There was a reversion back to some scorching weather today and blistering sunshine. This meant that our planned ringing of the Osprey chicks had to be done at first light before it got too hot to climb the tree. The nest tree is a decent size, being at least 33m, so it takes quite an effort to climb. To reduce any potential risk to the chicks we decided to ring in the nest this year which speeds up the process and means we don’t have to lower them to the ground. Big thanks to Adam Day for his support today in helping in the process. We started the climb just before 6am and managed to get the job done fairly quickly, with ring numbers 5H3, 5H4 and 5H5 allocated to the 3 chicks. We think 5H3 and 5H4 are male and 5H5 is definitely female. Now let’s hope for a successful fledging in a few weeks time!

Elsewhere an Osprey was seen over Shipstal, 5 Spoonbill were in Middlebere, 2 White-tailed Eagle were in the Wareham Channel, a Black-headed (or Grey-headed) Wagtail was at the Middlebere cottages and in Brands Bay 1 Whimbrel, 71 Curlew, 3 Black-tailed Godwit and 32 Med Gull.

Osprey chicks (left to right) 5H3, 5H4 and 5H5 lying low in the nest during ringing this morning.

A Red Kite was seen over Lytchett Fields this morning, with 1 Whimbrel on the pools as well as 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Redshank, 7 Curlew and 1 Lapwing. 1 White-tailed Eagle was seen from Ham Common viewpoint over the Wareham Channel this morning, and 1 Osprey was present in the Middlebere Channel in the afternoon. In Holes Bay, 40 Black-tailed Godwit were counted. Our Sunset Safari this evening yielded a whole range of species including 2 Eider and 2 Common Sandpiper off Furzey Island, 14 Bar-tailed Godwit off Green Island, 1 Spoonbill, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Marsh Harrier, c200 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 (distant) White-tailed Eagle in the Wareham Channel. There were also still reasonable numbers of Sandwich and Common Tern hunting near Brownsea and the male Peregrine was on the Poole docks crane when we arrived back at the quay.

Whimbrel, Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

A few downpours today but some dry weather this morning allowed for a few sightings. At Lytchett Fields this morning a flock of c.140 Swift were present heading towards Holton Lee, along with 6 Green Sandpiper, 30 Redshank and 22 Lapwing on the fields, with 1 Spoonbill circling over before heading into the Bay. 1 Osprey was seen flying along the Middlebere Channel this morning, with 1 summer-plumage Spotted Redshank, c.85 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Marsh Harrier seen around midday. In Holes Bay, 32 Redshank, 27 Black-tailed Godwit and 9 Curlew were present.

Osprey chick soaked through on the nest this afternoon

A blustery day but there seems to be lots of birds re-appearing in the harbour with the Wareham Channel busy with birds this evening during our first evening Safari of the summer. On the rising tide there was 1 Spotted Redshank, c300 Black-tailed Godwit, c15 Common Redshank, c50 Curlew and c40 Shelduck off Giggers Island with 1 adult female Marsh Harrier over Swineham Point. There were also big numbers of Mallard young around too and 77 Mute Swan. A White-tailed Eagle was off Rockley Point in the Wareham Channel and on Brownsea there was 1 Avocet, c80 Oystercatcher and a reasonable spread of Sandwich and Common Tern, despite the lagoons current situation. There were also 2 Spotted Redshank in Middlebere this morning with 1 Spoonbill, 81 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Greenshank and at Lytchett Fields 1 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpiper, 11 Redshank, 1 Little Ringed Plover and 1 Oystercatcher.

2 Spotted Redshank and 1 Spoonbill – Middlebere – James Lever (Twitter – @BirderOtbt)

Waders, waders, more returning waders! A flock of 27 Bar-tailed Godwit in Newton Bay was a surprise, and there were more arrivals in Holes Bay with 94 Redshank, 47 Curlew and 4 Black-tailed Godwit. At Lytchett Fields there were 16 Redshank and 2 Little Ringed Plover and a Whimbrel was in Ower Bay. An intruder Osprey at the nest site was un-confirmed to be new male ‘374’, but was quite likely to be, considering he was around yesterday. White-tailed Eagle numbers are back down to 2 again with the pair G463 and G466 active in the Wareham Channel and a Marsh Harrier seen migrating up the Piddle Valley and a Spoonbill was in Middlebere this morning.

Bar-tailed Godwits – Newton Bay – Garry Hayman

Despite the foul weather there were a few decent birds from todays Osprey viewing sessions including distant fly by of White-tailed Eagle, fly over Red Kite, 17 Mistle Thrush and 3 Woodlark. At Lytchett Fields the first 2 Greenshank of the autumn arrived and there were still 4 Little Ringed Plover. There was a decent wader arrival in Brands Bay too with 6 Grey Plover, 34 Eurasian Curlew, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Dunlin and 8 Common Redshank. 

We also had a repeat visit today from our new male Osprey ‘374’ who’s been traveling the south coast far and wide since his arrival earlier in May. We’re pretty sure he visited our nest site on May 12th before then being photographed in Wiltshire the following day. Then, on June 8th he was photographed in Wareham Forest before then disappearing off and being photographed in East Sussex five days later on June 13th. Then, today, we got an exciting photo from one of our other nest cam traps which showed ‘374’ settled on another of our harbour platforms briefly. He could well have left again already and be in Devon, Hampshire or Wales. However, this is classic behaviour of 2-year old males, spending the summer exploring and then regularly returning to his natal area. No doubt we’ll see him on other nest platforms over the next few months. We just need him to cross paths with the un-ringed female that was around earlier this spring.

Male Osprey ‘374’ – Ardingly Reservoir, East Sussex, June 13th – Tony Titchmarsh

Male Osprey ‘374”s brief visit to a harbour nest platform today

There was more signs of return autumn passage today with 5 Little Ringed Plover at Lytchett Fields, an early Whimbrel in Lytchett Bay and a Common Sandpiper at Holme Lane GP. Plus, 10 Curlew and 8 Common Redshank are now already beginning to be seen in Holes Bay. In Upton CP last night 2 juvenile Tawny Owl were calling. At the Osprey nest yesterday evening the first post-breeding flock of Mistle Thrush was seen with a group of 24 feeding togther. White-tailed Eagle pair G466 and G463 were viewable from the Ham Common viewpoint on and off throughout the day, to the far right looking out towards the gull islands. A Red Kite drifted over Wareham meadows and the Mediterranean Gulls on Poole Quay continue to impress.

Mediterranean Gull – Poole Quay – Christopher Teague