Today was our third and final Osprey boat trip which after yesterdays excitement was going to be tough to beat. However we like a challenge, so the gauntlet was thrown back down again to see what we could produce for our guests on board. Well, the weather stayed firm and provided a mill pond like setting and sure was sure enough, without fail 3 Osprey were seen with one perched up on an artificial nest on Arne, one out over Arne Moors and one circling high over Arne. A Great White Egret was a nice addition to the boat list  and a Peregrine chase in the mouth of the Frome was spectacular. We also saw 3 different Marsh Harrier, one of which was wing-tagged and believed to be from a site in Norfolk which was then promptly seen off by one of the juv Osprey. In Middlebere there were 7 Spoonbill. Up on Ballard Down our monthly field trip took place which was also busy with birds and included an Osprey heading out over the top of Ballard Down (more on that in a minute), 3 Peregrine, c50 Med Gull, 10 Chiffchaff, 30+ Willow Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 14 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Tree Pipit and 220 Goldfinch. At Lytchett Bay a few migrants were moving too with 6 Whitethroat, 5 Tree Pipit, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 20 Green Sandpiper, 4 Ringed Plover and 195 Teal all on the fields. On Slepe Heath there were 11 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 14 Stonechat, 7 Dartford Warbler, 1 Wheatear, 1 Redstart and 8 Willow Warbler. On Brownsea the Bonaparte’s Gull was still present with 18 Spoonbill and 1 Little Stint. Finally, we believe one of our Osprey chicks from this years trans-location project has left on migration already! LS7 hasn’t been seen or heard of since Friday morning where it was hanging around by the pen. One of our team went to do the evening feed later that day and didn’t pick up a signal and now being late on Saturday evening, still with no signal its safe to assume its well on its way to Africa. We wish LS7 a safe and event-free journey and look forward to seeing it again in a few years time. 

Greenshank – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam