A nice (and long over due) first for the spring today with a pair of Garganey on the Stilt Pools, Swineham, as first seen from our Spring Safari Cruise this afternoon. There were also 3 Little Ringed Plover and 1 Common Sandpiper here. An unusual record of 1 Spotted Redshank was on Arne Moors and then, in the mouth of the River Frome, on the low tide. The Red-spotted Bluethroat was still at Swineham Point. Up on Ballard Down this morning there were 3 Lesser Whitethroat singing. 3-year old male Osprey 5H3 was still active in the Middlebere Channel along with 2- year old 5R0 in the morning. There was 1 Hobby was hunting in the Wareham Channel along with 2-year old Osprey 5R0 this afternoon. On Brownsea this morning there was 1 Peregrine sat on the north west sand bank and 3 Whimbrel on the north shore. On the Lagoon there was still 1 Spoonbill, c10 Avocet, c15 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Turnstone (in nice summer plumage), 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Dunlin. Last night the first Nightjars of the year were logged at RSPB Arne and near Burnbake, Studland. A survey of the lower-Frome (Wareham to Swineham) by local birder Peter Moore produced 85 Reed Warbler, 42 Cetti’s Warbler and 7 Sedge Warbler.

2 Garganey and 1 Little Ringed Plover – Stilt Pools Swineham – Paul Morton

Spotted Redshank – Mouth of the River Frome from our Spring Safari – Joe Parker

2-year old Osprey 5R0 – Wareham Channel from our Spring Safari Cruise – Joe Parker

Nightjar at RSPB Arne last night on one of our Osprey nest platforms.

Today was a scorcher of a day, certainly for late April! The high pressure continued to dominate and as a result, birds were a tad harder to find, but there was still plenty about. It’s been a great spring so far for Pied Flycatcher and today another 2 were found, both females, with one at Swineham GP close to where the Red-spotted Bluethroat has been hanging out (and was seen today), and another was in Norden near the Half Way Inn. There were 3 Hobby over the Arne Road this afternoon, all hunting together, 2 Swift were over Wareham and 2 Red Kite were over Wareham Common, with 2 migrant Garden Warbler having a sub-song off right next to one another in that area. On Brownsea more and more Common Tern are arriving and the first Black-headed Gulls are on eggs now, plus a lone Spoonbill was still there. A potential adult male Honey Buzzard passed over Hartland and headed towards Brownsea and a White-tailed Eagle was seen over Hartland. In Holes Bay there were 12 Whimbrel and 2 Common Sandpiper and this evening the first 2 Nightjar of the year were singing and wing-clapping near the Burnbake campsite on the Rempstone Estate, between Arne and Studland.

Finally, the Osprey dramas continued today with local male 022 having now stepped away from the local argy bargy, leaving the two new arrivals 5H3 and 5R0 to sort things out themselves with a few tussles this morning between the two bachelors who seem to be fighting over prime real estate in the area. Both were tussling over nests around the Middlebere area this early morning, but then neither were seen for the rest of the day, until just before sunset, 2-year old 5R0 made an appearance leaving us wondering where 5H3 could be? No doubt he’ll put in appearance tomorrow, but we dread to think what might happen if a lone new female appears on the scene in the coming days…..it could be utter carnage as competition for both nest sites and mates increases!

Two Garden Warbler performing plastic song next to one another – Wareham Common

After yesterdays Osprey madness, things were a bit calmer today, but we still saw some interesting observations with 3-year old male Osprey ‘5H3’ visiting several harbour platforms during the course of the day. Since our project began we’ve been waiting for ‘new’ male Ospreys to start looking to to set up territory within the area and todays sightings certainly suggest that both 5H3 and 5R0 are quite keen to hang around. Sadly, there are currently no females in the area but that could change in the next week.

The Red-spotted Bluethroat was still at Swineham, a Spoonbill was on the Brownsea Lagoon, a Spotted Redshank was was in Lytchett Bay and once again there was a good push of Swallow, Sand Martin and a few Swift moving through. An evening sea watch off Ballard Down produced 100+ Manx Shearwater, 20+ Gannet, 6 Fulmar, a few passage flocks of Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit and 2 Lesser Whitethroat were in scrub on the way out. On Wareham Common the 3 Glossy Ibis were feeding this morning, and just north of the railway bridge there was a Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat.

