The rains held off the last few days and the temperature continues to make it feel like summer. A mixture over overcast sky’s and bright sunshine has provided a stark contrast as more and more young birds continue to surface.

At Swineham a late Cuckoo has been very active still, calling continuously over the last few days. Also there the Sedge Warbler’s seem to been starting a second brood and Reed Bunting, Goldfinch and Greenfinch all have young. Bearded Tits seem to be doing very well in the reed beds around the Frome with many dashing over the tops of the reeds from Swineham Point. Unfortunately the Swineham flood pools have totally dried up now, reducing the chances of passage waders using them as feeding station. Some excellent news from Brownsea where a minimum of 100 Sandwich Tern chicks look like they’re going to fledge. Compare that total to only 70 fledged birds in the last 3 years makes this year a huge success. The Common Tern chicks have just begun to hatch and the Roseate Terns are still present on Brownsea, and 1-2 Common Sandpiper keeping putting in an appearance. At Lytchett Bay the autumn continues to creep up with another 4 Green Sandpiper and 8 Teal arriving, with a Lapwing, 2 Common Tern, 5 Sand Martin and 2 Cetti’s Warbler present.