Another fine August day, cool and autumnal to start with, ending with beautiful sunshine. There was lots going on once again across the harbour with highlights from our two Osprey Cruises today consisting of 6+ Osprey, 1 White-tailed Eagle, 1 Marsh Harrier, 7 Greenshank, c500 Black-tailed Godwit, 18 Lapwing and 4 Spoonbill in the Wareham Channel, a decent haul of 4 Wood Sandpiper on the ‘Stilt Pools’ at Swineham, the Forster’s Tern on Shipstal Beach at RSPB Arne, 32 Spoonbill, 2 Sanderling, c50 Ringed Plover, c30 Dunlin, 5 Avocet, 2 Turnstone and 2 Wheatear on the Brownsea Lagoon. There was an obvious (small) arrival of Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler with several small flocks arriving in from high over the Frome Valley at dawn. At Lytchett Bay, a ringing session logged 10 Sedge Warbler, 11 Reed Warbler, 6 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Redstart, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap and 1 Tree Pipit. Also at Lytchett Bay a Cattle Egret flew over and a Spotted Flycatcher was at Lytchett Heath. At Holes Bay/Upton CP both a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher were in ‘East Field’, just east of the main house and in the PCW Drain there were 2 Garden Warbler and a Whitethroat. 

Juvenile Tree Pipit – Lytchett Bay

Juvenile Common Redstart – Lytchett Bay

Juvenile Grasshopper Warbler – Lytchett Bay

With the weather settling down quite a bit, it made for some tolerable and comfortable birding today, especially from our 2 Osprey Cruises this morning and this afternoon. To Book CLICK HERE Combined highlights were 6+ Osprey in the Wareham Channel with a couple of spectacular fish catches close to the boat followed by some close fly by’s as they grappled with their fish. Both trips today got to see the Forster’s Tern off Shipstal Point, at RSPB Arne and the White-tailed Eagles in the Wareham Channel, with a new arrival (G486) high over Middlebere. We also lucked in on a Wood Sandpiper on the Swineham Scrapes where there were 2 Yellow-legged Gull, a latish Swift, and 2 Egyptian Geese. On the rising tide of this mornings boat 6 Spoonbill were in the mouth of the Frome and there were also 2 Common Sandpiper. All day c800 Black-tailed Godwit resided on the mud near the mouth of the Frome and there was a Spotted Redshank off Shipstal Beach with the Forster’s Tern. Sightings from elsewhere saw 4 Osprey and a White-tailed Eagle in Lytchett Bay/Fields along with 15 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Tree Pipit, 1 Whinchat, 1 Marsh Harrier and a Cattle Egret. There was also a Cattle Egret in Brands Bay along with the over-summering dark-bellied Brent Goose (not too long until his mates come back now)!, 29 Teal, 7 Grey Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 27 Ringed Plover, 49 Black-tailed Godwit and 8 Bar-tailed Godwit. In Middlebere there were also sightings of 2+ Osprey, 2 Spoonbill and a Marsh Harrier. 

Wood Sandpiper – Swineham scrapes from Osprey Cruise this AM – Dorothy Widall

Female Osprey CJ7 in Wareham Channel from Osprey Cruise this AM – Clare Slade

Forster’s Tern at Shipstal Point from Osprey Cruise this PM – Alison Copland

An morning watch from Ham Common Lookout yielded views of 2 White-tailed Eagle in the Wareham Channel, with one catching a small prey item off the exposed mudflat. In Lytchett Bay, a pale-morph Honey Buzzard was reported mid-morning, along with 4 Osprey, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby, 3 Greenshank and 1 Spotted Redshank. This AM’s Osprey Cruise was packed full of activity, with an estimated 6 Osprey seen in the Wareham Channel during the course of the morning. On the Brownsea Lagoon were also c.50 Ringed Plover, 2 Avocet and 34 Spoonbill. Our afternoon’s Osprey Cruise saw the 2 White-tailed Eagle return to the Wareham Channel over Holton Heath, with two successful Osprey hunts, both suspected to be 022! 2 Marsh Harrier were also seen near Swineham and 1 Spoonbill was roosting on the shoreline of the Wareham Channel.

