Not too much to report today other than in Holes Bay there were 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Whimbrel, 125 Redshank, 122 Black-tailed Godwit and 20 Curlew. At Lytchett Fields this evening 2 Spotted Redshank were out on the fields along with 6 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel and 1 Marsh Harrier. The Brownsea Lagoon hosted 8 Spoonbill and there were a couple of sightings of White-tailed Eagle in the Wareham Channel. A Hobby was over the Piddle Valley and 75 Little Egret were in the Pergins Island roost this evening in Holes Bay north.

There was also the great news today thats it’s been confirmed by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation that as a direct result of their White-tailed Eagle reintroduction on the Isle of Wight, eagles are now breeding on the south coast at an undisclosed location, producing 1 chick which has now fledged. This is the first successful breeding of White-tailed Eagle in England for 240 years and marks the start of what we hope will be a full recovery of this species across the country. This is such a monumental achievement and shouldn’t be underestimated how much hard work and expertise goes into these kinds of projects. The other exciting element of this situation is that the new breeding pair are only a year older than the pair that are seemingly holding a territory here in the harbour, male G463 and female G466. With this in mind, there’s a possible chance that our local pair may follow suit and seek to potentially try and breed locally(?) next spring. A huge well done to everyone involved!

White-tailed Eagle chick – Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation