Wow, summer (re)-landed today with a sweltering heat rippling across the harbour. As a result it seemed there was a big clear out of some birds, including some Osprey by mid-afternoon. Our final two Osprey Cruises of the season yielded good Osprey numbers this AM with 5-6 dotted around the Wareham Channel, Lytchett Bay and Middlebere area, including what seemed like a new arrival coming down the Frome Valley. This afternoon the White-tailed Eagle pair arrived in from high west, before then settling on the edge of the Wareham Channel, but we only connected 3 Osprey distantly over RSPB Arne and Lytchett Bay. It’s worth saying at this point that by the end of todays cruise we’ve taken out over 1900 people on boat trips over the last 2 weeks to see Ospreys, many of which have traveled from outside Dorset specifically to come on to the boat trips. For everyone thats booked on and joined us over the last few weeks, thank you so much. It’s been an honour and thrill to share so many exciting moments with you all, and we hope this events have expanded the opportunity to put Dorset on the map as an eco-tourism hotspot to visit in the future. Other species seen today included a single Ruff, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 3 Wigeon, 5 Shoveler and c100 Black-tailed Godwit on the ‘Stilt Pools’ at Swineham plus 2 Marsh Harrier, 3 Hobby and a Peregrine in the Wareham Channel. On the Brownsea Lagoon there were 44 Spoonbill, 21 Knot, 7 Sanderling, 28 Avocet, 4 Curlew Sandpiper, c30 Ringed Plover, c100 Dunlin, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit, c400 Oystercatcher and 11 Turnstone. At Holes Bay an Osprey flew over with a large fish, but most noteworthy were the first 9 Wigeon and 1st Pintail of the autumn arriving in along with 430 Black-tailed Godwit, 170 Redshank and 2 Dunlin. Up on Hartland Yellow Wagtail flocks are moving between various cattle herds and along the Middlebere track 2 Redstart and a Whinchat were logged. The Forster’s Tern was seen at both Shipstal Beach, RSPB Arne and briefly on the Brownsea Lagoon.

Yellow Wagtail – Hartland – Peter Moore