It was a good day bird variety wise around the harbour with some good coverage too. Wader passage is really picking up now and the Brownsea Lagoon was busy with a decent increase in Black-tailed Godwit arriving in as 236 are now settled on the lagoon with a supporting cast of 16 Avocet, 18 Curlew, 130 Redshank, 12 Greenshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Knot, 2 Whimbrel, 450 Oystercatcher, 18 Curlew, 61 Dunlin, 6 Sanderling, 10 Ringed Plover, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Turnstone, 1 Yellow-legged Gull and 1 Med Gull with a small fall of migrants across the island which included c30 Willow Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Redstart and 4 Whitethroat and a single Firecrest seen. In Middlebere 8 Spoonbill are now present with a newly arrived and pristine white adult amongst the younger birds, also a decent count of 29 Yellow-legged Gull came into roost, 5 Spotted Redshank were feeding along with 12 Avocet, 5 Greenshank, 2 Ringed Plover and a Green Sandpiper. At Lytchett Fields a Wood Sandpiper was on Sherford Pools along with good numbers of other waders, which included91 Dunlin, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Ringed Plover, 115 Redshank, 6 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Common Sandpiper, 5+ Green Sandpiper, 12 Snipe and uncounted numbers of Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit as well as a Hobby over and 2 Spoonbill.

We also had a fascinating encounter today when each of our Osprey chicks were sat minding their own business out on the marsh when LS1 flew up and off over towards Middlebere, near Arne. Ten minuets later it arrived back but with an adult Osprey in tow which then settled down and sat with our clan. It was then quickly observed that the adult Osprey had a blue ring on the right leg and Tim Mackril was able to get the ring number CJ7. A few quick phone calls enabled him to recover the details which told us the adult was in fact a 2^nd summer female which was originally ringed as a chick at Rutland in 2015. Her sighting today was the first since she left for Africa back in 2015 and the Rutland team are ecstatic to know she’s still alive and doing well. CJ7 promptly settled down for the night and actually roosted with our chicks near the release site and stayed there until 8am the following morning. What she does from now will be interesting to observe, will she come back and hang out with our chicks once more? Or will she even begin to feed them like one adult female Osprey did up at Rutland in the early stages of their project? 

Adult female Osprey CJ7 – Simon Kidner

Adult female Osprey CJ7 joining our chicks – Simon Kidner