2-year old male Osprey 5R0 flying over Middlebere this AM – Mark Wright

3-year old male Osprey 5H3 visiting different harbour platforms today

3-year old male Osprey 5H3 visiting different harbour platforms today

Today was all about Osprey’s, and more specifically the multiple key moments that unfolded during the course of the day that signalled quite amazing progress for our Osprey recovery project. It started this morning when our local female CJ7 laid her fourth egg of the 2026 seaon, a feat she’s now completed three years in row. This is an amazing moment and incredibly significant because if all four survive and fledge this summer, that would mean CJ7 and 022 would have fledged 17 juvenile Osprey in to the population all on their own since 2022! As you’ll know we also saw our second successful Osprey nest establish last summer with male 374 and female 1H1 raising 2 juveniles. Both 1H1 and 374 arrived back earlier in April this year and started re-bonding, and this evening we checked our monitoring camera only to find that 1H1 has now laid 3 eggs in total, bettering her clutch size last year. The story for today doesn’t end there though, because from our Spring Safari cruise this AM we had 3 Osprey in and around the Wareham Channel which we initially thought may have been our recent new arrival, 2-year old 5R0 and possibly a couple of migrant individuals. However, this afternoon on a different harbour platform we got images of a new returnee….male 5H3, our 3-year old we’ve been wait for. 5H3 first came back last year as a 2-year old and spent a lot of time in the harbour, and now he’s back there’s a good chance he’s going to want to start looking at territory options. This means the three Osprey we saw this AM could have been 022, 5R0 and 5H3. The most significant fact here is that this is the first time we’ve ever had multiple un-attached males (excluding 022) present in the harbour which is just what we want, as its the males that stay close to their natal sites to set up territories. With a few weeks left yet for pairs to still be able to form, if any wandering females happen to appear in the next couple of days, things could get very interesting indeed.

Away from Ospreys the Forster’s Tern put on a good show again from our Spring Safari Cruise this AM, fishing off Lake Pier, Ham Common in the Wareham Channel, the Red-spotted Bluethroat was still showing well at Swineham GP, there was a lone Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon, 1 Whinchat was in Holes Bay north, 3 Red Kite were over the Lower Piddle Valley, a Little Ringed Plover was on the Stilt Pools, Swineham, more Swift were arriving and a Hobby was over Hartland Moor.

Female Osprey CJ7 and her 4 eggs this evening

3-year old male Osprey 5H3 back since his return last summer

Another fabulous day in the harbour today, even with a building and developing nippy easterly wind. There was the best arrival of Swift so far this spring with c10 in and around Swineham whilst people were watching the Red-spotted Bluethroat, plus decent numbers of Sand Martin were feeding in that area. There were also a few small parties of Swift seen over Upper Parkstone  There was also a prolonged decent passage of Swallow passing north at various narrow points across the harbour including the harbour entrance and the river mouths in the Wareham Channel. The Forster’s Tern was found again, initially in Lytchett Bay this morning, but later in the Wareham Channel just meters from the side of our Spring Safari Cruise, now almost in it’s full summer plumage, which is a great education for us all. On the Brownsea Lagoon there was a definite arrival of new passage Bar-tailed Godwit with 30+ in their full summer finery with a few dullards amongst them in winter plumage, plus 3 Spoonbill, c20 Avocet, 1 Grey Plover, c60 Common Tern, c100 Sandwich Tern and 2 Greenshank. In Lytchett Bay 3 Yellow Wagtail passed over, a Common Sandpiper and a flock of 12 passage Greenshank were in the Wareham Channel.

There was more drama at the Osprey nest this morning when another intruder Osprey decided to visit, but this time giving it’s identity away by dangling a leg in view of the camera. It was none other than our 2-year old male 5R0, the bird that was photographed down in Devon last week. As we said at the time, this is incredibly early for a 2-year old to be back and he seems to be partially sticking around. No doubt he’ll disappear later in the spring and ‘chill out’ for the summer, before returing again in early autumn to check out potential breeding sites hopefully for next year. We did see 2 Osprey moving around over the Wareham Channel late morning during our boat trip which we believe to have been our local male 022 escorting newbie 5R0 out of the area. Plus, another Osprey was seen (potentially?) arriving fresh in over Ridge and seen heading towards the Wareham Chanel.

Forster’s Tern – From our Spring Safari this AM – Wareham Channel – Martin Wright

Freeze frame of 5R0 visiting the Carey Secret Garden nest this AM 

Freeze frame of 5R0 visiting the Carey Secret Garden nest this AM 

After a pretty exciting weekend it was back to a more typical Monday theme today with reduced reports, but the day wasn’t without interest. A Hobby was seen arriving in through the harbour entrance by a chain ferry staff member, and another was seen getting grief by gulls over Wareham. A couple of small parties of Swift were also seen passing over Wareham and 1 was over Poole Town Centre. Of course, the custom Red-spotted Bluethroat makes it on to the daily sightings page with it continuing to favour the eastern end of Swineham GP. The Springs first Spotted Flycatcher was in the Corfe River Valley, a Cuckoo was on Hartland Moor, the 3 Glossy Ibis were seen over Swineham this AM, but later found this afternoon in the Frome Valley below the Bog Lane SANG. There were still 500+ Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit in Holes Bay this morning, and 5 Whimbrel passed over Middlebere, with 1 also in Lytchett Bay this evening along with a Curlew Sandpiper again.

