August is finally here! We welcome the new month with an Osprey from Hyde’s Heath, Great White Egret, Green Sandpiper and Kingfishers from the raptor screen at RSPB Arne, as well as 2 Spotted Redshank and a Spoonbill from Coombe Heath. Both adult Peregrines were positioned on the Barclays building around 2.30pm and a Common Sandpiper occupied the saltmarsh by the Twin Sails bridge. An afternoon visit to a rather dry Lytchett Fields offered 214 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank & 3 Oystercatcher. Willow, Sedge and Reed Warbler’s were all moving through Lytchett Bay in slightly larger numbers than in recent days during a Stour Ringing Group ringing session this morning. However, with a higher proportion of adult birds still coming through than usual for this time of year, autumn migration certainly seems to be a few weeks behind this year. By August, the majority of birds ringed are juveniles (with many of the adults having already left their breeding grounds, venturing south for the winter). The cold and wet start to this spring definitely delayed the season.