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

The first ringed migrant Osprey of the year was photographed in Lytchett Bay today, a juvenile Scottish bird ringed 5E0. There were at least five other individuals around the harbour throughout the course of the day, including an unringed juvenile in Holes Bay and several in the Wareham Channel alongside both White-tailed Eagles, with the female G466 sat right on the shore incredibly close to our afternoon Osprey Cruise! Other highlights included 1 Cattle Egret on the Keysworth Shore, Hobby and Marsh Harrier over Arne, a family of 6 Buzzard together over Brownsea, 33 Spoonbill on the lagoon plus 1 Sanderling amongst a flock of Ringed Plover & Dunlin, and a flock of 15+ Turnstone off Hamworthy. Key sightings from elsewhere were 9 Spotted Redshank and 15 Knot in the Middlebere Channel and Forster’s Tern off Shipstal.

Unringed Scottish Juvenile Osprey 5E0 – Lytchett Bay – Pete Corbin

Species interactions were the order of the day on today’s Osprey Cruises. On the morning trip we were privileged to see the two White-tailed Eagles cooperatively hunting, diving successively in an attempt to exhaust and catch a single Cormorant on the Holton Shore. Then in the afternoon we arrived in the top of the Wareham Channel to find one of the White-tailed Eagles being dive bombed by an Osprey as it attempted to gain height and circle over the harbour! Shortly afterwards the Osprey got a taste of its own medicine though, when it was trying to carry off a freshly caught fish and was heavily bombarded by a Hobby! Other highlights were a single Ruff on the Stilt Pools at Swineham and 2 Wood Sandpiper on Arne Moors, plus 32 Spoonbill, 5 Avocet and 3 Wheatear on Brownsea Lagoon. The Forster’s Tern was once again reported at Shipstal, and at Lytchett Fields there was 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Wheatear and 6 Yellow Wagtail.

White-tailed Eagles, Little Egret and Common Seals – Shag Looe, Wareham Channel – Derek Bell

There were at least 6 Osprey active in the harbour this morning, with 3 interacting over Shipstal Point at RSPB Arne and 3-4 over Lytchett Bay and the Holton Heath shoreline of the Wareham Channel. White-tailed Eagles G466 and G463 gave us spectacular views from the Osprey Cruises today, also active over the channel. Numbers of Spoonbill peaked on the Brownsea Lagoon this morning, with 36 counted along with 30 Ringed Plover, 11 Avocet, 2 Greenshank, 5 Sanderling and 4 Wheatear. There was a count of 1 Teal, 4 Grey Plover, 4 Ringed Plover, 108 Black-tailed Godwit, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 73 Curlew, 56 Dunlin and 1 Whimbrel in Brands Bay. 2 further Whimbrel were in the Wareham Channel this morning, with c.600 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Marsh Harrier. 1 juvenile Ruff was at Lytchett Fields today, as well as 5 Green Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 10 Greenshank and 20 Redshank. There were 5 Yellow Wagtail and 3 Little Ringed Plover at Sunnyside this evening.

White-tailed Eagles – Wareham Channel – Mark Wright (@markwright12002 on Twitter)

Perfect conditions meant for a fantastic Osprey Cruise this morning, starting with 2 White-tailed Eagle feeding on the RSPB Arne shoreline and juvenile Osprey 5H5 perched on a dead tree nearby. 2 further Osprey were seen over the Wareham Channel during the course of the morning, along with 2 Hobby hunting migrating Swallows as they passed over the boat. Brownsea Lagoon proved productive with 29 Spoonbill, c.50 Ringed Plover, 30 Dunlin, 12 Avocet, 2 Greenshank and 40+ Redshank. On the low tide this morning in Brands Bay were 56 Teal, 11 Grey Plover, 32 Ringed PLover, 116 Black-tailed Godwit, 17 Bar-tailed Godwit, 103 Dunlin and 16 Knot. 3 Wood Sandpiper were present on the pools at Bestwall meadows near Swineham. There were around 640 Black-tailed Godwit in the Wareham Channel on the remaining exposed mudflat in the afternoon, and 2 Marsh Harrier active over the reedbeds at Swineham. 1 Little Ringed Plover was present on Sunnyside Scrapes this afternoon. Lytchett Bay proved successful for raptors this PM, with 1 White-tailed Eagle, 2 Osprey and 1 Marsh Harrier reported. The Forster’s Tern was also present again at Shipstal Point and 1 Ruff was reported from Middlebere.