Freshly fledged juvenile Song Thrush – Middlebere

Another perfect Spring day, although the frost at dawn was a bit unnecessary! A sunrise check at Ballard Down yielded a reeling Grasshopper Warbler on top of the ridge, plus 1 flyover Yellow Wagtail, 3 Wheatear, 5 Willow Warbler, 15+ Common Whitethroat and 5 Swallow through. In Brands Bay a Great White Egret was feeding and there were 3 interacting in Middlebere this morning too. The Bluethroat was still entertaining the crowds at Swineham GP, with visitors having to queue up along the narrow track, waiting for their turn to see the bird, just like you would in a bakers when a prize winning Danish Pastry was on sale. Lytchett Bay also fared well for common migrants this AM with 1 male Whinchat, 1 male Redstart, 1 female Wheatear, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler (singing) and 6 Reed Warbler on territory, plus Osprey and Marsh Harrier there. Out in Lytchett Bay the years first Curlew Sandpiper was feeding in amoungst the Dunlin. It seems quite a poor spring for Whimbrel so far, with only small numbers (twos and threes) being logged at traditional sites like Brands Bay, the Lower Frome Valley and Lytchett Bay. Having not been reported for a few days, it was good to hear the 3 Glossy Ibis are still around having been seen over Swineham mid-morning, and there was also a report (but un-confirmed) report of a Bonapartes Gull around Swineham at lunchtime. Cuckoo’s were calling at Hydes Heath, RSPB and Soldiers Road, Stoborough Heath. On the Brownsea Lagoon 2 Spoonbill were snoozing and another was out on Shipstal Point, RSPB Arne. A few White-tailed Eagles were seen over Studland, Corfe Castle and wider Purbecks.

There was also an interesting development in regards to Ospreys when today, during the mid-morning we had what looked like a displaying male Osprey over the Wareham Channel which wasn’t our local male 022 as he was on the nest at the time. We havn’t been able to get any photos of this new mystery bird and he/it hasn’t landed on any of our other nest platforms yet, but maybe he will over the coming days, hopefully allowing us to get a positive ID……5H3 we hope!

Northern Wheatear – Ballard Down this AM 

The day started off with a huge amount of promise with what seemed like a pretty decent coastal fall of common migrants. At dawn a good number of Wheatear were up around Old Harry and Ballard Down with 29 counted, along with 2 Whinchat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Redstart, 15 Common Whitethroat, lots of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler and a Swift came in off the sea. However the star bird appeared just after dawn with a Red-rumped Swallow seen coming in off the sea at Ballard and seen pushing straight through north. Sadly it seemed the fall didn’t make it’s way further in land with very few reports of other migrants from elsewhere around the harbour. That said the Red-spotted Bluethroat was still giving superb views at Swineham GP and the Forster’s Tern, which has now nearly acquired it’s full black cap was on the Brownsea Lagoon this morning. There were multiple sightings of White-tailed Eagle with juvs seen over Lytchett Bay and Brownsea and an adult over Middlebere. A Common Snipe was heard drumming near Hartland this AM, a Cuckoo was at Hydes Heath and a Willow Warbler was at Shipstal, RSPB Arne. This morning a lone Cattle Egret was in Lytchett Bay roosting on a boat and a full summer plumaged Great White Egret was in Middlebere.

There was high drama at the Osprey nest site on and off during the day with several visits from intruder Osprey(s) just after first light, mid-morning and late this evening. Sadly on no occasion did the visiting Osprey(s) land on the nest, so we couldn’t see who they were and whether they were any of our returning birds looking to annoy their parents from years gone by. The roaming Ospreys were also seen out in the harbour too, with our local male 022 seen quietly escorting one of them along the Middlebere Channel. Hopefully if it (or they) stick around then they could be seen over the next couple of days and be photographed, or they could decide to land on one of our other platforms which also have cameras on them. Knowing that 2-year old 5R0 is already back, it would be great for 5H3 to appear, who knows….there could be more!!

Summer plumage Great White Egret – Coombe Bog – Mark Wright

Mystery visiting Osprey – Over Coombe Heath – Mark Wright

The weather this spring has been a bit up and down to say the least, never feeling particularly warm other than on a couple of random days where temperatures hit 22+ degrees.  However, with many more migrants still  yet to arrive it was a real surprise to hear today of the first fresh juvenile Siskin already visiting local feeders, with 2 newly fledged birds ringed at the Lower Piddle Vally Ringing Station at Carey this morning. This seems really early with juv Siskins not normally fledging until very late April at the earliest, and more typically in early May. There have also already been plenty of newly fledged Blackbird, Song Thrush and Robin logged, so perhaps things haven’t been slowed down too much because of the cooler start to Spring. This morning a stunning adult male Ring Ouzel was on the edge of Hartland Moor and up to 8 Wheatear were spread across the southern ridge of the moor. A Cuckoo was calling in the Corfe Valley this afternoon and another was heard near Slepe Heath. The Red-spotted Bluethroat was still at the eastern end of Swineham GP and a few Yellow Wagtail passed overhead calling too. The Forster’s Tern settled on Brownsea briefly this afternoon, a ‘new’ Osprey was seen fishing whilst our local pair were on the nest, a White-tailed Eagle was in Middlebere along with 1 Great White Egret and 7+ Wheatear along the track