Yesterdays Red-backed Shrike at Lytchett Fields obviously liked what it saw, and stayed the night. It was found again ranging around ‘Whimbrel Field’ at the end of Slogh Lane, feasting on bee’s and beetles. There was also 3 Cattle Egret in the same field with 2 Whinchat and a minimum of 3 Osprey were in Lytchett Bay whilst people were watching the shrike. Spoonbill numbers on the Brownsea Lagoon reached 60, with still several weeks to go until the peak is usually reached in mid-October. Will we hit 100 this year? On Hartland Moor there was 1 Cattle Egret, 2 Common Redstart, 3-4 Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Northern Wheatear.

There are still plenty of Osprey in the harbour, with at least 5 logged between the Wareham Channel and Lytchett Bay, viewed from Ham Common, Hyde’s Heath and Rock Lea viewpoints. A single Osprey was also reported flying over Lytchett Fields towards the bay, one was seen soaring over Jerry’s Point this morning, and another was seen from the Corfe River Valley, meaning there are likely a minimum of 7 individuals in the harbour at present. Modest hirundine movements were reported across the harbour today, with a large group of House Martins hawking over Lytchett Fields,  34+ Swallows at Middlebere and a mixed group, mostly Swallows along with smaller numbers of House Martins and Sand Martins, headed north over Jerry’s Point. Pipits were also on the move with c20 Meadow Pipits north over Jerry’s Point and a couple of Tree Pipits passed over Lytchett Fields this morning. Single Northern Wheatears were seen at Jerry’s Point and at Coombe Heath at RSPB Arne. Middlebere held an impressive 9 Woodlark, as well as a good variety of warblers including 1 Dartford Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Whitethroat and 2 Blackcap. Meanwhile the PCW Drain continued to produce a good number and variety of birds, with at least 45 Chiffchaff, a couple of singing Willow Warblers, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 male Blackcap, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Grey Wagtails and 1 Jay, and in addition 2 Kingfisher and 2 Common Sandpiper were in the N.E. section of Holes Bay. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 37 Spoonbills, 8 Avocet,  18 Greenshank, 142 Redshank, c30 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Curlew, 14 Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plover, 1 Turnstone and 4 Sandwich Terns, and wildfowl numbers have increased to 735 Teal, 1 Pintail and 5 Shoveler. To finish up, male White-tailed Eagle G812, who was released on the Isle of Wight in 2021, was seen in flight along the Corfe River Valley and both of the Poole Peregrine pair were on the Asda flats.

Back to more grey, blustery weather again today, with rain setting in later in the afternoon. There were still at least 2 Osprey in Lytchett Bay today, with one seen attempting to fish this morning and two successfully catching fish there again in the afternoon. Also in the bay were 314 Black-tailed Godwit and 31 Dunlin. From Lytchett Fields, an Osprey was seen carrying a fish, along with 2 Marsh Harriers, an Egyptian Goose, 265 Teal and 2 Greenshank. Over in Brands Bay, an adult Osprey was seen perched in a tree and also present there were a juvenile Hobby, c35 Teal, 4 Black-tailed godwit, 1 Greenshank and 10 Dunlin. A Common Sandpiper was in the PCW Drain this morning, and the N.W. section of Holes Bay held 250+ Black-tailed Godwit, 100+ Redshank, 25+ Curlew, 100+ Teal, 21 Wigeon, a single Pintail, 5 Shoveler and 6 Shelduck. At RSPB Arne, there were 9 Spoonbills in the Middlebere Channel and 1 more off Shipstal Point. While there was no further sign of yesterday’s Wood Sandpipers, 3 Ruff, 3 Green Sandpipers and a Marsh Harrier were on the Lower Piddle Floods.

It was nice to see some blue sky and sunshine again today! There were plenty of great birds across the harbour, in particular the year’s third pied flycatcher at Lytchett Heath, where there were also 2 juvenile Dartford warblers, plenty of chiffchaffs and a few willow warblers. On Lytchett Fields, there was a whinchat in the approach field this afternoon, along with the autumn’s first meadow pipits, a great white egret, a marsh harrier and a female teal with 3 half-grown ducklings, while the waders there included 2 spotted redshank, a season’s high count of 328 black-tailed godwit, 17 greenshank, 17 dunlin, a green sandpiper and a common sandpiper. There were at least 3 osprey in Lytchett Bay throughout the day, with one seen to catch a fish early this morning, and another osprey was seen carrying a fish and subsequently feeding in Middlebere too. From Arne, 7 spoonbill, 3 avocets, a greenshank and 2 buzzards were also seen. Elsewhere, the Brownsea Lagoon hosted 43 spoonbills, 18 avocets, 9 greenshank and 3 Mediterranean gulls, and in the PCW Drain there were a spotted flycatcher, a blackcap, a whitethroat and several chiffchaffs, as well as a kingfisher in Holes Bay. Finally, 3 wood sandpipers were reported on the Lower Piddle floods.

What started off as a promising day, with overcast skues and an easterly air flow, soon descended into another damp squib. It was all very quiet, though we had a great Osprey Cruise during the morningw with 2 juv Curlew Sandpiper still on the Brownsea Lagoon, along with c40 Spoonbill. There were 3-4 Osprey in the Wareham Channel and the White-tailed Eagle pair sat for most of the day on the edge of the Wareham Channel. Some migrants were getting through and at the Carey Secret Garden ringing station 3 Grasshopper Warbler and 17 Sedge Warbler were ringed. Lets hope this rain eases off soon….it’s September and there’s birding to be done!