Well, we think we may have had our first departures of our Osprey family with no sign of juveniles 5H4 or 5H5 today and CJ7 last being seen yesterday afternoon. If this is the case we wish them all well, however last year we thought CJ7 had left about 5 times, only then to show up randomly several days later on a harbour nest platform, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Male 022 didn’t leave until well into September last year, so we may still be seeing him over the next few weeks. From our Osprey cruises today there was a minimum of 5 different Osprey floating about the Wareham Channel and Lytchett Bay area with other sightings at Middlebere and Swineham. White-tailed Eagle pair G466 and G463 did an early morning visit to Brownsea today and would have been visible from Poole Quay (with a scope) if we’d known sooner! They then lifted and headed off over central harbour back towards the Wareham Channel. There were lots of bonus birds from from cruises today including 36 Spoonbill, 1 Cattle Egret, c30 Ringed Plover, c80 Dunlin, c20 Avocet, 4 Sanderling and 3 Wheatear on the Brownsea Lagoon, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Hobby, 1 Marsh Harrier and c150 Black-tailed Godwit at Swineham and 15 Great Crested Grebe in South Deep. Extra reports from around the harbour included 3 Curlew Sandpiper in Brands Bay, 1 Cuckoo at Swineham, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Cattle Egret at Lytchett Fields, 400+ Black-tailed Godwit and 100+ Redshank in Holes Bay, 3 Spotted Redshank in Middlebere, the Forster’s Tern at Shipstal, RSPB Arne, 1 Honey Buzzard over Coombe Heath,  and at Greenlands Farm, Studland 4 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 6 Wheatear and 5 Yellow Wagtail. 

Honey Buzzard – Coombe Heath, RSPB Arne – Kate Plater