There were 2 Osprey out over the Wareham Channel mid-afternoon and the Great White Egret was seen heading east along the Wareham Channel, along the northern Arne shoreline. Lytchett Fields saw 5 Little Ringed Plover and 156 Black-tailed Godwit. Out in Brands Bay there was a single Whimbrel along with c40 Curlew. It’s also a great time of year to test your aging skills of birds with plenty of young around now. Freshly fledged Juveniles this time of year will have completely fresh and new feathers, often making them look neat and sometimes a bit ‘off-colour’. Adults on the other hand will be looking rather ‘worn’ either because they haven’t begun moulting yet or because they are moulting. A good example is of the two Linnets below that were photographed at Brands Bay. The left hand bird is a juvenile and you can see the buff-brown edges to the coverts, where as the adult on the right has stronger tones to the feathers without any buff fringes to the coverts.

Juvenile Linnet (left) and adult (right) – Brands Bay