Despite a bit more searching today for Wednesdays Elegant Tern, the bird still never reappeared, however something equally as exciting was discovered on the lagoon mid-afternoon. The discovery didn’t involve a rare bird this time, but in fact something which is relatively common throughout the winter here in Poole Harbour. During an early evening ‘tern hunt’ yesterday some locals noticed an Avocet sitting tight next to a log on the opposite side of the lagoon. Being early evening this could have simply been a favored pre-roost sitting spot although it’s motionless stance and eagerness to stay hidden seemed interesting. Today the bird was in exactly the same spot having not budged for almost 24 hours. Then, at around 14:00 a chance check on the bird saw another Avocet walk over to the sitting Avocet, nudge it out of the way and then settle down in exactly the same spot…A NEST SHIFT CHANGE OVER! This behavior confirmed that the pair is actually on eggs, which in a Poole Harbour/Dorset context is incredible news. Avocet haven’t successfully nested in Dorset for many many years, with the last attempt taking place on Brownsea in 1999 when two pairs hatched young but were sadly predated. The nest is now being closely monitored to see when the eggs hatch, but being in such close proximity to so many Great Black-backed Gulls it could be a rough ride for any new Avocet parents and their chicks. We’ll keep you posted along the way. There was just a single Spoonbill on the lagoon today with another 4 on Lytchett Fields where there were also 2 adult Little Ringed Plover still, 41 Redshank, 7 Teal, 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull and the first Hobby for the site went through.

Well, all the excitement from yesterday was short lived as the Elegant Tern which roosted on the Brownsea Lagoon, and was still viewable on our webcam through the night, upped sticks and left around 5:00am never to be seen again…throughout the day anyway. A small flow of people made their way to Brownsea throughout the day in the hope the tern may arrive back, but sadly it never did. During its short stay on the Sandwich Tern islands it was receiving quite a bit of grief from the parent Sandwich Terns, so maybe it had just very quickly out-stayed its welcome? Other birds seen on the lagoon whilst waiting for the tern included the 5 Spoonbill, 1 early/late Common Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and several Black-tailed Godwit. At Arne one of the Osprey was on the perching post again and 2 were seen fishing out in the Wareham Channel late afternoon. On Lytchett Fields there were 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Green Sandpiper and 62 Black-tailed Godwit with the seasons first newly fledged Black-headed Gull seen in Lytchett Bay. When watching the Elegant Tern yesterday we were trying to get some film footage but frustratingly the battery ran out on our gear and we thought we’d walked away ‘footageless’. However, when uploading our memory card we were thrilled to find we had managed to get a relatively decent 15-second video of the bird canoodling with the Sarni Terns before our camera conked out. 

Elegant Tern – Brownsea Lagoon – 21/06/17

Elegant Tern roosting at night on  Brownsea Lagoon – 21&22/06/17

Yep, today was one of those days. If the blazing sun wasn’t enough to get us hot under the collar then the days birding surely would. What started fairly routine with our regular checking of the moth trap which in its self bursting with goodies flowed into a filming piece we carried out at Arne with BBC South Today to discuss the Osprey translocation piece (link available soon). This in its self was eventful enough as 2 Osprey came and circled over us whilst we were filming before heading out into the Wareham Channel. We also saw and heard Hobby, Dartford Warbler and 1 Woodlark, all whilst stood in one place! Heading back to Poole, we decided to check an area that’s usually good for reptiles and low and behold found a stunning Nightjar hunkered up on an exposed log, tucked up in some bracken. Personally, this is always my ultimate find each summer, and a goal I don’t very often achieve. This is only the 3^rd Nightjar I’ve ever found that hasn’t then been spooked and actually stayed in one place upon the discovery. It quite happily sat there as I took a series of photos and video before I quietly retreated and left it to its sunbathing. Then…we got the call, Elegant Tern on Brownsea!!!!! A mad dash to the Brownsea Ferry and a run to the Mac hide saw several of us get to see this beauty, with its long, orange bill and ridiculously spikey crown. It flirted for a while with some of the local Sandwich Terns before moving off and leaving the harbour mouth possibly never to be seen again. However, a chance check on our Brownsea Lagoon webcam at around 19:30 saw him back again and which is where he then stayed until darkness fell and he roosted on the Brownsea Lagoon. The best bit was around 20:00 when we checked and around 150 people were logged on watching him on one camera and 5 Spoonbill on the other…talk about being spoilt! 