Osprey being chased by a Great Black-backed Gull – Wareham Channel – Seb Haggett

Despite todays murky, dank conditions, our Osprey Cruises got off to a flying start with female Osprey CJ7 giving great views from this mornings boat and 022 giving a nice close hunting display from this afternoons. The wind and low cloud made things tricky, but additional sightings included a juvenile Cuckoo flying over the boat and Wareham Channel heading towards Lytchett Bay, another migrant Osprey caught a fish and settled on Arne before being dive bombed by 3 Hobby. In the mouth of the Frome 2 different Marsh Harrier were active with a juvenile female and an adult female. On the Brownsea Lagoon 28 Spoonbill were roosting and there were c50 Dunlin, c30 Ringed Plover, also 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Wheatear and 3 Whimbrel. The Forster’s Tern was seen at Arne again, a different Osprey was in Middlebere,

Female Osprey CJ7 – Osprey Cruise this AM – David Dunn

Osprey were seemingly everywhere today, which bodes well ahead of our Osprey Cruise series starting tomorrow. 6(!) Osprey were seen from Coombe Heath at RSPB Arne tomorrow, including 1 juvenile, with 5 flying around together at one time. At least one other Osprey active around Lytchett Bay, with one seen at Holton Heath, a second sighting over Lytchett Field this morning, and a third sighting of a hunting individual over the bay this afternoon. A further 2 individuals were seen fishing in Brands Bay, including ringed male 374. 1 final Osprey was seen perched on an electricity pylon at Mordon Bog this morning! If you want to make the most of all the activity, there are a couple of last minute places available on our first Osprey Cruise tomorrow morning in our otherwise sold out week, which you can find more information about here.

Other sightings from Coombe Heath this morning included 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Wheatear and 2 Spoonbill over the Middlebere Channel. One of the highlights from today was a juvenile Little Stint moving between the pools at Lytchett Fields, along with 1 Spotted Redshank. 753 Black-tailed Godwit were counted in Holes Bay from the Stone Bench this morning.

Osprey 374 – Brands Bay – Aidan Brown (@aidanjb118 on Twitter)

The day got off to a great start at our Pop-up Osprey Watch at the Ham Common Viewpoint, with a minimum 5 Osprey seen in the Wareham Channel, including one bird that caught a fish off the gull islands and carried it off to towards Lytchett Bay. One of the White-tailed Eagles also put in the briefest of appearances as it moved between trees along the Holton shoreline. Visitors to Middlebere were also treated to plenty of Osprey action with 4 birds reported, including this years eldest male juvenile 5H3. Other highlights from the area were Kingfisher and the Forster’s Tern. The latter was also seen on the Brownsea Lagoon earlier in the day, along with 23 Spoonbill. Elsewhere in Lytchett Bay there were at least 2 Osprey hunting in the bay, 6 Common Sandpiper, 5 Ringed Plover, 16 Greenshank on Sherford and French’s Pools, plus a couple of Whitethroat at Rock Lea View and Whinchat at both Lytchett Heath and the Fields.

Juvenile Osprey 5H3 – Middlebere – Mark Wright (@markwright12002 on Twitter)

August is renowned for being a great month, especially from mid-August onwards, and Aug 15th couldn’t have landed any better with a whole suit of fantastic birds right across the harbour today. There were a minimum of 7 different Osprey with our family of 5 touring the harbour this AM, including sightings of our juveniles exploring in Middlebere, the Wareham Channel and Lytchett Bay, with 022 see over Lytchett Bay and CJ7 in Middlebere, where there were also 2 un-ringed adults about, an adult female and an adult male. The Forster’s Tern was roosting on Brownsea this AM with c120 Sandwich Tern. Also on the lagoon were 23 Spoonbill, 10 Sanderling, 1 Little Ringed Plover, c100 Dunlin, 4 Greenshank, c30 Common Tern, 1 Turnstone, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Curlew. Off Shipstal the 2 Little Tern headed off towards Middlebere and a Common Scoter was out in central harbour. The White-tailed Eagles were off Swineham Point, giving point blank views as we passed on a boat we’d been invited onto. Bodes well for our Osprey (and eagle) boats that start at the end of the week, with 2 trips per day from Aug 18th – Sept 3rd. TO BOOK CLICK HERE. At Swineham there were 2 Cattle Egret roosting on the main gravel pit at the back and a Pochard was on the main pit and various Bearded Tit were pinging in the reedbeds. A Great White Egret flew up Middlebere and on the Swineham scrapes there were 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Egyptian Geese, c20 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Snipe and there was a lone Marsh Harrier off Swineham Point with a Hobby dashing over there too. On the Arne shoreline in the Wareham Channel a flock of 8 Common Sandpiper were feeding and Whimbrel were dotted around various shorelines on the rising tide. At Lytchett Bay 1 Yellow Wagtail and 3 Tree Pipit passed overhead which heralds the start of the vis-mig season! In Holes Bay a flock of 10 Ringed Plover was a decent site count and there are now already 500+ Black-tailed Godwit back using Holes Bay again. Along the track at Middlebere several Spotted Flycatcher were active and a Redstart was along Soldiers Road.

