Things are building nicely with more arrivals today, although it was slim pickings on the passerine front. However there are plenty of Osprey around currently with our juveniles now venturing down to the harbour for the first time, with female chick ‘5H5’ being logged on a different harbour nest platform for the first time. There were 3 around Middlebere this morning and from our Sunset Safari this evening another 3 were seen, 2 of which caught fish, whilst there was also 2 in Wareham Forest at the same time. So, with our family of 5 around, the un-ringed female still on Middlebere and 2 in Wareham Forest there’s a minimum of 8 around currently, but possibly more! The White-tailed Eagles were active today, first being seen in Lytchett Bay, then over the Wareham Channel, then over Swineham, before then being seen on the Shag Looe Spit in the Wareham Channel this evening from our cruise. On the Brownsea Lagoon today there were 11 Spoonbill, 26 Ringed Plover, 1 Sanderling, 4 Greenshank and 15 Avocet. In Holes Bay there were 2 Common Sandpiper in SE, 4 Sandwich Tern in SW and 3 Teal in NW plus 275 Black-tailed Godwit, 121 Redshank and 69 Curlew. A Cattle Egret was on the island in the middle of Swineham GP this morning, the Forster’s Tern was still off Shipstal Beach, RSPB Arne and a Red Kite drifted over Sunnyside. From our boat this evening a Hobby was giving an Osprey a hard time, at Lytchett Fields there were 13 each of Common and Green Sandpiper. On the Swineham Scrapes this morning 6 Yellow-legged Gull were loafing about and a Marsh Harrier was off the end of the GP. 7 Whimbrel were also seen in flight over the Wareham Channel this evening.

Osprey chick 5H5 exploring the harbour this AM and settling briefly on a different nest platform