NIGHTJAR WALK – THIS SATURDAY AT ARNE RSPB RESERVE – TO BOOK CLICK HERE – Last satursdays was an absolute belter with plenty of Nightjar activity, also Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Spoonbill, Dartford WArbler, Glow Worms, Foxes and several bat species were encountered so come and get involved.

At Lytchett Fields the Wood Sandpiper remained and 2 Little Ringed Plover were present, including the first juvenile of the autumn. The Wigeon remained on the wet fields as did a Green Sandpiper and a Marsh Harrier went over. Talking of Marsh Harriers, there was some exceptional news this morning when it was discovered that at least one juvenile Marsh Harrier has survived the doomed nests and looks to fledge any day now. Local harrier watcher Peter Hadrill was rewarded with his hours of observations when an orangey head bobbed above the reed beds for a short while indicating the presence of a young bird at the alpha nest. This is a huge shock as it was thought that all three nests had failed this summer, with little or no activity at any of the sites for over two weeks. The big question is….are there more? There were also 5 Spoonbill on the Brownsea Lagoon, indicating that there is some potential movement/migration underway of this species.

Night recording in the Lower Frome Valley from the last two nights has been quite productive too. Setting my gear up on Monday night was a treat all by its self as Venus and Jupiter were almost sat on top of each other, low in the western sky, and Saturn hung to the right of the exceptionally bright moon. Highlights included my first Common Sandpiper of the autumn moving just before dawn, a Sandwich Tern flying around at 2am, I’m not sure what it was doing flying over a wet grassland site at that time of the morning, but interesting none the less. There has been a constant arrival/movement of Curlew with a whole range of bubbling drawn out calls. Both Coot and Moorhen have been moving it seems as have a handful of Water Rail. A Barn Owl and nearby juv Tawny Owl have called a couple of times and the local Marsh Frogs, Redshanks, Oystercatchers, Reed Warblers and Black-headed Gulls are doing their best to make studying the sonagrams as hard as possible.

Other birds noted from the last few nights have include Med Gull, Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Nightjar, Herring Gull, Little Egret, Grey Heron and Reed Bunting.

Insomniac Sandwich Tern – Lower Frome Valley at 2am