We had a spectacularly rainy boat trip to finish off our series of Osprey Cruises today. Nevertheless, we had some excellent sightings, with White-tailed Eagle G466, 1 Marsh Harrier and 4+ Osprey active in the Wareham Channel. A further two Osprey were also seen at Shipstal Point at RSPB Arne later in the trip. 22 Spoonbill were seen in flight during the trip moving between the Wareham Channel and Shipstal Point. We also saw 4 Green Sandpiper over Arne Moors and 5 Common Sandpiper on the Arne shoreline. Birding elsewhere, 2 Wood Sandpiper were seen in the Lower Piddle Valley, along with 2 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper and 4 Pintail. There was also 1 Osprey reported over Lytchett Bay. Along the Middlebere track it was decent for migrants and resident birds after the rain with, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, 4 Woodlark, 1 Tree Pipit and 1 Hobby.

Despite the rain, which ended up lasting aaaallllllll day, there was still plenty of great birding top be had. The rain saw birds literally falling out of the sky, and from this mornings Osprey cruise there were several flocks of Common Snipe arriving in from high over Swinheam including a flock of 21, soon followed by a flock of 17 Knot which came down on Swineham. A Great White Egret also arrived in down the Frome before settling on Giggers Island. The White-tailed Eagle pair were doing their usual morning mooch around with male G463 on the Arne peninsular and female G466 on a pole off Shag Looe Bar. There’s still no shortage of Osprey with 3 in Middlebere this AM and a minimum of 7 in the Wareham Channel this afternoon plus 1 over the Brownsea Lagoon and there were 2 different Marsh Harrier in the area too. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were now up to 43 Spoonbill, and 2 Curlew Sandpiper were hiding in amongst the Dunlin. The lagoon also hosted 7 Greenshank, c40 Ringed Plover, c20 Avocet, 3 Knot, c15 Sanderling and decent numbers of Common Redshank, Teal and Curlew. The river valley’s are looking nice and flooded again and in the Lower Piddle Valley a Wood Sandpiper was feeding. Lytchett Fields was also busy with waders and saw high counts of 328 Teal and 319 Black-tailed Godwit, also 1 Ruff, 14 Dunlin , 1 Spotted Redshank, 15+ Redshank, 70+ Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Lapwing and lots of Common Snipe. Also at Lytchett Fields 2 Whinchat, c25 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear and 3 Firecrest. In the PCW Drain a Pied Flycatcher was opposite KCC at Wessex Gate Retail Park and there was also 1 Common Redstart, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Blackcap, 3 Willow Warbler, c20 Common Chiffchaff, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Common Sandpiper along the channel.

Great White Egret – Swineham, from Osprey Cruise this AM – John Thorpe

Spoonbill – Wareham Channel, from Osprey Cruise this AM – John Thorpe

White-tailed Eagle – Wareham Channel, from Osprey Cruise this AM – John Thorpe

There was a couple of interesting new arrivals today, most notably a Black-necked Grebe which arrived in from the west and settled off the side of the boat in the Wareham Channel on our Osprey Cruise this AM. There was also a Little Tern flying around Giggers Island, hunting in the mouth of the Frome and on the Brownsea Lagoon the Spoonbill flock has risen to 40 birds. From our Osprey Cruise this AM, there was once again no shortage of Ospreys with no less than 5 milling about, including another one which was targeted by the White-tailed Eagles after it had caught a fish. Other Osprey sightings included 3-4 off Coombe Heath, RSPB Arne including an un-ringed juvenile, plus 3 in and around Lytchett Bay for most of the day. The Brownsea Lagoon also hosted a nice mix of waders including a Little Stint amongst the c100 Dunlin flock, c30 Ringed Plover, 8 Greenshank, c15 Avocet, 3 Sanderling, 1 juv Curlew Sandpiper (seen later in the afternoon)and there were 4 Northern Wheatear along the Brownsea sea wall. In Holes Bay there were 32 Wigeon back, feeding on the algae and in the PCW Drain there were 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat, c20 Chiffchaff , 2 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap and a Common Sandpiper. Marsh Harrier still seem to be a bit thin on the ground with 1 moping around the Wareham Channel this morning and one in Lytchett Bay. At North Haven, Studland there were singles of Spotted Flycatcher and  Garden Warbler.

Osprey on edge of Wareham Channel – From this AM’s Osprey Cruise – Mark Wright

Spoonbills on Brownsea Lagoon – From this AM’s Osprey Cruise – Mark Wright

Male White-tailed Eagle ‘G463’ on edge of Wareham Channel – From this AM’s Osprey Cruise – Mark Wright

Pretty grey and overcast all day, with a couple of heavy downpours, but the birding was Ok. The first 2 Pintail of the autumn arrived in Middlebere and there were 6 Wigeon there too. The Brownsea Lagoon held 31 Spoonbill, there were 3-4 Osprey in the Wareham Channel where both White-tailed Eagles were settled all day. At the Carey Secret Garden ringing station 8 Yellow Wagtail and a Whinchat were ringed along with 4 Grasshopper Warbler, 10 Blackcap and 7 Sedge Warbler, with Blackcap outnumbering Sedge Warbler for the first time this autumn period, which is typical for early September. Over the last 5 days a new White-tailed Eagle has been present in the harbour, G486 was seen today on the edge of Brands Bay. Over the Frome Valley last night at Stoborough a ‘noc-mig’ (nocturnal migration) sound recording session produced a flock of Sanderling, Grey Plover, Turnstone and Wigeon calls.

Whinchat – Carey Secret Garden ringing station