Nightjar – Arne Road

Elegant Tern – Brownsea Lagoon – Paul Morton

Elegant Tern – Brownsea Lagoon Webcam

Nightjar – Arne Road – Paul Morton

Spoonbill – Brownsea Lagoon – Paul Morton

Today we announced some exciting news which stated that this summer we’ll be beginning a 5 year Osprey translocation project here in Poole Harbour. This will be a joint project between us, The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and local wildlife camera business Wildlife Windows. The project will involve translocating juvenile Ospreys from healthy sustainable populations up in Scotland and bringing them down to Poole this July in a bid to try and restore a population here on the south coast. Osprey were once wide-spread across the whole of Western Europe during the 1600 & 1700’s but were sadly wiped out during the 1800’s almost entirely due to human interference such as persecution, DDT poisoning, egg collecting and taxidermy. Although Osprey have since done well in northern Europe they are still extremely scarce in Western Europe with just a handful of tiny fragmented populations dotted through the region. The plan is to hopefully establish a colony here on the south coast which will then act as a stepping stone for UK and French  populations to start interacting with one another. There has only ever been one other Osprey translocation carried out in the UK before and that was at Rutland Water during the late 1990’s. The Rutland population is now (as of this year) a self sustained population of 8 pairs which is made up entirely of non-translocated birds which is great. We’re also thrilled to have Roy Dennis and Dr Tim Makrill as our partners in the project who are arguably two of the highest regarded Osprey experts in Europe and who were involved in setting up and running the Rutland Project from the start. The juvenile Ospreys will be arriving in mid-July and will be held in specially designed holding pens at a confidential spot in Poole Harbour for only two-three weeks before they are then released again out into the wild before they make their long migration back down to Africa. We then don’t  expect to start seeing them return again until spring/summer 2019 and it could be several more years after that before they start breeding. So, in terms of time-scale this is a long term project which we hope the whole community will get behind and with other wild Osprey beginning to summer in the area this year it looks as if Osprey will soon become a welcome, regular and familiar sight in Poole Harbour/Dorset for the foreseeable future. You can read our official press release about the story HERE. 

Maybe Osprey S1 has heard the good news which is why he’s sticking around but true to recent form, he was up on the Middlebere perching post this AM eating a fish with another (perhaps the recent female) seen feeding in the Wareham Channel before heading off to Wareham Forest. The 5 Spoonbill were still on the Brownsea Lagoon. In the Wareham Channel two non-breeding female Marsh Harriers were still kicking around and a Hobby was over the Arne Road. At Lytchett Fields a Green Sandpiper was on the pools again. 

Osprey S1 – Middlebere – Olly Slessor

Today was another blisteringly hot day which kept many birds low and hidden in the shade. A Red Kite drifted over Arne at around 1pm heading NW and an Osprey was sat on the perching post early morning feeding on a fish. There were also Hobby at Arne, out over the Middlebere Marsh and a Marsh Harrier was in the Wareham Channel.  On the Brownsea Lagoon the 5 Spoonbill were still present with 3 Avocet and a few more Redshank appearing too. On Lytchett Fields there was 1 Green Sandpiper, 17 Redshank and a single drake Teal.

Too hot for anything today really. The male Osprey was seen again on the perching post early morning and at Lytchett Fields. 2 Hobby were over the Arne Road and most interesting record of the day goes to (what’s likely to be a failed breeder) Nightingale in a suburban garden in Poole, providing short bursts of song mid-morning. Just outside the recording area a female Red-footed Falcon was found at Morden Bog. 

