Today was pretty grim but after this summers heat wave it was nice to see such a sustained period of rain and despite the damp there was some good coverage around the harbour. Out in Poole Bay a flock of 20 Gannet fished for most of the morning best viewed off Studland Beach. In Middlebere there were 6 Spoonbill, 1 Spotted Redshank, 6 Curlew, 4 Common Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 6 Grey Plover, 250 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Avocet, 1 Green Sandpiper and an Osprey with the first Wigeon of the autumn also logged. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 14 Curlew, 16 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Greenshank, 21 Avocet, 19 Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 7 Sanderling, 192 Dunlin, 2 Turnstone and 497 Oystercatcher. On Lytchett Fields both the Curlew Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper remained and there was a general increase in other wader species with 37 Dunlin, 51 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Ringed Plover, 8 Common Sandpiper, 10 Greenshank, 21 Common Snipe and there was a single Whinchat too.

Dartford Warbler – Hartland Moor – Nick Gadeene

Highlights from today included 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 5 Green Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpiper, 7 Greenshank, 40 Redshank, 35 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Common Snipe and 15 Pied Wagtail at Lytchett Fields. At Middlebere there was an adult female Osprey, 5 Grey Plover, 306 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Avocet, 6 Spoonbill and a juvenile Oystercatcher. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 5 Spotted Redshank, 6 Greenshank, 67 Common Redshank, 23 Ringed Plover, 150+ Dunlin, 14 Sanderling, 20 Bar-tailed Godwit, 26 Avocet, 8 Curlew, 1 Knot and along the north shore 21 Common Sandpiper at Seymers. At South Haven there were 2 Common Sandpiper and 2 Garden Warbler. Up on Ballard 24 Willow Warbler, 61 Sedge Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Garden Warbler, 8 Common Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Tree Pipit were logged moving through the site.

Wood Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Graham Jaggard

Waders were the main feature of the day with another nice spread across the Holton Pools/Lytchett Fields area with a Ruff and 2 Green Sandpiper, 3 Stonechat on and around Holton Pools and 1 Wood Sandpiper and 1 adult Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Ruff, 2 Common Sandpiper, 7 Greenshank, 2 Common Snipe, 1 Spotted Redshank, 60 Lapwing on Lytchett Fields along with several new juvenile Black-tailed Godwit fresh in from Iceland. At Middlebere there were 6 Spoonbill, 1 Greenshank, 1 Hobby and 1 Osprey along with another Osprey over Lytchett Bay. In the Wytch Lake there were 6 Greenshank and on Baiter 13 Turnstone were back.

Wood Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Shaun Robson

Yet again there was a big push of passerines moving through the harbour this morning with Sedge Warbler being the most prominent species. Now is also the best time to try and see species such as Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Common Redstart and Common Whitethroat on migration and a good search through scrubby areas of Ballard and Studland Village, Littlesea, Greenland’s Farm, Middlebere, Arne, Soldiers Road and Hartland Moor should reward you with a nice mix of species. At Ballard Down this morning 152 Sedge Warbler, 31 Willow Warbler, 13 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler and 12 Common Whitethroat were logged moving through the area and at Lytchett Fields 78 Sedge Warbler, 19 Willow Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler and 1 Garden Warbler were logged. Lytchett Fields there was a good mix of birds including 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Ruff and a Whinchat. On Holton Pools there was sadly no sign of the Wood Sandpiper but there were 2 Green Sandpiper and the usual clan of Little Egrets. In Middlebere there were 6 Spoonbill, 6 Greenshank and 2 Osprey.

As august progresses more and more migrants are being reported heading south and at sites right across the harbour you stand a good chance of encountering a whole range of species. At our ringing site near Ballard Down there was a nice mix of birds ringed this AM including a Pied Flycatcher, 31 Willow Warbler, 61 Sedge Warbler, 7 Reed Warbler, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler and 8 Common Whitethroat. At Arne and Hartland Moor Wheatear are now trickling through and can be seen in two’s and three’s. A juvenile Common Cuckoo was on Stoborough Heath and at Middlebere 2 Osprey were hanging around the Middlebere nest platform for most of the day. It looks as if there were 2 Wood Sandpiper today with a bird present on Holton Pools with another on Lytchett Fields around the same time. In the west of the harbour despite a poor summer for Marsh Harrier they’re a bit more conspicuous with a couple of new birds passing through every so often and today one was seen over Middlebere and Swineham.