White-tailed Eagle – RSPB Arne Shoreline from Wareham Channel – John Dadds

Plenty going on in the harbour today, with clear blue skies adding to the enjoyment of today’s boat trips. A summer-plumage Great White Egret was present on the Arne shoreline of the Wareham Channel on the low-tide this morning, as well as 1 Cattle Egret up at Swineham. Feeding on the exposed mud were c.800 Black-tailed Godwit, as well as 6 Greenshank and 1 Spotted Redshank. Around 5 Osprey were active over the channel through the morning, with 2 Marsh Harrier patrolling the reedbeds. Similar Osprey activity in the Wareham Channel through the afternoon, with a persistent juvenile attempting to hunt near Gigger’s Island, along with two adults. There was a high count of 24 Spoonbill on Brownsea Lagoon today, with 5 Avocet, 50 Dunlin and 40 Ringed Plover. 3 Osprey were hunting over Lytchett Bay this morning, and 1 was also seen over Holes Bay just after midday. Also at Holes Bay today were 2 Wigeon, 22 Teal, 250+ Black-tailed Godwit and 100+ Redshank. Highlights at Sunnyside included 1 Redstart and 1 Green Sandpiper. At Swineham in the early evening another Green Sandpiper was present, along with 9 Yellow Wagtail moving through. The Forster’s Tern was reported again at from Shipstal at RSPB Arne, along with 3 Black Tern.

Osprey CJ7 with freshly caught fish – Wareham Channel – Robin Morrison

As is standard during this phase in August, and especially with this afternoons clear conditions, there were more Osprey arrivals today with the seasons first juvenile arriving into the harbour from elsewhere in the form of an un-ringed individual in Lytchett Bay this afternoon. From our Osprey Cruise this afternoon (and this morning) there was a period of about an hour (3pm-4pm) when there seemed to be Osprey over each shoreline of the Wareham Channel with CJ7 catching a fish mid-channel, followed by the arrival of 2 down the Piddle Valley (including one of our juvs from the local nest) followed by another 2, one of which then caught a fish off Arne as the other drifted off over Shipstal. It’s hard to say how many were present across the harbour today but a minimum of 8 or 9 wouldn’t be a bad guess with other sightings logged in Middlebere and at Lytchett Fields. From both trips today the White-tailed Eagles were active in the Wareham Channel and this morning 2 un-ringed adult Osprey and CJ7 gave close fly by’s. There were 3 Hobby active over Arne, 3 migrant Knot flew over Swineham Point and c500 Black-tailed Godwit were feeding across the Wareham Channel. On the Swineham Scrapes this evening 2 Wood Sandpiper were back, this time with a Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper and 3 Yellow Wagtail were with the cattle there. On the Brownsea Lagoon today 31 Spoonbill were still on the Tamrisk Island, along with c30 Ringed Plover, 4 Sanderling, 5 Avocet, 3 Greenshank and c50 Dunlin. The Forster’s Tern was seen from Shipstal Point, Arne today and there were 3 different Marsh Harrier logged at Swineham including a new adult male. Great White Egrets were seen (possibly relating to the same individual) in the Wareham Channel, Swineham and Lytchett Fields. Finally, huge thanks to Sue Ketteridge, a guest on this AM’s Osprey Cruise, for sharing some of her photos from this mornings trip, giving a great insight into the types of views we’re currently experiencing. The photo’s below show female Osprey CJ7 having just caught a fish, and 2 different adult Osprey that flew past close to the boat. There are still spaces on next weeks trips so to book CLICK HERE:

