It was another cold day, but at least it didn’t snow. In fact for the 2.5 minutes that the sun came out it lifted above 4 degrees……excellent!!! In all seriousness, come back spring. We’re bored of this already. The cold weather had forced a huge number of hirundines low to the water at Swineham with c500 Sand Martin feeding with 20+ Swallow and 5 House Martin. There were 2 Osprey out in the Wareham Channel late afternoon and a Spotted Redshank was calling off Swineham Point too. On the Swineham Scrapes the single Yellow Wagtail was there again and there were also 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper but only 3 singing Reed Warbler and a Great White Egret was seen too. CJ7 was very active at the nest site today bringing in several large sticks and even carrying out her first nest cup ‘dig’ for any potential egg laying later in the season. We’ve also been analysing the photos we receive from the trail cameras and the Middlebere camera is quite interesting. Although it seems there’s been one very hungry Osprey using that platform since 17:30 on March 31^st. Looking at the photos we think it’s actually two different birds. Initially the first bird seems to be a new un-ringed female but today’s photos certainly seem to show what we believe to be ‘Beaky’. We’re now entering peak Osprey migration period and so the next few weeks could be really interesting. We still currently have two females on two different nests so you just never know…will we get lucky?

First Osprey on Middlebere platform @ 17:30 March 31st (until April 3rd at least)

Current Osprey using Middlebere platform showing different underwing pattern

This cold snap has come with some unpredictable weather with sleet, hail and blue skies rapidly interchanging. CJ7 was less active today, which mirrors her behaviour from this time last year where she didn’t really start using the nest until 2nd week of April. However the Middlebere Osprey continues to eat & eat! Ospreys were also logged over Swineham, Lytchett Bay, Little Sea and a watch from Coombe Viewpoint, Arne which as offered Swallow and Spoonbill. Swineham also featured singles of Little Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail, Green Sandpiper, Peregrine and singing Reed and Sedge Warblers, as well as numerous Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, House Martin and the 2 Egyptian Geese feeding. Bramble Bush Bay held 11 Sanderling and 25 Turnstone early doors, with 2 singing Willow Warbler behind Shell Bay.

Dear oh dear. What a difference 24 hours makes! Gorgeous sunshine and shorts on Sunday. Then thermals, gloves and even a (very) small flurry of snow at Arne today…not great for arriving migrants. There weren’t many sigs of new arrivals today but Osprey sightings were pretty reliable with definitely 3 in the harbour, possibly 4. The un-ringed female remained on the Middlebere nest platform for most of the day and CJ7 was quite active bringing sticks to her nest early morning, before getting startled by a Kestrel! Then, what looked like an un-ringed male was photographed at Arne eating a fish and several sightings of 1-2 individuals were logged out over the Wareham Channel. As April presses on, more and more Osprey will continue to arrive into the UK with non-breeding individuals tending to arrive later in the month. Could this be when CJ7 meets a potential mate? Little Ringed Plover were at Lytchett Fields (5) and Swineham Scrape (2). A few Swallow were making their way through, heading into the north wind but certainly not as many as Sunday and Egyptian Geese were logged at Swineham, Lytchett Fields and Holmebridge. There were 2 Great White Egret in the Wareham Channel along with 2 different Marsh Harrier too. We’re also now hearing Firecrest singing at multiple sites, in fact way more than we’re hearing Goldcrest. Although their habitat choices are slightly different, they do overlap and it seems as if we’re beginning to see the overtaking of certain areas (including suburban Poole) by Firecrest, a once rare breeder and scarce passage migrant.

CJ7 getting spooked by a Kestrel on webcam – Jenny Moore YouTube channel

Egyptian Geese – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

What a glorious Easter Sunday. Sunny, mild and lots of chocolate! Looking at the forecast though, it may be the last warm day for some time as the predicted Arctic weather system starts venturing south as of Monday. Today there were a minimum of 3 Osprey in the harbour, with a bit of excitement when CJ7 lifted off her nest and started circling with another Osprey. We knew the visitor couldn’t have bee the un-ringed female that’s been present since last week as she was eating a fish on the Middlebere platform at the time. CJ7 this disappeared off for the day and there was even a sighting of 2 Osprey circling high together over the Wareham Channel at 1pm, but alas, CJ7 then returned to her nest…..alone around 2:30pm and no other sightings were logged. At least she’s going out and making the effort to meet new birds this year. Much of last spring was spent sat on the nest just hoping and waiting. There was a decent push of Swallows too with small groups of 5-10 pulsing through across different areas for much of the day. In the Wareham Channel there were literally thousands and thousands of gulls, mainly Black-headed Gulls but also good numbers Mediterranean Gulls too. There must have been an insect emergence of sorts with the gulls kettling in huge numbers for hours, circling high above the channel and never settling on the water or shoreline. At Swineham there were 2 Little Ringed Plover, 6 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap and 40 Sand Martin. There were also 7 Little Ringed Plover at Lytchett Fields and it was good to hear that the Poole Peregrines were active on both the main buildings too as they moved between Asda and Barclays.