The waders keep on coming and the Brownsea Lagoon was busy with at least 20 Greenshank and well as Spotted Redshank, 1 Curlew Sandpiper and 1 Green Sandpiper. At Lytchett Bay an Osprey was hunting out over the bay and on the fields was a Wood Sandpiper, 18 Dunlin and 10 Greenshank. We’re now also beginning to see the increase in Spoonbill as there were 6 in Middlebere and 4 at Shipstal.

Greenshank – Brownsea Lagoon – Hamish Murray

Waders are on the move en mass this time of year and become very active as they coming and go with the setting and rising of the sun as almost all waders migrate at night. There was a lovely setting at Lytchett Fields this evening which was already special with the presence of both a Wood and Curlew Sandpiper. As dusk settled up to 19 Green Sandpiper and 12 Common Sandpiper flew around the site calling excitedly before we presume moving off south when the sun set. There were also 22 Dunlin, 15 Snipe and the first returning juvenile Black-tailed Godwit of the year. On Brownsea there are still a few Common Terns yet to fledge but it seems the Sandwich Terns are now done for the year. The Purple Heron came in a bit earlier this evening (9:00pm), just how long is this bird going to hang around? Again, 2 Osprey were hanging around Arne all day and the first migrant Wheatears were seen on top of Hartland.

Little Egret – Holton Pools – John Pick

Great Black-backed Gull chicks – Brownsea Beach – Val Smith

Migration is really picking up now and up at our ringing site on Ballard Down a good pulse of Sedge Warbler moved through the area with 72 ringed along with a 7 Reed Warbler, 7 Grasshopper Warbler, 6 Garden Warbler, 5 Common Whitethroat, 5 Willow Warbler and a Tawny Owl! Another ringing site in the harbour (Lytchett Bay) was an equally busy warbler fest with 130 Sedge Warbler, 19 Reed Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 7 Garden Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat and 1 Dartford Warbler ringed. It was nice to see Holes Bay get some wader selection with 2 Common Sandpiper in the NE section and a fresh juvenile Kingfisher (possibly taking up residence for the winter now), and in the SE section 2 Curlew Sandpiper (an excellent Holes Bay record) also 1 Greenshank and just a single Dunlin. The Purple Heron again came into the Littlesea roost at 21:20. In Middlebere the 4 Spoonbill were at the end of the channel again and the 2 adult Osprey were still hanging around the Coombe Heath/Middlebere area.

On Lytchett Fields the Curlew Sandpiper was still out on French’s Pools with 5 Common Sandpiper and 6 Greenshank. In Middlebere there were only 4 Spoonbill today and 2 adult Ospreywere still active commuting between the Wareham Channel and our release site. At South Haven it was good to see 6 Sanderling back, although these will most likely be migrants passing through rather than over-winterers and in Brands Bay there were 83 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 64 Redshank, 7 Dunlin and 2 Whimbrel.

Curlew Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

We’re at that exciting time of year where our Osprey translocation sees the release of our first set of birds. This year saw a small range of ages between the chicks and at the beginning of the week the first 5 were ready for release, which was incredibly exciting. It didn’t take long for the first birds to fly free and by the end of the day the five were getting used to life on the wing around the release site. For the next 7-10 days they’ll stay fairly close to the pens as provisions continue to be put out for them, but over time they’ll begin exploring other areas of the harbour and hopefully allow members of the public to see them around sites like Arne and Middlebere. We’ll keep you posted with their progress and look forward to hearing about their shenanigans over the coming weeks! The Purple Heron again came into roost at Littlesea around 21:30 and a Red Kite drifted over Arne Moors. There were 2-3 adult Osprey in the harbour today too, some of which have all ready began interacting with our translocated chicks. At Lytchett Fields a new Curlew Sandpiper was on the fields mixed in with the Dunlin along with 6 Common Sandpiper and 9 Greenshank. In the Middlebere Channel 5 Spoonbill were still feeding in the southern end.

Released Osprey chicks 013 and 014 enjoying life on the wing.