Female Osprey CJ7 having just caught her breakfast – Sue Ketteridge

Female Osprey CJ7 sorting out her catch – Sue Ketteridge

Female Osprey CJ7 heading back to the nest site – Sue Ketteridge

Adult un-ringed Osprey gives a close fly past – Sue Ketteridge

A second adult un-ringed Osprey gives a close fly past – Sue Ketteridge

Another fine August day, cool and autumnal to start with, ending with beautiful sunshine. There was lots going on once again across the harbour with highlights from our two Osprey Cruises today consisting of 6+ Osprey, 1 White-tailed Eagle, 1 Marsh Harrier, 7 Greenshank, c500 Black-tailed Godwit, 18 Lapwing and 4 Spoonbill in the Wareham Channel, a decent haul of 4 Wood Sandpiper on the ‘Stilt Pools’ at Swineham, the Forster’s Tern on Shipstal Beach at RSPB Arne, 32 Spoonbill, 2 Sanderling, c50 Ringed Plover, c30 Dunlin, 5 Avocet, 2 Turnstone and 2 Wheatear on the Brownsea Lagoon. There was an obvious (small) arrival of Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler with several small flocks arriving in from high over the Frome Valley at dawn. At Lytchett Bay, a ringing session logged 10 Sedge Warbler, 11 Reed Warbler, 6 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Redstart, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap and 1 Tree Pipit. Also at Lytchett Bay a Cattle Egret flew over and a Spotted Flycatcher was at Lytchett Heath. At Holes Bay/Upton CP both a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher were in ‘East Field’, just east of the main house and in the PCW Drain there were 2 Garden Warbler and a Whitethroat. 

Juvenile Tree Pipit – Lytchett Bay

Juvenile Common Redstart – Lytchett Bay

Juvenile Grasshopper Warbler – Lytchett Bay

With the weather settling down quite a bit, it made for some tolerable and comfortable birding today, especially from our 2 Osprey Cruises this morning and this afternoon. To Book CLICK HERE Combined highlights were 6+ Osprey in the Wareham Channel with a couple of spectacular fish catches close to the boat followed by some close fly by’s as they grappled with their fish. Both trips today got to see the Forster’s Tern off Shipstal Point, at RSPB Arne and the White-tailed Eagles in the Wareham Channel, with a new arrival (G486) high over Middlebere. We also lucked in on a Wood Sandpiper on the Swineham Scrapes where there were 2 Yellow-legged Gull, a latish Swift, and 2 Egyptian Geese. On the rising tide of this mornings boat 6 Spoonbill were in the mouth of the Frome and there were also 2 Common Sandpiper. All day c800 Black-tailed Godwit resided on the mud near the mouth of the Frome and there was a Spotted Redshank off Shipstal Beach with the Forster’s Tern. Sightings from elsewhere saw 4 Osprey and a White-tailed Eagle in Lytchett Bay/Fields along with 15 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Tree Pipit, 1 Whinchat, 1 Marsh Harrier and a Cattle Egret. There was also a Cattle Egret in Brands Bay along with the over-summering dark-bellied Brent Goose (not too long until his mates come back now)!, 29 Teal, 7 Grey Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 27 Ringed Plover, 49 Black-tailed Godwit and 8 Bar-tailed Godwit. In Middlebere there were also sightings of 2+ Osprey, 2 Spoonbill and a Marsh Harrier. 

Wood Sandpiper – Swineham scrapes from Osprey Cruise this AM – Dorothy Widall

Female Osprey CJ7 in Wareham Channel from Osprey Cruise this AM – Clare Slade

Forster’s Tern at Shipstal Point from Osprey Cruise this PM – Alison Copland