From this mornings Osprey Cruise we had the below juvenile Osprey fly right over the boat, and with a quick inspection of the leg ring through the viewfinder of a camera we initially thought this was 5R3, the young female from the Carey nest this summer. However, Rene Goad uploaded his photos this evening and found that the ring actually read 7R3…..which definitely wasn’t one of our juveniles from the local nests. So, where was it from? A quick call to Tim Makrill for some guidance yielded a quick response where he informed us it was in fact a juvenile male which had fledged from a private site in the Rutland area and was ringed on July 6th. This is a really early migrant juvenile, but proves that Osprey migration is well underway, as we’ve already seen multiple transiting females passing through over the last few weeks. There were 4 other different Osprey in Lytchett Bay this morning which all caught fish, and another was in Middlebere. The White-tailed Eagle pair were both in the Wareham Channel by mid-morning, along with 16 Spoonbill, 8 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier, 10+ Common Tern, c30 Sandwich Tern, c800 Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Ringed Plover. There was a good count of 14 Yellow-legged Gulls out on Arne Moors, on Hartland there were 7 Wheatear, 2 Whinchat and 2 Wheatear. At Lytchett Fields/Bay there were 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Spotted Redshank, 19 Greenshank, 9 Ringed Plover, 8 Dunlin, 5 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Redstart, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Yellow Wagtail. There were also 21 spoonbill seen in Middlebere during the afternoon which were likely to be the same as the Wareham Channel birds from this morning. A Barn Owl was also at Lytchett Fields this evening…a rare bird here!

Juv male Osprey 7R3 from private Rutland site – Wareham Channel – Rene Goad

Ring of Juv male Osprey 7R3 from private Rutland site – Wareham Channel – Rene Goad

There’s been a real arrival of Teal in Holes Bay with 60 this morning in the North West Sector along with 5 Whimbrel, 6 Dunlin and 339 Redshank.  At Lytchett Fields on the rising tide there were 1 Spotted Redshank, c20 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper and 2 Common Sandpiper. At Coombe Heath from RSPB Arne there were 2 Osprey, 3 Spoonbill and 1 Great White Egret.

Lots of action from our Osprey Cruise this morning with at least 6 Osprey active with only one of these being a juvenile. We had 3 separate fish catches in the Wareham Channel with one incident where a migrant female Osprey lost her fish to a Great Black-backed Gull, only to go and catch another fish just 10 minutes later! Interestingly the second fish was much smaller and easier to carry off, so no hassle from the gulls. Both White-tailed Eagles were active in the Wareham Channel too along with c200 Black-tailed Godwit feeding on the low tide. On the Brownsea Lagoon the 29 Spoonbill were still roosting at high tide, along with 25 Avocet, c200 Dunlin and c20 Ringed Plover.

There was also a report of 3 Storks/Cranes high over Wareham Causeway, but too distant to identify. Worth keeping an eye out for as they could still be in the area.

Our 2-year old returning male Osprey ‘5H3’ reappeared again last night on a harbour nest platform. It’s a really great sign he keeps returning to the harbour, since his return in June, that he may be looking to set up a nest for next year.

5H3 on nest platform last night

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