Female White-tailed Eagle G466 at Swineham Point

A single Cattle Egret was amongst the cows at Lytchett Fields this morning, along with 5 Little Egret. 1 Osprey was seen low over Lytchett Bay and perched beyond Sherford Pools at Lytchet Fields this afternoon. The Forster’s Tern was roosting again at Shipstal Point this morning with 28 Sandwich Tern and 16 Common Tern. Other highlights from Shipstal included 2 Great White Egret, and counts of 18 Little Egret, 40 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Curlew, 42 Oystercatcher, 4 Redshank and 2 Dunlin. Over in Holes Bay NE, 2 Common Sandpiper were reported.  9 Spoonbill were counted on Brownsea Lagoon today. Over in Brands Bay, a Peregrine flushed the waders out on the low tide, including 1 Ruff, 3 Ringed Plover, 10 Grey Plover, 65 Black-tailed Godwit, 19 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Whimbrel, 32 Curlew, 15 Redshank, 56 Dunlin an 1 Common Sandpiper.

With the weather looking good for later this week, we’re also hosting another free Pop-Up Osprey Watch Up at BCP Ham Common Lookout this coming Wednesday 16th August, running from 8am-12pm. You can find out more information here.

Cattle Egret – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

The Terns have really stolen the show again today, with both Forster’s and Arctic Tern off Shipstal at Arne first thing. These had not long dispersed having been flushed by a hunting Peregrine, when 2 Little Tern appeared just a short way up the Middlebere Channel, staying throughout the day and later moving to the Wytch Channel. The juvenile, no doubt yesterdays bird seen on Brownsea Lagoon, was closely following an accompanying adult who could be seen hunting frantically and making food passes after each successful catch. On Brownsea lagoon the 3 Avocet chicks were offering stunningly close views from the Avocet Hide, and there was also a surprise visitor of juvenile Kittiwake. In Holes Bay a Cattle Egret joined the a flock of Little Egret on Pergin’s lsland, and nearby in Lytchett Bay both Osprey and Peregrine were recorded. Elsewhere a single Redstart was also present at Swineham, and on Wareham Common autumn migration was evident with 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Whitethroat and 1 Wheatear.

Juvenile (left) and adult (right) Little Tern – Middlebere – @BirderOtbt on Twitter

Adult Little Tern – Middlebere – @BirderOtbt on Twitter

Juvenile Avocet – Brownsea Lagoon – Nikki Tutton

An excellent turn out to our first Pop-up Osprey Watch of the season at the Ham Common Viewpoint despite the wind, attendees were rewarded with both White-tailed Eagle and Osprey. The latter also put in an appearance at Arne earlier in the day, as well as Lytchett Bay where Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher and Marsh Harrier were all also seen from the Rock Lea Viewpoint. Yellow-legged Gull was seen in the Middlebere Channel along with Peregrine, Spoonbill, 9 Bar-tailed Godwit and the Forster’s Tern. On Brownsea Lagoon, a juvenile Little Tern was seen along with 19 Spoonbill, the 3 juvenile Avocet, 50+ Redshank, 200+ Dunlin, 18 Sanderling, 5 Turnstone, 12 Ringed Plover, 10 Greenshank, 1 Knot, 1 Spotted Redshank and 1 Common Sandpiper. Also of note was Great White Egret at South Haven, Studland.

Black-tailed Godwits – Middlebere – Kate Plater

Pop-up Osprey Watch at the Ham Common Viewpoint – John Thorpe