Chiffchaff in the Blossom – Poole – Clare Slade

Mediterranean Gulls – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

Wow, it really is getting chilly now. The NE wind seemed to keep migration at bay, but at least female Osprey CJ7 spent longer on the nest today and even started bringing larger sticks to the nest with 4 or 5 collected today. At the same time the un-ringed female Osprey (which we’re now thinking isn’t Beaky, but just another un-ringed individual) spent pretty much all day on the Middlebere platform catching 3 large fish over the course of the day, showing well to visitors who went to RSPB Arne. Another Osprey was photographed in Wareham Forest, hiding away eating a fish. The forest has over the last 10 years become a favoured feeding spot for migrant birds but they’re able to hide away so well that they often go unseen. At Lytchett Fields there were also 2 Red Kite, 1 migrant Marsh Harrier high overhead and 1 Little Ringed Plover was on the fields. At Holes Bay a Red Kite drifted over there too and once again Swallows were logged passing through at numerous sites. On Upton Heath it was quite busy with 9 Stonechat, 7 Linnet, 9 Chiffchaff and 2 Blackcap seen along a short route.

Red Kite – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

CJ7 beginning to build her nest, bringing 5 sticks to the nest today

It turned out to actually be a glorious day today, despite the fear mongering of icy temperatures. However that could still come over the coming days. There was four different Osprey in the harbour this morning with CJ7 on her nest platform, the un-ringed female on the Middlebere nest platform and then a third was seen flying in from the Corfe direction heading towards the Wytch Channel and a fourth over Holes Bay area. CJ7 was only on her nest for an hour or so this morning and then not seen on there for the rest of the day. We did manage to locate her whereabouts for most of the afternoon as she was hiding out on another nest platform on the south side of the harbour eating a fish and then preening for several hours. This behaviour isn’t unexpected and in fact mirrors her behaviour last year when she spent a week touring the harbour, feeding up, getting her self in good breeding condition before finally settling on her nest platform on April 8^th and nest building until later on in April. Whether she’ll lay eggs again (if failed to find a mate) on this nest platform again we’re not sure but with pretty much the whole of April still left to try and woo in a passing male then its going to be an exciting 3-4 weeks. Red Kite are definitely now on the move in small numbers with one taking a swipe at the un-ringed female Osprey at Middlebere and others seen over Studland, Hartland and Upton. There were 5 Little Ringed Plover at Lytchett Fields and 2 at Swineham where there were 2 Willow Warbler too. A nice sized group of a dozen House Martin came in over Lytchett Fields too.

Female Osprey CJ7 – Wareham Channel – Alison Copland

We were hoping it may happen today and it did! Female Osprey CJ7 arrived back at her nest site at around midday, firstly with a fish and playing camera shy, sitting on the perching branch above the nest cam before eventually dropping down on to the nest around 12:30pm and starting to make her self feel at home. She didn’t do too much home prepping, just a small bit of branch clearing and nest scraping, but we hope that over the next few days/weeks she settles in some more and begins to make the nest site her 2021 home again. You can watch al the comings and goings of the nest on our website HERE or on our YouTube Channel HERE, What a great day!

Also, the other female Osprey from yesterday evening was on the Middlebere nest all day, and although initial doubts set it, we think it could well be ‘Beaky’. Similar return date, similar behaviour, similar plumage and features. If so, it could mean that that she’ll stick around for a while giving all the more reason for some more males to arrive this spring!

Also, the first Reed Warbler of the spring arrived at Swineham and there was a Sedge Warbler too with 3 Little Ringed Plover on the scrape. A Ring Ouzel was at the Houseboast, Studland and Swallow were arriving throughout the day at various site sand a Great White Egret was in the Lower Frome Valley with 2 Marsh Harrier.

Cj7 arriving back at midday on the webcam nest platform

Well, that’s March over and done with. The first three months of this year have just flown by. And what better way to sign off than having our first nest platform landing by an Osprey. It’s been a pretty strong season so far with no less than 10 migrants having been logged passing through over the last couple of weeks, but all have either gone straight through, or stopped briefly for a quick fish dinner before then carrying on. However this evening at 17:30 we had our fist migrant land on one of the harbour nest platforms meaning our 4G trail cameras were able to get a good sequence of photos. It showed that the bird wasn’t CJ7 but an un-ringed female. It visited the Middlebere nest platform a few times between 17:30 and 19:30 so potentially it could hang around stay into the first day or two of April? Another Osprey was also seen flying over Poole Town mid-morning. Lets hope April produces the same excitement and thrills as last year!

Also this morning the first Sedge Warbler was logged at Swineham, which is really early! Along with another Little Ringed Plover and 5 summer-plumaged Cattle Egret headed into roost over Swineham too which is the largest group logged in the harbour for quite some time. A Willow Warbler was heard near Corfe (with 2 also at Swineham) and the Peregrines were calling on Corfe Castle. There were 6 Little Ringed Plover at Lytchett fields and a Great White Egret was at Slepe/Hartland Moor. At dusk there were c500 Sand Martin that headed into roost and just outside the recording area a Hoopoe was over near Church Knowle.

Un-ringed Osprey on Middlebere 4G nest cam

Cattle Egret – Swineham – Peter Moore