This evening we carried out the commentary on a Brownsea Island Ferries led boat tour to go and see the Puffins over at Dancing Ledge, and although this is well outside our Poole Harbour recording area it was great to meet so many new people and be able to discuss our work with them. Plus, with the boat leaving from and returning to Poole Quay, for more than 50% of the trip we were within our Poole Harbour recording area any, plus…we just wanted to see some Puffins! And why not? It was a stunning evening and we had some great birds too. As we passed the Brownsea Lagoon the 5 Spoonbill were an added mid-summer bonus as Sandwich and Common Terns hawked past the boat. Out in Poole Bay several Gannet showed well, one right over our boat and a single adult Kittiwake headed west. Up on Old Harry, we were able to locate the Peregrine nest which still had 2 not quite, but very nearly fledged chicks in it, with one of the adults standing guard not too far away. Then, as we approached Durlston the Guillemot colony came into view as birds dashed back and fourth low across the water. And then finally, the grand finale welcomed us as we approached Dancing Ledge with several Puffin sat on the water and a few up on the cliffs too. In total we must have seen a minimum of 7-8 birds…just stunning. There were also several sightings of Osprey around the harbour with birds seen over Lytchett Bay, Middlebere and the Frome Valley, almost certainly all involving the 2 birds that have been around these last few weeks. There were more signs of autumn passage getting underway with 3 newly arrived Green Sandpiper on Lytchett Fields and a really early returning Snipe, also 32 Lapwing, 18 Black-tailed Godwit and 9 Redshank all out on the fields. Finally, there was a slightly odd record of a Little Tern on the Brownsea Lagoon, which is only odd due to the time of year as this species is more frequent during peak passage times in spring and autumn. 

There was a fine scene in Middlebere this afternoon when both the male and female Osprey were seen sat on the nesting platform for a short while, before one then headed off to the dead trees at the back of the marsh. Although this all looks very encouraging, we have been seeking advice from a couple of experts who were involved in the Rutland project who explained that although this behaviour and activity around the nest is exciting it doesn’t necessarily indicate a sign of things to come. As we know the male is a 2^nd summer individual and it’s likely the female is too. The over-summering of 2^nd summer Osprey in a fish rich area is classic behaviour for a bird of this age and although it may like it here, their own biology prevents them colonising and pioneering new sites other than in very rare occurrences and its likely (the male at least) will venture back to Rutland next spring, or the year after ready to breed. We’ll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed, but the key is to attract as many birds (male and female) as possible to hang around in the harbour during the early spring (March and April) for the best chances of them remaining to breed. There were further signs of autumn passage getting underway with the first Little Ringed Plover arriving back on Lytchett Fields with 35 Lapwing also back (almost certainly failed breeders or first year birds) and 24 Black-tailed Godwit. At Holton Pools a large mixed-tit flock bounded through the Silver Birch with lots of young Chiffchaff mixed in…not long before the Willow Warbler join them too! Well, a good 4 weeks anyway. 

Sometimes, you just never know what’s going to turn up. Hard core patch watcher Ian Ballam has been monitoring Lytchett Fields almost daily for about 3 years now and has had some decent rewards. This spring however has been rather slow for scarcities, not just at Lytchett Fields, but across the whole harbour. So it was welcome news when Ian phoned this morning saying he had a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on French’s Pools, Lytchett Fields. This is only the second ever Poole Harbour record of this rare North American visitor and to have it in June is even more scarce. A typical time of year for this species would be late August or early September when youngsters moving south get blown across the Atlantic on their maiden voyage to their wintering grounds in South America. Sadly it didn’t stick around long and was gone before many other people got to see it. It could still be around somewhere so worth checking Lytchett Fields, Holton Pools, Brownsea Lagoon or any recently ploughed fields! The male Osprey was still hanging around the Arne peninsular with reports of one catching a fish right in front of the Shipstal Hide and 2 Hobby were over Slepe Heath, Middlebere area. The 5 Spoonbill were still on Brownsea too.

There’s also a Purbeck Coastline Puffin Cruise on Saturday evening leaving from Poole Quay and hosted by Brownsea Island Ferries, but we’re doing ‘the guest commentary’ so if you fancy an evening out on the water then you can book on by calling 01929 462383. The weather forecast is looking fab so for more INFO CLICK HERE

Buff-breasted Sandpiper – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Today it seemed both the male (S1) and female Osprey spent time on the Middlebere nesting platforms, albeit at different times of the day. On the Brownsea Lagoon the 5 Spoonbill spent all day roosting and feeding, having decided they’d had too much off Lytchett Fields for the time being. Although a nice summer-plumaged Grey Plover obviously took a fancy to Lytchett Fields late afternoon.