Difficult to get inspired today, despite the beautiful day, knowing that White-tailed Eagle G461 won’t ever be coming back. We’d been waiting for several weeks hoping he would, and now we know why he hasn’t re-appeared. Two eagles gone is a great loss, and with mis-information regarding their behaviour and ecology still rife, even in the Dorset hierarchical circles, it’s no surprise there still seems to be huge conflict between conservationists and rural communities when it comes to raptors. From what we’ve read on the Roy Dennis Foundation and Forestry England websites over the last few years and the conversations we’ve had with their teams, the eagles have mostly been eating fish, carrion and a few wild duck, wild geese and gulls. These birds aren’t ‘plaguing’ the landscape, they’re not terrorising lambs and have been posing no risk to public or agricultural welfare. Instead they’ve inspired, thrilled and made people believe there’s hope in conservation, in recovery, in a better future for our environment. They’re a flagship species, a keystone species, a bird that wow’s anyone that experiences one. Ok, we don’t know all the facts yet, but there’s really no place for ignorance, inadequacies or insecurity to get in the way of making sure the truth and the facts are what get told to the public when all the evidence is available. Grrrr, A really frustrating end to whats actually been a good week. Lets see what tomorrow and the next few weeks bring.

Anyway, on to todays sightings, the Cattle Egret was in the Frome Valley again, a ringtail Hen Harrier was in Lytchett Bay with a Marsh Harrier. A couple of the Common (collyibita) Chiffchaff at South Haven board walk were sub-singing and the two Siberian (tristis) Chiffchaff were also present and calling.